Media Coverage of COVID -19

[NorthOxonian]

The left say that the BBC is in the pocket of the Tories and their paymasters, the right say that the BBC is the voice of the Liberal elite. They can't both be right.

Yes they can. The BBC reflects the views of those who work in it - slightly right of centre economically, but very socially liberal. It's not surprising both parties see it as biased - it is, just against them in different ways.

Though this is veering off topic.

 

[Yew]

Thank you for demonstrating my point, confirmation bias is rife everywhere in posted comments on social media about COVID-19 news reporting.

Can you find a BBC report that errs on the side of it being less dangerous, recommending herd immunity? For the most part, it leans towards more severe restrictions.

 

[AM9]

Can you find a BBC report that errs on the side of it being less dangerous, recommending herd immunity? For the most part, it leans towards more severe restrictions.

The minority view of 'herd immunity' has its supporters, and it has been covered a few times over the last few months, but just because it isn't regurgitated and museum doesn't mean that there is institutional bias against it. A broken record argument doesn't add any value to the debate.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Not sure if this belongs in this thread, but the Evening Standard are reporting that some people breaching lockdown rules are now not being dealt with in an open court, but under the Single Justice Procedure, sometimes using the wrong laws and breaching a promise to protect open justice.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/covid-rule-breakers-secret-london-prosecutions-a4571843.html

Londoners accused of breaking the lockdown rules are being prosecuted behind closed doors and under a veil of secrecy, the Standard can reveal.

An Evening Standard investigation has identified seven cases where the Government’s newly pressed laws appear to have been wrongly applied, with defendants convicted and fined in their absence...

The quote from the Home Office is a little worrying...

 

[Richard Scott]

Not sure if this belongs in this thread, but the Evening Standard are reporting that some people breaching lockdown rules are now not being dealt with in an open court, but under the Single Justice Procedure, sometimes using the wrong laws and breaching a promise to protect open justice.

Covid rule breakers targeted in secret London prosecutions

Londoners accused of breaking the lockdown rules are being prosecuted behind closed doors and under a veil of secrecy, the Standard can reveal.

www.standard.co.uk

The quote from the Home Office is a little worrying...

But this is what happens when you impose blanket restrictions on an area when some parts have very few infections and see it as unfair. Some people will break the rules anyway, that's what happens. How many people who speed every day are prosecuted? Maybe a bit of a poor analogy but it's true and we don't seem to have a mass outcry over that even though it can directly be attributed to costing lives.

 

[SS4]

If both think that, it's probably fairly centrist in reality!

But this issue isn't about left and right - the leadership of both main parties are singing from the same hymn sheet at the moment.

Isn't that the golden mean fallacy?

I'd like to see a general two week ban on covid reporting instead just to see what would happen if the maelstrom of hysteria whipped up by the news gets a "circuit breaker". Plus it would also let us see what kind of shenanigans are not getting the scrutiny they deserve because of the fixation on covid

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Plus it would also let us see what kind of shenanigans are not getting the scrutiny they deserve because of the fixation on covid

Like the police gaining access to test information ? Although it is covid-related, it sets a precedent that private companies can be compelled to hand over private information (Serco run the test-and-trace operation, not the NHS)

Coronavirus: Police granted access to details of people told to self-isolate by Test and Trace

The Department of Health and Social Care has said information will be shared with police on a 'case-by-case' basis.

news.sky.com

 

[trebor79]

Like the police gaining access to test information ? Although it is covid-related, it sets a precedent that private companies can be compelled to hand over private information (Serco run the test-and-trace operation, not the NHS)

That is not a precedent. Private companies have been compelled to hand over private information to the police since time begin, in certain circumstances.
That said, I hope it results in less people coming forward for testing. The sooner we stop obsessively testing the sooner the hysteria will start to die down.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

That said, I hope it results in less people coming forward for testing. The sooner we stop obsessively testing the sooner the hysteria will start to die down.

This ^^

 

[Bikeman78]

Isn't that the golden mean fallacy?

I'd like to see a general two week ban on covid reporting instead just to see what would happen if the maelstrom of hysteria whipped up by the news gets a "circuit breaker". Plus it would also let us see what kind of shenanigans are not getting the scrutiny they deserve because of the fixation on covid

Absolutely. That includes reporting the number of deaths and cases. I don't see what that achieves.

 

[kristiang85]

Just watching the paper review on BBC, and half the ones they show seem to have headlines regarding the negative effects of lockdown.

