Should we call Covid-19 a 'crisis' and a "pandemic'?
As I wrote in the new Peace Journalist magazine, reporting Covid-19 poses many challenges for peace journalists. One of those challenges involves the language we use.
On Twitter, Peter Moor, an Ulster University (Northern Ireland) student who attended one of my lectures in N.I., asks:
What is your opinion on the using the word ‘crisis’ in ref to Covid-19. Is this word inflammatory/accurate representation of what is going on? What about ‘pandemic’ - is a pandemic naturally a crisis?
Let me start with the easy one—“pandemic.” This is technical epidemiological term employed in a precise way by scientists and health experts. The WHO has labeled this outbreak a pandemic, using scientific data to back up this conclusion. Thus, I think journalists are perfectly justified in using this word to describe what is happening. (For more, see CDC and WHO info on pandemics).
The term “crisis” is stickier.
As peace journalists, we avoid language that is subjective, inflammatory, and sensational, words like “massacre,” “bloody,” and “martyr.” These words usually add no information to a story, and only add fuel to the fire. Such words are highly subjective, reflecting only the journalist’s interpretation of events.
As for “crisis,” which can be defined as “a turning point…or a dramatic emotional or circumstantial upheaval in a person's life” (dictionary.com), the word is certainly subjective since each individual has a different interpretation of what constitutes a crisis. That said, we as journalists can certainly report the interpretations of public health experts who have labeled Covid-19 a crisis. Since they are the experts, it seems to me we are safe in using the word since that’s what the experts unanimously believe. In this instance, “crisis” is neither sensational nor inflammatory since it’s not adding fuel to the fire, exacerbating the situation, or frightening people unnecessarily.
Finally, as our perceptive student Peter Moor points out, one can reasonably conclude that a pandemic declaration automatically qualifies an outbreak as a crisis.
For more about PJ and Covid-19, see the lead article in the April Peace Journalist magazine (details below in previous post).
As I wrote in the new Peace Journalist magazine, reporting Covid-19 poses many challenges for peace journalists. One of those challenges involves the language we use.
On Twitter, Peter Moor, an Ulster University (Northern Ireland) student who attended one of my lectures in N.I., asks:
What is your opinion on the using the word ‘crisis’ in ref to Covid-19. Is this word inflammatory/accurate representation of what is going on? What about ‘pandemic’ - is a pandemic naturally a crisis?
Let me start with the easy one—“pandemic.” This is technical epidemiological term employed in a precise way by scientists and health experts. The WHO has labeled this outbreak a pandemic, using scientific data to back up this conclusion. Thus, I think journalists are perfectly justified in using this word to describe what is happening. (For more, see CDC and WHO info on pandemics).
The term “crisis” is stickier.
As peace journalists, we avoid language that is subjective, inflammatory, and sensational, words like “massacre,” “bloody,” and “martyr.” These words usually add no information to a story, and only add fuel to the fire. Such words are highly subjective, reflecting only the journalist’s interpretation of events.
As for “crisis,” which can be defined as “a turning point…or a dramatic emotional or circumstantial upheaval in a person's life” (dictionary.com), the word is certainly subjective since each individual has a different interpretation of what constitutes a crisis. That said, we as journalists can certainly report the interpretations of public health experts who have labeled Covid-19 a crisis. Since they are the experts, it seems to me we are safe in using the word since that’s what the experts unanimously believe. In this instance, “crisis” is neither sensational nor inflammatory since it’s not adding fuel to the fire, exacerbating the situation, or frightening people unnecessarily.
Finally, as our perceptive student Peter Moor points out, one can reasonably conclude that a pandemic declaration automatically qualifies an outbreak as a crisis.
For more about PJ and Covid-19, see the lead article in the April Peace Journalist magazine (details below in previous post).
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