Dan Abrams Salutes The Media For Its Coronavirus Coverage: ‘Leading This Country In the Right Direction’
Mediaite founder and ABC chief legal analyst Dan Abrams saluted the news media for its coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, saying the institution has been “critical in leading this country in the right direction.”
“I believe the media has been critical in leading this country in the right direction,” declared Abrams during a monologue on SiriusXM’s The Dan Abrams Show Thursday, noting “When certain elements were saying it’s no different than the flu, the media interviewed experts who explained why it is, and was materially different and that much more dangerous. Finally, that narrative largely disappeared.”
“When people weren’t talking or taking social distancing seriously, so many in the media had experts explain why it was critical, and why something as simple as hand washing could make a big difference,” he continued. “When certain doubters, including in the administration, claimed that the country was prepared, it was the media that was on the ground at hospitals and nursing homes highlighting weaknesses by talking to the doctors and the nurses, and that helped to get critical supplies and move the supply chain forward.”
“No, it doesn’t mean that we got where we needed to be, but it helped. When some were saying this is all media hype, the mainstream media did not stop. Didn’t stop talking to the experts and telling the stories from the front lines,” Abrams explained. “And I am talking about the big news operations people love to hate. The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal ABC, NBC, CBS, and the often forgotten local news outlets telling their residents the sometimes hard and ugly truth.”
Abrams asked, “Does that mean everyone in the media was perfect? Of course not. Mistakes were made, certain things weren’t hyped enough. Some on the left unfairly attacked the president’s travel restrictions as going too far, when in actuality they should have been even more aggressive, while many on the right minimized the significance of the virus. But on the whole, the mainstream media’s performance has been more than admirable, with reporters risking their own safety to get the information from the ground. With reporters going to work when others were told to stay home.”
“I will reserve the word heroes for the first responders who are at a completely different level in terms of their sacrifice, but in a time when no one really wants to defend the sort of amorphous media, I will,” he concluded. “I will say I salute the vast and overwhelming majority of you who have done terrific work, and who have taken great risks, and endured slings and arrows to get the truth to the American people. And it appears to be working. You have helped. You have done a service to the country, and you must continue to do so.”
Listen above via SiriusXM’s The Dan Abrams Show.