The narrative in the printed media seems to be changing.

 

[jtuk]

Pretty remarkable exchange between some hopeless Labour MP in Wales and Dan Wootton on Talk Radio:

https://twitter.com/talkRADIO/status/1318260086138150912

The best bit is this follow up tweet:

https://twitter.com/statsjamie/status/1318298512841449472

So while he is bleating about his local ICU being at 75% capacity, double last year apparently, it has, er, never been below 73% in the past decade

 

[Bikeman78]

Pretty remarkable exchange between some hopeless Labour MP in Wales and Dan Wootton on Talk Radio:

https://twitter.com/talkRADIO/status/1318260086138150912

The best bit is this follow up tweet:

https://twitter.com/statsjamie/status/1318298512841449472

So while he is bleating about his local ICU being at 75% capacity, double last year apparently, it has, er, never been below 73% in the past decade

Therein lies the problem. The NHS was struggling long before March. Already something like two million on waiting lists which has now gone up to four million. Luckily I've had very little cause to use it but I do recall that when my wife was pregnant, the hospital was significantly late seeing us for every single appointment, even for early morning appointments!

 

[Bantamzen]

Just watching the paper review on BBC, and half the ones they show seem to have headlines regarding the negative effects of lockdown.

The narrative in the printed media seems to be changing.

I noticed that this morning. My slight fear is that this may lead to Westminster rushing through more Level 3 restrictions or a dreaded "circuit breaker" before too much more public opinion turns against them, as one last gasp effort to "beat the virus". But at least minds are starting to re-focus on the whole cost of all these restrictions, with the economic and now revealed non-covid health factor.

Pretty remarkable exchange between some hopeless Labour MP in Wales and Dan Wootton on Talk Radio:

https://twitter.com/talkRADIO/status/1318260086138150912

The best bit is this follow up tweet:

https://twitter.com/statsjamie/status/1318298512841449472

So while he is bleating about his local ICU being at 75% capacity, double last year apparently, it has, er, never been below 73% in the past decade

I can't remember a time in the last few decades the NHS wasn't struggling. This is what happens when you under-fund it. If only we hadn't p***ed over £300 billion against the wall in the "war on the virus" we'd have a big bag of money to give it, including proper pay increases for it's staff.

 

[DB]

I noticed that this morning. My slight fear is that this may lead to Westminster rushing through more Level 3 restrictions or a dreaded "circuit breaker" before too much more public opinion turns against them, as one last gasp effort to "beat the virus".

I suspect there would be an all-out revolt from the backbenches of the Tory party if they tried this!

 

[kristiang85]

I can't remember a time in the last few decades the NHS wasn't struggling. This is what happens when you under-fund it. If only we hadn't p***ed over £300 billion against the wall in the "war on the virus" we'd have a big bag of money to give it, including proper pay increases for it's staff.

This 100%. Every winter there are stories of beds reaching capacity; it has been the case all my life. I remember last winter, ages before COVID, the Guardian did a big front page on a child in a corridor of a hospital as there were no beds for him. The government has always insisted it is normal for winter, and never done anything about it as they say the funding is adequate.

Why is not a single MP or reputable journalist just straight up asking Hancock why this is so different. I can't imagine how many billions have been spent on furlough, or been lost in taxation (direct and indirect), but the extra funding needed by the NHS to alleviate many of its problems is probably a fraction of that (although getting rid of an entire tier of useless non-medical middle managment would probably help too).

 

[jtuk]

Can't remember the last time I saw Hancock on media that isn't just regurgitating Government propaganda is why

 

[HSTEd]

So reports in the Graun that SAGE are now complaining that the Government iis not listening to them about the damage being done to children.........

The damage done by the policies you demanded?
Yeah yeah, its not a weak attempt to shift the blame now the backlash is building.

 

[Ianno87]

So reports in the Graun that SAGE are now complaining that the Government iis not listening to them about the damage being done to children.........

What damage? As far as I'm concerned for my kids they are far better being out in education or on days out and learning/developing than shut in locked down.

 

[Darandio]

Plenty of coverage this morning about the midday deadline for Greater Manchester which has now passed. But not enough emphasis on how stupid and weak it's making this lot look.

If tier 3 was so immediately important to preserving lives, it would already be implemented and they wouldn't be publicly arguing about money. How many people in the area are going to be looking at this and thinking they will just ignore the restrictions anyway because it obviously wasn't important enough to have happened already?

