Page - 201 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

CHAPTER B-5 The Media Paradox and the COVID-19 Pandemic Jeffrey Simpson* Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic struck the media financially, depressing advertising revenues and imperiling already shaky balance sheets. At the very moment when demand for news rose, as it usually does in crises, the media had fewer financial and personnel resources to meet that demand. Similarly, the media generally has few reporters and editors educated and experienced in science, as opposed to poli- tics, economics, and culture. Nonetheless, the media mobilized the resources it had and did a creditable job covering the facts of the crisis as provided by public health officials and political leaders, who took their cue from those officials. Perhaps belatedly, the media did focus on problems revealed by the crisis, notably in the long-term care and nursing home sectors. Résumé Le paradoxe médiatique et la pandémie de COVID-19 La pandémie de COVID-19 a secoué les médias sur le plan financier, entraînant une baisse des recettes publicitaires et mettant en péril des bilans déjà fragiles. Au moment même où la demande d’informations * Author of seven books, including one on the Canadian health care system, which won the Donner Prize for the best book on Canadian public policy.