What Should Health Science Journalists Do in Epidemic Responses?

Abstract

Journalists have long covered outbreaks of infectious disease. In the history of global health journalism-from the 1721 Boston smallpox epidemic to the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak in China and Singapore and to recent outbreaks of Ebola in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo-newsrooms have wielded their power both responsibly and irresponsibly. This article examines journalism practice during the 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic and recommends strategies for improving epidemic reporting.