 

[HSTEd]

What damage? As far as I'm concerned for my kids they are far better being out in education or on days out and learning/developing than shut in locked down.

Well Children already lost 4 months of schooling, and with the inevitable slide towards eternal lockdowns it will get worse

 

[Yew]

Plenty of coverage this morning about the midday deadline for Greater Manchester which has now passed. But not enough emphasis on how stupid and weak it's making this lot look.

If you want to be authoritative, you can never make a threat that you don't follow through on.

 

[Darandio]

If you want to be authoritative, you can never make a threat that you don't follow through on.

Well if there was no agreement an hour ago, he's got to make the decision for them hasn't he. He said he would.

 

[Scotrail12]

One of the best places for COVID related news is TalkRadio - might not be your cup of tea but I really appreciate that their presenters do actually question restrictions and push the idea that lockdowns are a bad idea.

Never thought I'd agree with Dan Wootton but there's 2020 for you.

 

[Bletchleyite]

One of the best places for COVID related news is TalkRadio - might not be your cup of tea but I really appreciate that their presenters do actually question restrictions and push the idea that lockdowns are a bad idea.

You mean it's an echo chamber? Biased media is the worst media. I shan't be partaking.

LBC is a bit better, I'm finding; their presenters do more devil's advocacy, which brings better debate than an echo chamber. Talk radio is best when the presenter empathises with but challenges every caller, as long as they do it in a reasoned way. I have no issue with them stating their opinion, but pushing it on callers produces a very poor quality programme.

 

[Scotrail12]

The best thing was the Chris Bryant MP vs Dan Wootton debate last night. Wootton strongly criticised the lockdown in Wales and questioned Bryant on it. Bryant was incapable of giving answers and resorted to cheap insults so got thrown off the show.

It just exposes these MP's for who they really are - it's tyranny to put in these sorts of measures and refuse to be questioned fairly on them.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Surprised no-one has commented on today’s front page of the free Metro newspaper.
Finally, reporting of the devastating effects of focussing on Covid to the detriment of almost everything else

 

[jtuk]

Nobody's mentioned the Metro as it's only given away on trains which nobody is using

 

[kristiang85]

Surprised no-one has commented on today’s front page of the free Metro newspaper.
Finally, reporting of the devastating effects of focussing on Covid to the detriment of almost everything else

Well it was one of the ones they talked about on BBC that I referred to in my comment last night.

The Daily Mail has done a big piece too on this: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...rable-patients-laid-bare.html#article-8856959 It has collected data from various sources to work out the collatoral damage.

To summarise (see the article for sources, if you can cope with the horrid formatting of the DM site):
- 26.7m fewer GP appointments between March and August in England and Wales compared to 2019
- 25k+ more people have died at home in England and Wales, 43.8% more than normal (averaging an extra 100 people a day).
- Urgent cancer referrals in England fell by 350,000 between April and August (89% down)
- Between 45-66% less chemotherapy procedures performed in April alone
- Within a year 6,270 extra English cancer patients will have died due to lack of treatment in the pandemic
- There were 12% of endoscopies for bowel cancer during lockdown compared to normal (5% at one point), potentiallyb between 650-2,250 excess bowel cancer deaths.
- 2,000 excess deaths estimated for breast, lung and oesophagael cancer.
- There was an 8% increase in deaths from heart attacks and strokes (2,100 excess deaths). Number of people treated for strokes fell by 45%.
- A&E visits fell by 50% in lockdown.
- Average number of organ transplants per day fell from 11.6 to 3.1 during lockdown; those who died whilst waiting for a transplant increased to 87 in lockdown from 47 in the same period last year.
- Waiting list for orthopaedic operations have risen by more than a third to 700,000
- More than 600,000 are waiting for eye procedures (cataracts, etc.)
- 50,000 children in England had scheduled operations cancelled. 9 cases confirmed of children dying due to treatment being delayed.
- Depression rates have doubled from 1 in 10 to 1 in 5 people.
- 18% adults had suicidal thoughts in first month of lockdown.
- NSPCC emergency hotline went gfrom an average of 5,593 a week befroe lockdown to 8,287 in May.
- Calls to domestic abuse charity refuge were up 50% in April over the average.

Even if half of this is true, it makes your eyes water.

 

[Wychwood93]

Nobody's mentioned the Metro as it's only given away on trains which nobody is using

On a few days away in West Sussex last week I noted that it was also available on the Stagecoach buses. Passenger numbers reasonable to 'full' on a single decker - 19 the maximum allowed.