Media Trust: Case of H1N1 - Research Paper Example

Media trust: case of H1N1 Communication is a very essential component of human society as it leads to awareness and knowledge over various components and aspects of the society which would otherwise remain concealed to the public. Public communication through the media has hugely grown to reach almost every corner of the world through the media houses. Mass communication through the renowned media houses of the world therefore plays a very integral part in the passage and reception of information between different people in different parts of the world. If one doesn’t hear of any news in the media today, then it probably didn’t happen anywhere since the media are today as close to the society as every person is close to one another. While the media has acted as a great eye opener in various regions concerning various issues happening in the society, in some cases, it has acted as a center for deceptions leading people away from what the real fact is. This is when the process of information gathering and communications coupled with a lot of biases based on the real content of the matter. Gelders, Bouckaert, & van Ruler, (2007) define communication simply as the passage of information from one person to another and from place to place usually through a medium. The main content of the whole process is the message borne and the way it is delivered to the persons targeted. The entire process is a closed cycle comprising of basically four components; the sender, the recipient, the message itself and the channel used in transferring the message from one person or region to another. The content, urgency and the privacy of the information being passed across is highly dependent on the type of information/ message being transmitted. Mostly, information passed to the public has no privacy issues and is relevant to the time and the event of the time The media personnel have the freedom to reach and access information on any issue in any region of the earth making them the closest neighbor to any person everywhere on the earth’s surface. There has been a rising trend in the number of media houses in the world today as the number of consumes of their information increases over time and space. This has led to rapid competition of the various media houses represented everywhere on earth in terms of the greatest and most interesting news aired by them based on different topics. While some media houses have the capability to reach the international community with their news on a daily basis, some have concentrated on local news which they disseminate to the society around them. International news houses have a larger area of coverage and the information they pass has a wide array of audience and sources. Due to this, it is therefore very important that the most accurate information on various issues of life is passed to the right people at the right time. Hathi, (2009) asserts that his level of trust that the people nest on the media today is far much greater than it was before as public awareness and the rise in demand for knowledge increases over time and space. The rise in the level of public awareness on various matters of the society has increased due to the advances in technological development in various societies. Technology has as well played a very integral role in determining who gets what information at what time and in which region. Without technology, the work of passing information on a wide array of events and issues would not be easy as the information may be slow on transit or reach the intended persons when too late to generate any necessary immediate response. According to Congressional Management Foundation, (2008), the accuracy of the media is judged based on the content of the information, the timeliness and its regional access measured by the number of people listening to and receiving the news being passed across. H1N1, commonly referred to as ‘swine flu’ is a viral disease which spreads very fast over time and space, the higher the concentration in the number of people in a given area, the easier it becomes to acquire the disease and vice versa. The most recent and immediate information on the matter therefore is of key importance to the society in order to create public awareness of the necessary measures to be taken in order to come up with the most necessary response to the same. It is based on this integral role played by the media houses in relaying information to the society that this paper seeks to find out the biases and the distrust in the media information concerning the spread and occurrence of H1N1 flu in the year 2009 (American Psychological Association, 2009) The disease, H1N1 was reported in the year 2009 by the World Health Organization (WHO), 41 years after its eradication. This report was followed by around 61articles on the New York Times narrating the same story to the attentive public. The disease is anticipated to have cost the lives of up to 16, 713 people worldwide (Choi & Gower, 2006). The Italian ministry of health for instance estimated up to around 4 522 cases of the disease in that year alone (Coombs, 2007). The first case of the disease was reported in Mexico on the 28th of March 2009. Two weeks after the Mexico event, the first case of the disease was reported in the USA and the response was some immediate on some regions as compared to the others. By April 30th, nearly 300 schools in the United States had closed down following the reports in the occurrence of H1N1 disease. The information on the easily spread disease raised a lot, of eyebrows in many people and societies around the world, causing fear, havoc and desperation of those who received the information from the various media houses. Depending on the degree of danger of any information being passed it becomes very tangible to determine exactly what the reactions of the various persons are to be determined. During the outbreak of the disease H1N1 in 2009, the media houses therefore had a very important role to play in relaying the most relevant, prompt and accurate information to the general public who were very eager to receive any news from any media house across the world based on the sensitive issue. The media have the mandate to earn the public trusts based on such important matters and the same matter is the bone of contention on what the media ought to relay and what is to be considered irrelevant and grapevine. The media coverage on the issue in most cases was leaning towards satisfying the years of the listeners and the viewers on the issue making it more exaggerated than it actually was. Based on this argument, (Dunlop, Wakefield, & Kashima, 2008) asserts; “… Publics’ emotional responses to risks often dictate how they respond to crises. Further, emerging research finds that publics seek out social media because they uniquely provide emotional support during