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The Coronavirus pandemic has been a pressing matter that has affected many lives in one way or another. That being said, there is no surprise that the Journalist Resource health section was full of stories related to the pandemic.
With the pandemic ongoing, it’s good to know as journalists how to report and approach informing the public about it. An article on the Journalist Resource provided helpful tips on how to report on the coronavirus. Seasoned journalist, Gary Schwitzer, discussed in an interview the dangers of misinformation during a pandemic.
Unfortunately, there is plenty due to the competitiveness of being the first with new information.
With this in mind, the Journalist Resource reached out to other journalists and health professionals to gather insight on the do's and don’ts. All of the tips made perfect sense and I found them very helpful as an aspiring journalist.
In the same token, another article from the Journalist Resource regarding nurses and reporting was very shocking to me. Specifically, nurses weren’t utilized as much as doctors or other professionals when it came to interviews.
Nurses are the frontline and shouldn’t be viewed as less than a doctor. Nurses like doctors handle many things that could provide helpful insight for a story.
The article stated in 2017, out of 365 health-related stories only 13% mentioned nurses.
I found this new revelation very shocking since my first thought would’ve been to interview a nurse but then again it depends on the story.