Reporting Covid

The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was devastating for India devouring thousands of lives in a matter of few months and jolting the country’s healthcare system to the core. The governments at the centre and in the states were struggling to cope up with the high number of mortalities and the rising demand for medical oxygen. It was one of the worst crises in recent history and a telling tale of human suffering. Media houses across the world realized how one of the biggest stories of this century was unfolding in the Indian subcontinent. With it began the barrage of reporting as international media houses like CNN and The New York Times started covering the wave from the suburbs of India. We saw reporters holding their mics and asking tough questions to healthcare workers who were already struggling with an over-flowing number of patients and the lack of oxygen in hospitals. We also saw scribes reporting from the crematoriums showing how bodies after bodies piled up waiting to be laid to rest. While for the first few weeks of the chaos, the story was extensively covered and one could understand why. The relentless critique of the country’s government by the international media made one question whether it was fair to do so since some of the advanced European countries too had struggled with the virus even with their top-notch healthcare systems. This is not to say that the government did not falter. However, the challenge was entirely novel and any country in this world would have, more or less, struggled the same way India did. The only point to make is whether reporting of the second wave by the global media houses could have been a little accommodative. Though not as accommodative as the majority of the national media houses tried to be. If one questions the way global media covered the pandemic in India, one is bound to also question the silence and at times the ridiculous rebuttals some top media houses in the country aired. A responsible media would have found a middle path to ensure that human suffering and the failure of the government was covered in the most professional manner. That people were allowed to mourn their loved ones and not being compelled to talk about the deaths as their bodies lined up to be cremated and buried. While covering this pandemic, one must keep in mind the very challenges it brings with its new variants and how tough it is to keep it at bay. Health has always been a vital beat to report for any media hub. It has always been covered by scribes who have had years of experiencing telling its stories. The pandemic, however, threw everyone including the top health experts off-guard. So, it is only natural that people fighting the virus at all levels are given some consideration for any loopholes out there.