Aurora top 20 – July 2009
Posted on 05. Aug, 2009 by Handbaglady in Communications, News, Top 20
First we had mad cow disease, then bird flu and now swine flu. What is this, farmageddon? While of course it is a serious health concern for those affected, we thought a light-hearted opener might be just the tonic to counter the doom and gloom of swine flu stories that have, once again, dominated every news outlet known to man. Not even the medical and health related questions raised by the premature demise of the King of Pop have put a dent in the sheer volume of flu coverage.
How do you feel about the way in which swine flu has been reported? Here at Aurora Towers we firmly believe that the media plays a crucial role as a public information provider, but there is a clear line between education and stoking mass hysteria. We believe there has been an overload of reporting and as a silent protest we have decided not to talk about swine flu in this month’s top 20, despite it taking pole position. We would, however, like to direct you to an interesting blog highlighting the differing public impact that the swine flu story has had here in the UK compared with our closest neighbour.
For the third month running you could be forgiven for thinking that there have been no other health stories as swine flu once again hogs the limelight. There has, however, been some moving and shaking although interestingly, just like last month, there are no new entries, only re-entries to keep the chart flowing. Does this mean that while swine flu continues to dominate headlines no new health topics can break in to the top 20?
To view the full version of the Aurora top 20, please click here
Garry Warburton
02. Oct, 2009
Pardon me for mixing my species, but swine flu is bull. In the time that it has been in your top 20, how many people have died of it? In the same period, how many people died of cardiovascular diseases or lung or breast cancer?
When the media is hounding some celebrity or politician, it is always “in the public interest”. What is in the public interest is to be fully informed about the major healthcare concerns of the day, not about health subjects chosen to boost circulation. Shame on them.
Claire
02. Oct, 2009
I must admit, what does interest the UK media is sometimes baffling and doesn’t seem reflective of what the majority of us actually want to read about. But I guess it must sell newspapers. Interestingly, in our current poll, only 55% of people think swine flu has been over-hyped in the media.