The University of Kansas Health System is treating a total of 25 COVID patients today, up from 22 yesterday. Other significant numbers:
- 9 with the active virus today, 6 yesterday
- 2 in ICU, same as yesterday
- 1 on ventilator, 0 yesterday
- 16 hospitalized but out of acute infection phase, same as yesterday
Key points from today’s guests:
Sean McNamara, news director, WDAF-TV
- From day one, first thought was how to keep staff safe
- Video conferencing changed the way news was gathered and presented
- Frustrating that nobody knew all of the answers at the beginning but learned the truth over time
- News media became gathering spot for people who couldn’t gather with friends or neighbors
Matt Waggoner, news director, KSHB-TV
- Nothing like this has ever happened in the news industry. Forced all media outlets to find different ways to operate
- Embraced the opportunity to present live-saving information to the community
- Sorting fact from fiction became one of biggest challenges. Sought trusted sources of scientific fact such as the Morning Medical Update
- Misinformation still travelling at a rate that is surprising to all in the media
Jesse Fray, news director, KSNT-TV
- Worked every day to provide information without scaring people
- Only recently resumed having news anchors back on same desk together
- Many newsgathering techniques born in the pandemic, such as Zoom interviews, are here to stay
- After 911, it was 15 days before that event was no longer mentioned in daily newscasts. COVID has been a part of every newscast since it began more than two years ago.
Natalie Davis, anchor/reporter, KWCH-TV
- Dealing with the politics of the pandemic was the most frustrating
- Important to acknowledge that facts on the pandemic can change. It doesn’t mean that what was said before was a lie or a political statement, but that information evolves
- Good, unbiased journalism is more important now than ever
- Most media members, especially those with families, eager for current information just like their viewers and listeners
Dana Wright, host, KMBZ radio
- She realized this was the biggest news story of her career when the Big 12 basketball tournament in Kansas City was shut down.
- It was “terrifying” not knowing what was going on and seeing how quickly people were getting sick and dying
- Radio talk show has advantage over TV newscasts in that hosts can call out listeners with incorrect information in real time
- Pandemic has taught the importance of the free flow of information
Scott Parks, host, KMBZ radio
- Trying to counter disinformation with factual science has become a “daily chore.”
- “Everybody is certainly entitled to their own opinions. Not everybody is entitled to their own facts.
- “It’s easy to be critical of the media. It’s very uncommon or difficult to critically examine what you’re getting from the media.”
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System
- CDC now investigating unexplained positive cases of hepatitis in young children.
- COVID has changed the way he sees patients. In the beginning, was heartbreaking to tell patients there was nothing he could give them. Now treatments are available.
- Is grateful to have had the news media to help spread unbiased and scientific facts to help keep the community healthy
Monday, April 25 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. This sixty-second screening can help save your life from the leading cause of cancer death among men and women. More people die of lung cancer than colon, breast and prostate cancers combined with the lowest survival rate by far... five years post-treatment. Like all cancers, catch it early and the odds of surviving are in your favor.
ATTENTION: media procedure for joining:
Zoom link: https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
Telephone Zoom link: 1-312-626-6799, meeting ID: 782 897 8628
TVU Grid link: UoK_Health_SDI
Restream links: Facebook.com/kuhospital
YouTube.com/kuhospital
Send advance questions to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.
