Blowing the facts out of proportion

A couple years ago, news of the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, seemed to take over news media.  Every news station had dramatic reports about how this new, never-before-seen virus has mutated and was likely to infect millions of people.  It was called a "pandemic" and news organizations hosted experts on infectious diseases to warn citizens everywhere to take care and be vaccinated.

I remember being afraid of getting this flu.  I remember talking with my fellow students and hearing rumors about school being closed in the future because of the "pandemic."

Looking back, I believe that stories about the H1N1 virus were completely blown out of proportion.  The facts were not always necessarily false, but it was covered so much that it was taken to be something bigger and more serious than it was.  News stations used dramatic language and reported on deaths, when in reality, thousands more people died every year from the normal flu than from the few that died from the H1N1 virus.  

In fact, both of my little brothers contracted the swine flu, and only suffered from mild symptoms for a day or two.  

I think that news organizations should have presented the facts in proportion to how the swine flu compares to the normal seasonal flu's   This would have put the severity of the virus in perspective.  Yes, it was a dramatic and new sickness, but it did not deserve the amount of coverage it received.  

CNN even acknowledged that journalists needed to be more careful about how much they talk about it, and what they tell the citizens.

I think they did a good job of explaining what the virus does and how it can affect people, while also not blowing it out of proportion like other networks.

“Journalism is our modern cartography. It creates a map for citizens to navigate society. That is its utility and its economic reason for being. This concept of cartography helps clarify the question of what journalism has a responsibility to cover. As with any map, journalism’s value depends on it completeness and proportionality” (208).