crises” (54) Media biases and preferences on certain issues therefore create the greatest concern to the public, the response to some of the information passed by these houses is sometimes worrying based on the sensitivity of the information borne. In many instances, the information passed by the media is taken as the most authentic and relevant information on the various issues being communicated irrespective of the levels of scrutiny into the matters of concern over the issues arose. This was probably the result evidenced on the reactions of the various persons and regions concerning the alarming news of the occurrence of H1N1 pandemic in 2009. In order to ensure accuracy and that the media houses reports the exact and correct information on various issues tangible of the society, the houses must ensure the observation of the following two prime factors; time length between the of occurrence of the events in question ND the time of relaying the information and close scrutiny into the matter. For us to adequately understand the relevance of these ideas with respect to the role of the media in building trust for the people based on the content of the information being passed across, I will discuss each section in order to explicitly explain the issue for relevant purposes. Scrutiny of the media information: The media news (DeVries & Fitzpatrick, 2006) is taken as the authentic source of information just lie in the case of authentic researchers coming up with various inventions and robust findings on certain issues considered very important to the society. Such news is expected to be robust in their content and contain nothing but just the truth and the trusted truth alone. Lack of truth is the greatest cause of havoc and distrust on the people around the globe. Sensitive matters are supposed to be well researched before they are relayed to the people who consume them at the end of the day. Media reports, according to Jin & Liu, (2010) the greatest number of audiences across the globe and is required to be more authentic. The main ethical concern of the media houses stems from their observance of the media ethics which dictates that the most accurate, timely and relevant information be passed over the intended persons, failure to observe such often result into biases and irrelevance in the authenticity of the information that is being passed across the domain. Media research, like medical research therefore has a very important role to play in the management and determination of the information being passed to the society and the two have twin levels of importance to the society given the sensitivity of the information borne by them. The rule of scrutiny requires that one seeks the truth from various sources before it is passed to the intended persons. This is aimed at avoiding biases and personal preferences in the knowledge of the information being passed across. Media research is therefore a very integral part of the whole issue. Accurate research and gain the most relevant information for the general public c is gained by sampling a larger population as well as scrutinizing the most recent and relevant sources of information concerning the issue at hand. Sharing of information brings about knowledge on the matter and helps in expanding the society’s knowledge over the same. In cases where less information is received from the experts and other relevant sources, it becomes very difficult for the message to be true. Questions therefore begin to arise concerning the matter and the authenticity of the information being passed across. Mixed reactions are often generated when the content of the information being passed across is not very authentic and the persons intended to be the recipients of the message very eager to get the information on the same. It is very easy to distort the information over the same. Most media houses often concentrate on relaying information which is deemed sweet and demanded by the general public. This is the reason most media houses concentrate on some information and not the others which considerably can be categorized as news. As Liu, (2009) notes, news is past news even after it has just happened. The media houses therefore are concerned with passing of information on the issues which are past but not known to a section of the population. It is the report on issues that happen in various parts of the world so that everyone stays connected to the various regions and issues by creating regional awareness. While technological applications have been greatly applied in information management and handling by the media fraternity, it is sometimes very difficult for one to discern the truth out of the scratch presented over the media. Intensive information gathering process therefore needs to be carried out by the media houses before the intended information is dispatched to the society. This is to ensure relevance and accuracy of the type of information to be passed across and eliminate biases of the media broadcasters into the matter. While in some cases, the information that was relayed to the public concerning the occurrence and prevalence of the H1N1 flu was greatly exaggerated by the media, in some case, the information on the same was more accurate. This was the main cause mixed reactions received by various persons in different parts of the world over the same matter. Personal biases as Dunlop, Wakefield, & Kashima, (2008) notes is a great hindrance to the acquisition and relaying of information to the general public. One is required to detach himself or herself from the research while in the process of gathering information in order to eliminate biases. Most media reporters, researchers and houses involved their ego in the reports about the H1N1 pandemics in 2009 and as a result, distorted the content of the information passed to the public hence the mixed reactions received from different parts of the world over the same matter. In support of this idea, DeVries & Fitzpatrick, (2006) mentions that; Overall organizations more fully incorporated emotions into their traditional than in their social media responses. The most frequently included emotions across all media types are confusion, alert, fear, sympathy, and sadness. Interestingly, corporate organizations more frequently incorporate confusion into their responses and government organizations more frequently incorporate alert and sympathy. Indeed, all instances of sympathy occur in responses issued by government organizations and the media organizations. Given that publics seek out social media because they uniquely provide emotional support during crises, organizations can better meet publics’ emotional needs through more thoroughly using social media to engage in dialogue with publics instead of predominately communicating through traditional media (165) Over the same matter, Choi & Gower, (2006) notes; The enemy of authentic journalism, people