New York Times about Ebola Outbreak - Literature review Example

A Content Analysis of the Ebola Outbreak in The New York Times Newspaper. The virus of Ebola has become a new plague of the civilization which affected the least protected and thus the most vulnerable region of the world- African countries. The outbreak of the epidemic was located in West Africa hitting such countries as Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea primarily and then spread all over the continent. Most probably people got infected by the virus from forest animals such as bats or apes. The number of victims of this deadly virus has reached 10.000 people and taking into account that no drug that could stop or prevent it Ebola has not been invented yet, the number of dead will rise. To raise the awareness regarding this situation The New York Times involved numerous reporters and journalists to cover the epidemic from various perspectives. More than 400 articles were published on the topic of Ebola starting from the beginning of the outbreak giving readers the possibility to learn about this problem on the basic level and to outline numerous problems which accompanied Ebola outbreak in the country. It is absolutely worth mentioning that the efforts of numerous reporters working for The New York Times were noticed and the paper received Pulitzer Prize in the category of international reporting for ““engaging the public with the scope and the details of the outbreak while holding authorities accountable” (Pulitzer Prize Winners 2015). One of the first and most noticeable things about these articles is that they offer the perspective from within the countries because the reporters engaged in bola coverage spent weeks and months in the regions affected by the virus to make reliable and powerful materials. The authors of The New York Times show themselves as experts of African culture, traditional values, language, economic and political situation, educational and medicine problems because they contact real people. They are the people affected by the disease and those working with the disease primarily: doctors, nurses, volunteers. Reporters have penetrated the country struck by the deadly virus to show the situation with the eyes of the people living there instead of reporting about the pandemic in terms of geographical names, facts, and figures as it is often done by big international new agencies and papers. Sympathizing simple people who became victims of the plague journalists try to attract as much attention of world community as possible to the pandemic. Joined efforts of the most powerful countries and world organizations should be directed to fighting with this disease however it is not as simple as it seems it turns out. WHO and UN still rely on the statistics offered by the governments of the countries who cannot control the outbreak of Ebola and the situation is getting worse (Fink, 2014). It is quite clear that this will continue serious revolutionary measures are not undertaken. But unfortunately, it seems that striking numbers of dead do not shock anyone in this world anymore that is why it seems that the accent was made on human basic sense of sympathy. The New York Times journalists understood that without showing the terror of the situation from within to the world society no progress with Ebola will be made. The general problems described by the reporters of the New York Times are the following: economic & underdevelopment issues, political issues, Ebola preventing and protection, research, social issues, finding and financing efforts, efforts to stop Ebola outbreak, Ebola transmission, efforts to control Ebola outbreak, travel issues, poor handling case, risk for treating patients, ethical issues, ruling out cases, need for global response for Ebola, helpers and volunteers, governmental oversight, panic, fear and anxiety. Paramount attention of the reporters was paid to the issue of economic and underdevelopment issues which allow pandemic to flourish in African countries. One of the main reasons of Ebola deadly spread in Africa is obviously poor financial state of the continent and its striking underdevelopment. Health system of such countries as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania are in deplorable state (Onishi, 2015). Education is insufficient and ineffective; it takes enormous efforts just to tell people basic information about the disease (Associated Press, 2015). Unemployment is extremely high and most people work to buy food only and do not have the slightest imagination about basic sanitation. In such conditions diseases can spread with unbelievable speed. The article “Ebola Virus: A Grim, African Reality” written in April 2014 by explains how far can go people who face hunger: people inhabiting remote villages in forests “are obliged by scarcity of options to eat bats, apes and other wild creatures, found dead or captured live” (Quammen, 2014). In such conditions no virus can be localized or stopped completely because it would require total elimination of hunger which provokes people to eat dead animals that can be infected with Ebola. Another aspect directly connected to the poverty is inability of Africa countries to provide people with decent treatment in public hospital is horrific. Several articles such as “Ambulance in Liberia”, tell about lack of beds in hospitals: it means that when the person with suspicion on Ebola is delivered to the hospital he is destined to return home because there is no free space for him (Solomon, 2014). In the article called “A Hospital from Hell, in a City Swamped by Ebola” portrays the place that could be hardly imagined by Europeans and Americans. The description is capable to shock even the most experienced readers with its repulsive physiological details: reading about babies on the floor covered in blood and urine inevitably provokes disgust and fear (Nossiter, 2014). Such articles are meant to shock readers and provoke urgent response in common people as well as in influential world leaders and politics. Such articles as “Vaccines Face Same Mistrust That Fed Ebola” published in March 2015 in the New York Times emphasize the fact that poor culture