Adele M. Brodkin, Ph.D., is a psychologist, a senior child
development consultant and an author for Scholastic, and the
mother of two and grandmother of five. We have a new instance of
“Blame the Messenger”: this time it’s the media for frightening
the public about a possible flu epidemic. But what else could
the media do? We are told that the swine flu situation is in
flux. It’s a new strain to humans, so no one can’t predict the
risks entailed. How widespread will it be? How long will it be
around? How sick will its victims get? Is this just a preview of
a bad situation in the next flu season? What will it leave in
its wake? How prepared are we? The President tells us that his
administration is taking this very seriously, monitoring it, but
not panicking. We are told too that we are prepared with plenty
of medication and authorities are keeping a close watch. I
personally think that the media is doing a measured and
appropriate job. They are reporting the incidence in different
locals, the death rate (which