I was thinking of writing this piece in my other more formal and civilized blog site. However, I put it off since that site comes without a disclaimer of any kind!! In any case, I will put a disclaimer here lest people misunderstand me: I perfectly empathize with the victims of this disease. I also believe that air-borne as well as tactile diseases are hard to control. I also fully respect the authorities who are working hard to stop its propagation. My only problem is the media, because they are having a field day!!
I just saw a news channel where a lady was teaching people how to wash hands! It seems washing hands is the new cool thing to do; and if you are wearing a mask - you are a really happening dude. Welcome to 24x7 news! Now there is a 'larger than life' pandemic to report, so let us reporters wear our masks, go to the testing centres, harass already harried people standing in line by asking them questions like: "How long have you been standing here?" Keep reporting in red the number of deaths and the number of infected people.
The media has crossed the line from creating awareness to creating panic! The reporters are going the Barkha Dutt way by panting heavily, talking loudly and painting a picture which is worse than what actually may be the case!
The reason for media overhype is pretty simple. The people who can watch television can possibly become victims of the flu, hence they will be glued to the sets since they are scared. Ditto with newspapers. They keep scores like cricket matches.
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