prevents people from understanding that clinical research of vaccines o the territory of Sierra Leona is urgently needed. People seem to regard Ebola as something artificial brought from outside. Testing of vaccine on people they also see as something terrifying and done for animals only (Onishi & Fink, 2015; Onishi, 2014). Therefore before fighting with Ebola such organizations as Red Cross and Doctors without Borders must overcome prejudices and total ignorance and poverty which is not in their power (Belluck & Broad, 2015). And it cannot be done without intervention of the government to whom Africans do not trust as ineffective governing of the country by authorities has led to continuous political instability and economic crisis (Cooper, 2014; Gettleman, 2014). Covering the research that is conducted in attempt to discover the vaccine is also challenging. Nevertheless, when any fresh information about possible drug appears the New York Times journalists try to interpret it for common readers. The message that The New York Times reporters aim to send to the readers is that Ebola is too serious to be overcome by African countries and there is an urgent need of global response. In order to describe the danger of the virus the articles give readership basic information about the types of the virus while some articles aimed to trace the origin of Ebola (Grady, 2015; Robin, 2014). It was established already that the virus was transmitted to a human from some animal, a bat most probably. Moreover, the authors often face the hard task of describing the geography of the virus. For the readers of the New York Times it is almost impossible to say which countries are the neighbors of Liberia for instance and before telling about the virus the authors need to tell some basic facts about the geography of the continent. The author of April, 2014 article “Ebola Virus: A Grim, African Reality” mentions that most people can`t even find this or that African country on the map before some catastrophe happens. By pointing this the authors of the New York Times from article to article show the world`s indifference and negligence to the problems of Africa (Langler & Sengupta, 2015; Bruce, 2014). It seems that Africa still remains the most remote and the least developed continent of the world not only due to its never-ending political instability and tough climate but due to inability of the prosperous countries to help those in need. In critical situations it is impossible to blame the one who urgently needs and begs for help and saving. It is also quite clear from the New York Times Ebola would be deadly for any country of the world but for Africa it equal to annihilation and rapid mass destruction due to its poverty. The issues of Ebola prevention and protection are in the center of attention of The New York Times. On the one hand, it gives numerous people chances to learn the information about the virus ensuring its further prevention and on the other it demonstrates the severity of the situation in Africa (Klan, 2015). The most unbelievable and striking thing about Ebola is the ways of its transmission. Ebola is passed with the help of body fluids from an ill person to a healthy. Thee fluids include saliva, sweat, blood, urine, feces and others. In other words when taking care about the one who has Ebola gloves, gowns, goggles, rubber boots are needed as well as chemicals, such as chlorine, to disinfect the premises. And taking into account harsh reality of Africa it is almost impossible to avoid contact especially in a close family circle (Grady, 2014). That was the core reason why Ebola spread so fast in Africa: in the countries where people live in big families side by side tactile contact is inevitable. Parents and older kids look after babies as well as after their elderly parents. Nevertheless the only possible way to avoid contracting the virus is keep away from any physical contact. Helene Cooper in her article from October 2014 asks readers how it is possible for a mother whose two year old daughter is “feverish, in pain, and vomiting” (Cooper, 2014)? Thus, Ebola is deadly because it breaks the most essential and the most valuable bond not for Africans but for all people as well- the family. Talking about the ways of transmission of Ebola the authors on the one hand aim to raise awareness about the virus among common people all over the world. For a long time it was considered that Ebola could be transmitted through air but then the ways of transmission were established more precisely. Today health workers and social workers inform each and every Liberian that avoiding physical contact is the only way to stop Ebola but this is a very tricky thing because of the cultural norms as well as common human feelings. The authors of The New York Times want their readers to imagine themselves in this absurd situation and ask them to pay attention to the victims of the virus. They do it by interpreting the reality Africans live in: from mundane habits to financial state. This reality is very distant to American and Europeans that is why media needs to create the bridge for understanding and further help. The authors of New York Times explain that African culture is based on tactile contacts. Young express respect to older by kissing and hugging. People on the streets shake hands even to acquaintances. Therefore, Cooper shows that this condition is killing for Liberians for whom “closeness is expressed through physical contact” (Cooper, 2014; Grady, 2014) . Having met with Ebola Africans were shocked: families started to alien and fall apart. Several authors mention the facts when nurses working in the hospitals were left by their parents, parents with Ebola were abounded by their children. Cooper in his article “Ambulance Work in Liberia Is a Busy and Lonely Business” uses the comment of the ambulance driver who is forced to sleep in a separate house apart from his children who says that Ebola is a lonely virus. This means that Ebola is unbearable not only because of its horrible consequences but because of its power to break the bond which is needed so much in such horrific situation. As it was mentioned the story of Ebola is told by