As the days go on it seems like there is always a new story about the Coronavirus somewhere in the world.
I was thinking about this virus and really trying to think what makes this different from all the previous viruses like Ebola, and the Swine Flu.
At first I thought that this was just another over blown sickness that will pass in the coming days. However when looking at the death counts, the Coronavirus actually has a much larger number than the rest with it still growing.
Obviously whenever there is a life threatening disease going around it is bound to gain a lot of media attention.
However I think the Coronavirus is getting way over blown because just like the rest of the diseases in recent history, it will come and go.
As seen in the NiemanLab article, there are so many different ways of getting information about the Coronavirus. There is everything from Podcasts, to newsletters and blogs and so many other things.
Spreading news about the virus like this in so many ways can definitely help companies and people gain revenue. But I think that is really all it is.
There is no need for so many different platforms to be saying the same information and most times the information is not even newsworthy.
These organizations are creating fear in society and then using that fear to benefit themselves.
This virus and fear of it is starting to make its way into the sports world as well.
Currently with only the NBA and NHL in play right now, both leagues have discussed with their teams about the possibility of fans not showing up to games due to the virus.
The NBA is the bigger place of concern when it comes to the virus because the fans are closer and can have direct contact with players.
An article from The New Yorker explains that several notable NBA players are going to take a break from high fiving fans and signing autographs to try to avoid the spread of sickness.
https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/watching-sports-in-a-season-of-the-coronavirus
In time this virus will be like all the others and will eventually pass, however in the meantime, we must take precautions but also not get too overworked by the information that is being spread.
It is important to keep safe in sickly times like these but all of these different platforms spreading information is really just spreading more fear than it is worth.
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