Covering a Pandemic When Institutions Go Dark

On the Media

• Episode: Covering a Pandemic When Institutions Go Dark
• Website: On the Media
• Feed URL: http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia
• Duration: 00:14:57
• Published: 2020-03-04 18:00

As the global death toll from novel coronavirus continues to increase, the American media are looking to national public health institutions to make sense of the scope and severity of the damage. Much reporting has come from semi-regular phone pressers with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. But over the past week, the CDC telebriefings have shifted — in tone, substance and frequency.

Gothamist senior editor Elizabeth Kim has listened in on the CDC coronavirus press briefings since the outbreak began in January. For this podcast extra, Kim joins Brooke to discuss what she and other reporters need from the CDC right now to keep the public informed in the face of a possible pandemic.