Tweet
The media have been accused of ?over-hyping? the 2009 influenza A/H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic, emphasising the risks of the illness to make a news story more interesting. However, UK newspapers' coverage of the pandemic was generally ?measured? and ?responsible?, according to a quantitative analysis published this week in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
This contrasts to earlier public health scares in the UK, such as fears over a possible link between autism and the MMR vaccine, where misrepresentation of the scientific debate and an undue focus on anecdotal evidence meant that public perception of the danger was heightened.
?The news media's role as a disseminator of scientific information is particularly important in areas of risk perception,? write Shona Hilton and Kate Hunt, of the UK Medical Research Council?s Unit of Social and Public Health Sciences in Glasgow,. ?Despite a succession of health scares in recent years in which the media has been accused of exaggerating the risks and contributing to public misunderstandings of the issues, this analysis suggests that the UK newsprint reporting of swine flu in the 2009?10 outbreak was largely measured.?
...
This contrasts to earlier public health scares in the UK, such as fears over a possible link between autism and the MMR vaccine, where misrepresentation of the scientific debate and an undue focus on anecdotal evidence meant that public perception of the danger was heightened.
?The news media's role as a disseminator of scientific information is particularly important in areas of risk perception,? write Shona Hilton and Kate Hunt, of the UK Medical Research Council?s Unit of Social and Public Health Sciences in Glasgow,. ?Despite a succession of health scares in recent years in which the media has been accused of exaggerating the risks and contributing to public misunderstandings of the issues, this analysis suggests that the UK newsprint reporting of swine flu in the 2009?10 outbreak was largely measured.?
...
