Discussion - FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

[silvergirl]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

Yay! Daily I chip away at the misinformation my fellow RNs have. TELL them they need at least as much put into public education on h1n1 as they did for the digital TV switchover. I am sure they can do that. Crawls at the bottom of TV screens with the atypical symptoms. For pregnant women, for those who are young and healthy, for children, =no fever, N/V, dry cough, sore throat, CO-infections of strep and bronchitis...and others should NOT rule out H1N1....things like that....I am sure they can do that for the American people....as much as they did for TV! digital switchover. TELL them to give us specific instances of complications. One person with encephalitis. One person with ARDS. One person with strep and sepsis. One person with meningitis. One person with strep and sinus infection which led quickly to multi organ failure. Tell them to tell us about two healthy siblings, now dead. Things like that. Tell them to tell us it IS NOT JUST THE FLU! Without this info-no one will risk the vaccine! Tell them hospitals aren't testing for it and when rarely they isolate a coughing febrile person they are making RNs wear SURGICAL masks-that early on the CDC said were useless. Tell them we expect the USA to have prepared for a pandemic like they said they had and we NEED our N95s broken out and ALL suspected flu cases placed on immediate isolation in the hospitals - a protocol that RNs can enforce automatically without DRs orders. Tell them to tell the CDC we will die without them-and they need us. Thanks!

[silvergirl]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

and tell them to quit telling us to wash our hands. We get it....well most of us do! We want more. People won't go out of their way to avoid flu if they keep hearing it is mild. Yes we need specific cases -no names-of healthy people who died-and how. Yes that gets people's attention.

[Sally Furniss]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

from 2008

More Americans turning to Web for news

Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:48am EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey.
While most people think journalism is important to the quality of life, 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities, a We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll showed.
"That's a really encouraging reflection of people who care A) about journalism and B) understand that it makes a difference to their lives," said Andrew Nachison, of iFOCOS, a Virginia-based think tank which organized a forum in Miami where the findings were presented.
Nearly half of the 1,979 people who responded to the survey said their primary source of news and information is the Internet, up from 40 percent just a year ago. Less than one third use television to get their news, while 11 percent turn to radio and 10 percent to newspapers.
More than half of those who grew up with the Internet, those 18 to 29, get most of their news and information online, compared to 35 percent of people 65 and older. Older adults are the only group that favors a primary news source other than the Internet, with 38 percent selecting television.
Howard Finberg, of the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, said the public often doesn't understand that the sources they are accessing online such as Google News and Yahoo News pull stories from newspapers, television, wire services and other media sources.
"It's delivered in a non-traditional form, that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't traditional journalism underneath it," he explained.
But Finberg said the study does support the belief among many large media companies that focusing on local issues is important to their journalistic and economic survival.



http://www.reuters.com/article/inter...rpc=22&sp=true

[mixin]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

I believe that people who use the net frequently prefer it as their news source and the net is well stocked with info for those who are interested in finding it.

For all those who don't use the net, there needs to be other sources.

The tv scroll is a good idea (except I wish there was some way to block it for those of us who had seen the digital message a thousand times).

I wonder how many pamphlets actually get read?

[tropical]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

I agree with mixin in #50.
And more, not only tv scrolls, but whole screen daily banners, and short concise message videos, as they at the TV usualy do for this overwhelming commercials.

About the #49, even if an considerable part (it seems big, but not enaugh, and not everywhere) goes to internet, the recent past 4 years demonstrated that in a matter of wide population infectious/pandemic real feeled/knowed awareness, all the web weren't enaugh to change the population main perception of endanger.

Like it, or not, the "web star did NOT kill the TV star",
so it is very neccessary to added the TV awareness to the web one.

On the web you can find every kind of wrotings, and views,
on the TV quite not as much ... so "if it was trumpeted on the TV morning/evening daily news, it must be enaugh important and incombent" ...

[sharon sanders]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions!

[ghostship]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

Congrats Sharon and everyone that comprise FT!

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

"to participate in a media interactive session to discuss our perspective on how the government can most efficiently and effectively disseminate information on the novel H1N1 influenza outbreak".

Mmm, what is the session about?

Is it about the message, the information we/FT members would like to spread ( for instance: WHY AND HOW TO PREPARE, WHY AND HOW TO BE ALERT) or is it about how to spread the "White House" information ( Wash your hands, stay home when you are ill) ? And use FT for spreading that information?

Just a question.

Edit: If they offer big $$$$ to spread their message, OK, we can do that and even better spread our own message ?

[sharon sanders]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

Basically we are there to help illuminate for the government participants how we will react online under certain circumstances.

It is a tabletop exercise. They present a fictional situation, for instance, "50 people are diagnosed with pandemic flu, 2000 more are lined up in the hospital and outside in Grandtown".

Then the moderator of the table top exercise asks us how would we report that. For us, would it be Breaking news?, on our Twitter?, blog? Would we add emphasis on the diagnosis, treatment, preparation threads?

Each media responds (ABC, FW, AFD, Reuters, etc. etc.). Last year one said that their group would send helicopters to hover over the homes of victims. The government people were LOL

It ends up being a media training session for the government representatives.

I was really impressed last year with the level of interest. Each one of the government people acted as if the situations presented were real. Former Sec. Leavitt was a great participant. I could see the concern in his eyes.

I was also impressed that they knew us from FT. When Treyfish walked up to one, she said "Treyfish! Wow - I know you!".

To be honest I know the government has an agenda. But on the chance that we can have an impact - we go.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

But on the chance that we can have an impact - we go

Could not agree more .

[Treyfish]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

They want and need the help.

[tropical]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

That is why I am promoting the UK approach, antivirals, masks, handgel, all medicines related to the pandemic should be distribute by a municipal building not the drug stores.

Snowy Owl

It seems quite reasonable.

If things goes realy bad, only a war-times-like economy and logistic delivery could allow an more equal distribution, instead of an flu friendly stampedo to the few places with meds/foods, leaving the most weak, ill, or needed medicaments, without anything.

Already somewhere the treatment ball is leaved to hospital infectious wards only, but without any enlargement. How much patients it can take? Only a fraction.

[alert]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

After all, FT was the first (if you don't count the Diario Despertar de Oaxaca!) media source to report the pandemic.

[sharon sanders]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

After all, FT was the first (if you don't count the Diario Despertar de Oaxaca!) media source to report the pandemic.

Several media/disease hunting groups are claiming to have found the initial outbreak in Mexico first. So I am not sure who "found" it.

Here is our thread on that:

Mexico: April 17 New Respiratory Illnesses - Including Mexico City & Oaxaca

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99635

[Alibabba]

Re: FluTrackers Invited to Washington D.C. to Media Session on H1N1

As a lurker for quite a while now, I have to say CONGRATULATIONS! I hope the powers that be learn something from Flu Trackers!