Even a few weeks after the sudden cessation of life, a strange sensation still accompanies you… especially during the day, in which the spring with the chirping of birds and the scent of flowers stands in stark contrast to the threat that surrounds us everywhere. There are things we can't grasp with our senses. This applies to climate change, atomic radiation, and even more so to a pandemic. Things can be transmitted through communication, said sociologist Niklas Luhmann.
We also get information from the media about the Corona virus. That our lives at night have changed completely, that millions of people will be unemployed, that hundreds of thousands of people will get sick and thousands will die, as long as they are not related to us or our relatives - are beyond our experience. Instead, we stay at home and see pictures of empty streets and masked people.
How do I deal with the threat?
That is why the media is gaining special importance. Not only because they inform about the current figures and the restrictions that governments impose on citizens. It's about more. From what we receive and filter as information from media reports or conversations with friends and personal situation, our attitude towards pandemic is also built. Do we react with fear, panic or ignore danger? Do we become depressed or do we hope to cope? Or to formulate it with René Descartes - I read news about Corona, so I exist!
Not surprisingly, media consumption has increased significantly. Transmitters such as Deutsche Welle set record figures in their online offers. Even television is experiencing a renaissance. But are we always sure that we have not fallen prey to misinformation?
False news, such as the use of garlic to protect against the Corona virus, has spread millions of times through social media and Messenger - almost a viral reproduction of dangerous fake news, which at worst cost lives. Facebook or other platforms are trying to limit this as much as possible these days. But fact-checkers can't afford the speed with which fake news spreads.
The rebirth of traditional media
In this situation, many people return to traditional media. A recent Reuters study, which asked people in Argentina, Germany, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, concludes that traditional media enjoys greater credibility than social media. At the same time, people with a low level of education rarely use their information offers and trust social media and Messenger. More than traditional media, the great trust of the people is enjoyed by experts and representatives of health institutions. But how do they reach people? Of course through the media.
From these data, it is a great responsibility for us journalists: We need to separate the sugar from the sugar in the sometimes contradictory data of virologists, economists or so-called experts. And last but not least, the headline made you read this article. This is normal work even outside the time of crisis. But now it is necessary to process an oversupply of information with reduced staff, which is often not in the newsroom, but at home on the kitchen table. Many media outlets have serious problems because their advertising revenue has fallen. In addition, many articles and videos about the virus are free, which in normal time would only be offered for a fee. Even this income is lacking.
We have a situation where the offer of free media in democratic countries is more important than ever before. At the same time, many traditional media outlets need to fight for survival. But we can do something about it ourselves: To pay when we use the media. It is worth the price for most quality media./DW/
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