the people caught by the virus so much attention is concentrated on the personal stories of victims. Looking through the most demanded and the most readable articles of The New York Times it was revealed that they mostly concentrated on personal experience of victims of Ebola and their families. The authors wanted to make their stories as close to common readers as possible avoiding heavy statistics. When people face such complex and emotionally saturated information they can hardly concentrate on the subject for a long time. However, using pathos journalists receive the chance to influence their readers and change something in their general perception. It is quite easy to associate oneself with the nurse who kept working in the hospital when most of her colleagues died of Ebola because she thought that it was her calling. This is the story told by Adam Nossiter in “Those Who Serve Ebola Victims Soldier On” (2014). Despite the fact that the nurse was represented as hero in this article it is still possible to see that she was more of a victim as she lost most of colleagues ad relatives and lived through enormous psychological pressure. It is also easier to feel sympathy and understanding to a mother who could not give up taking care of her daughter despite the fear of contraction. The articles were written as the stories that can be told by one friend to the other, privately and sincerely. In the center of the attention are those who kept and keep fighting against the disease despite fear and anger. Doctors, nurses, volunteers, ambulance drivers social workers – they all are the people who understood that it is easier to give up but chose more difficult way. Some of them are doomed to contact ill but they still find courage and strength to struggle. Thus, it would be right to suggest the authors of The New York Times turn impersonal statistics about the victims of Ebola into real stories of real people. Thus, the reporters of The New York Times have performed incredible bulk of work covering Ebola from all possible perspective. Understanding the possibility to attract world attention to the deadly virus they used this opportunity to the fullest. It became clear that only global intervention can stop Ebola and it is crucially needed. The reporters of The New York Times nevertheless made reporting of Ebola as personal as possible writing from the countries affected by the virus and telling the stories of common people fighting with the disease. The New York Times journalists showed that people ready to sacrifice their lives and struggle even under threat of death live in the most remote corners of the world and that they deserve help, attention and lifelong respect of the world. References Associated Press 2015, ` Guinea: Schools Reopen as Ebola Ebbs`.The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/world/africa/guinea-schools-reopen-as-ebola-ebbs.html Belluck, P. & Broad, W 2015, `Ebola Lying in Wait`. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/health/ebola-lying-in-wait.html?ref=topics Bruce, J 2014 `Ebola Outpaces Global Response, WHO Warns`, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/world/africa/ebola-who-africa.html?gwh=E63A1C222D09FC5FD210D4D2FF3D925E&gwt=pay Cooper, H 2014, ` Liberia’s Ebola Crisis Puts President in Harsh Light`, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/world/africa/liberias-ebola-crisis-puts-president-in-harsh-light.html Fink, S 2014, Cuts at W.H.O. Hurt Response to Ebola Crisis. The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/world/africa/cuts-at-who-hurt-response-to-ebola-crisis.html?gwh=431C91A09AA2AFEA6269F502E3CC2E0D&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now Gettleman, J 2014, `As Ebola Battles in Sierra Leone, Poor Planning Thwarts`, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/world/africa/as-ebola-rages-in-sierra-leone-poor-planning-thwarts Grady, J 2014 `Understanding the Risk of Ebola, on `What Direct Contact Means`, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/us/understanding-the-risks-of-ebola-and-what-direct-contact-means.html?gwh=5CD23A8853F201287D5C1E628DE21AB6&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now Grady, J 2015 `Two New Important Vaccines Pass Important Test`, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/health/2-new-ebola-vaccines-pass-important-early-test-researchers-say.html?gwh=046A85BF3BA68C9DAAD02956034E63F6&gwt=pa Grady, J 2014 `Ebola Vaccine, Ready to Test, Sat on Shelf` The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/health/without-lucrative-market-potential-ebola-vaccine-was-shelved-for-years.html?gwh=FEF3F6DDD950ED2FE42F5AEE49E0A6CE&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now Klan, J 2015 `Finishing Off Ebola`, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/21/opinion/finishing-off-ebola.html?gwh=9C81E949857AECEADB1F53D1A902863C&gwt=pay&assetType=opinion Langler, S & Sengupta, D 2015 ` Global Response to Ebola IS Too Slow`, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/world/africa/ebola-who-africa.html?gwh=E63A1C222D09FC5FD210D4D2FF3D925E&gwt=pay Nossiter, A 2014, ` Ebola Help for Sierra Leone Is Nearby, but Delayed on the Docks` The New York Times. 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Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/14/world/africa/ebola-vaccine-researchers-fight-to-overcome-public-skepticism-in-west-africa.html Quamen, D 2014 ` Ebola Virus: A Grim, African Reality`, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/opinion/ebola-virus-a-grim-african-reality.html Pulitzer Prize Winners 2015, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/20/business/media/21pulitzer-winners-finalists.html Rabin, N 2015 `Ebola Vaccine Possible`,The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/02/health/effort-to-develop-ebola-vaccine-to-test-on-humans-is-put-on-fast-track.html?gwh=7B2418149F89AF14B285E6F016ECCA45&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now Solomon, B 2015 `Ambulance Work in Liberia Is a Busy and Lonely Business`, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/world/africa/because-of-ebola-ambulance-work-in-liberia-is-a-busy-and-lonely-business.html Read More