suggest, is a market place culture that drives news media and leads to sensational and simplistic journalism. The trust in journalism and the adequacy of the information, which I think trust is based on, is not going to be affected by journalists’ conduct… without strong organization and authentic commitment; authentic journalism can be elusive (420). Much of the information on the occurrence and the spread of swine flu, commonly H1N1 was very sensational to the public at the time of its occurrence and was likely to generate much response from the listeners. Given the sensitivity of the matter, every person was very keen on the announcements no matter what the source of the information. To the advantage of their professions, and the urge to generate a lot of the audience and finance based on the matter, many media houses, including the newspapers, television, radio broadcasters and the internet sites made use of the opportunity to repay unsourced information to the eager public. Much of the content of this biased information was based on the biological characteristics of the flu such as the spread, its occurrence and the treatment, modalities which utterly captured the attention of the audience. As () notes, most media houses mainly concentrate on the most sensitive news affecting a larger majority of the people so as to gain public interest. This is likely to generate much influence and distortions on the matter if not well research. Time factor is therefore a very important factor to be considered here given the sensitivity of the matter. This is meant for elaborate research on the underlying principles of the matter. Time factor Having discussed much on the authenticity of the information being communicated by journalist across the globe, we will now probe on the matters of time concerning the same so that the whole process is ensured to be successful. Time is as well a very important part of the process of communication of sensitive issues in journalism. Communication of the right things at the right time is the key agenda in the success of the transfer of information across the domain. Just to illustrate on this, the information on swine flu was first officially communicated by the WHO in 2009 after which the other media houses begun blowing the trumpet based on the communications from the organization, some of which were unverified (Hathi, 2009). Time factor is a great ingredient in communication as it enables much research to be done on the matter. The media is usually entrusted with the most accurate information by the public and therefore needs to be well organized as well as authentic. Research in every aspect of the society’s lives requires that adequate time be given for probing into the matter. Every research according to Liu, (2009) is bound to some given time. While the time required to monitor the response of a given population to a given stimulus may be short in some cases, biological responses require adequate time to register recognizable changes depending on the type and activity of the biological elements involved in the factory. There were evidenced a myriad of circumstances whereby there were great controversies on the content matter of the factors probed by the media and relayed to the public for instance, in some cases the media explanations were very much different from the biological explanations behind the occurrence of the disease. The expert explanations into the matter is necessary for the sake of seeking authenticity and should be confirmed first to ensure that the information being relayed is lined with reality which is the true section of the story. The absence of enough research into the matter, limited by time factor was therefore a great hindrance in the passage of information on the matter. Time is the duration and the intensity / vigor of the research into the matter consequently affecting the authenticity of the information. Given the rush into the matter, it was sometimes very difficult to link the truth with personal biases and rumors into the matter. Coombs, (2007) gives a breakdown into the matters surrounding the occurrence of the flu and peoples’ reactions based on the news acquired from the media; On March 28, 2009, the first known case of H1N1 was reported in Mexico. Two weeks later, the first H1N1 case was reported in the United States By April 30, nearly 300 schools had closed across the U.S. in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. The U.S. government responded by announcing on May 3 that vaccine development was underway. By May 20, H1N1 cases worldwide exceeded 20. In response, the World Health Organization declared that the H1N1 outbreak was a pandemic on June 11, making H1N1 the first global pandemic (57) Given the sensitivity of the matter the response of the public was great over just a short span evoking the closure of over 300 schools in the USA even though only 20 cases of the flu had been reported worldwide. The emotional influence of such sensitive matters often overrides the time factor and affects the entire system of relaying accurate information hence the biases and distrust. In conclusion, it is good to note there that the media lays a very integral role in informing the society about very important issues such as the occurrence of diseases and the upcoming events. The use of media in relaying information on various pertinent issues in the human society has been widely used in the world today due to its convenience and ease of access to many people. While overreliance on the media for certain important information may be misleading, the technique has been widely accepted as an authentic source the most c current information calling for discipline and accuracy of the information which is being passed across in order to win public interest and trust. This has not been the case as the various media houses use their wide audience for their gainful purposes as is seen in the case of swine flu when false information instigating the emotional feelings of the people was exaggerated by the media evoking mixed responses from different parts of the world. Works Cited American Psychological Association. (2009, July). Managing your anxiety about H1N1 (swine. flu). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/h1n1-flu.aspx Choi, S. H., & Gower, K. K. (2006). Framing effect on public’s response to crisis: Human interest frame and crisis type influencing responsibility and blame. Public Relations Review , 32 (4), 420–422. Congressional Management Foundation. (2008). Communicating with Congress: How the Internet has changed citizen engagement. Retrieved from http://www.cmfweb.org/.index.php?Itemid=50&id=64&option=com content&task=view Coombs, W. T. (2007). Ongoing crisis communication: Planning, managing, and responding (2nd ed.). 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Journal of Communication Management , 13 (3), 268–283. Read More