Be the Voice of Reason

Imagine “reason” as a continuum: from 1 (everything is normal) to 10 (the world is about to come to an end). When it comes to the coronavirus, I’ll leave it to you to determine where the mainstream media stands on this continuum. For radio however, I encourage you to position your station to be the voice of reason for your market.

Strategy and Resources

If you’re looking for a strategic starting point, consider the Center for Disease Control. There’s a wealth of facts here about COVID-19.

• For the majority of people the immediate risk of being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to be low.

• There is no widespread circulation in most communities in the United States.

• As of 3/17/2020, the current number of COVID-9 cases in the US is 4226. That equates to 0.001% of the population.

• The virus is spread primarily through moisture drops transmitted person to person. While there is a possibility of contracting the virus by touching a contaminated surface and then your eyes, nose or mouth, this is not the primary way the virus is spread. That’s because the virus has poor survivability on surfaces.

More Ready-to-Go Info

The CDC.Gov’s FAQ page also has a wealth of hysteria-reducing information. It’s an incredibly valuable source for your talent and station.

Likewise the CDC’s Assessing and Managing Risk page is a no-hype destination for those who believe they may have come in contact with an infected person. The page also contains plenty of additional factual and fear-free information.

Each of these sources are excellent starting points if your station is to be the voice of reason. They can help you populate a factual and continually updated web page for your listeners and advertisers.

B2B

Speaking of advertisers, McKinsey & Company has great advice here for businesses. Sales people can help their clients by sharing.

Forbes recently posted this piece on coronavirus perception vs. reality.

Meanwhile the Guardian offers nine reasons to feel reassured including 1) we know what the virus is, 2) we can test for it, 3) we can contain it, and 4) it’s not that easy to catch.

Bottom Line

While I am urging your station to be the voice of reason, I am in no way dismissing COVID-19 as a legitimate health concern. In fact, more cases will likely be reported.  

Instead I support and believe in following whatever preventative measures the government and the medical community recommend.

However I do reject and condemn fear-mongering of any kind but especially that which preys on people’s anxiety.

Rather, as I see it, we currently have a unique opportunity – indeed a responsibility – to fulfill radio’s purpose of serving our community. And we can do this by being the source of panic-free, useful, actionable, and normalizing information.

Whether you choose to postpone some promotional efforts is a station-by-station call.

However what should absolutely not be up for discussion is helping our listeners and advertisers by spreading facts instead of fear.

So let’s commit to strategy that allows us to be a caring and comforting resource for all those who’ve been having COVID-19 nightmares.

Let’s be the voice of reason.

And oh yes. Let’s keep washing our hands.

Related:

Expecting the Unexpected: Preparing Now to Manage a Future Crisis

Sources you might find helpful:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html#reporting-cases

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/talking-with-children.html

Image by Renate Köppel from Pixabay 

© Mike O’Malley, O’Malley Media Group, LLC, 2020