“COVID-19 is a crisis in search of a narrative.” Those words, from Professor Sarah Oates of the University of Maryland Merrill College of Journalism, got me thinking.
She was talking about the stages journalists go through when covering a crisis:
1) The flood of news where a giant news hole opens and media outlets have a much bigger audience
2) Journalists focus on correcting errors, gathering data and bringing perspective to the situation
3) Finally, the stories become about memorializing the lives lost and take on a “resilience frame” (i.e. War on Terror after 9/11)
Professor Oates shared this explanation during a webinar for Merrill College alums entitled, “COVID-19 in the Age of Disinformation.” She and two of her colleagues spoke to the idea that the coronavirus creates an environment for chaos and opens the door for disinformation. They are watching how certain groups are spreading propaganda about NATO’s role and where the virus started.
As RoseComm helps clients navigate the current situation, we’ve found it unlike any other in recent history. With a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, a tragedy occurs, we scramble to assess/understand it and then we can begin to recover. I think the stages Professor Oates outlined fit events like Hurricane Sandy or 9/11.
COVID-19, on the other hand, is a crisis still in the making. One of our clients said, “There’s a big brick wall ahead of us and we are slowly skidding into it.” As we brace for impact, it’s important to listen to the narrative week to week and determine the right tone and voice for each organization. A global pandemic may not follow a linear path from chaos to resilience.
In fact, I don’t think the professors on the webinar were completely in alignment on which stage we are in with regard to coverage of the coronavirus. In many ways, it seems like we have a toe in all three. Just as we have to accept that life won’t be “normal” for some time, we need to embrace an uncertain context for communicating with our audiences in the coming months. COVID-19 may be in search of a narrative for the foreseeable future.