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The Irish media hysteria

RunningFlyer

Forgive me for starting a thread if one already exists - I’ve read so many different threads and posts I’ve probably missed the obvious however...

It seems everyone is waiting daily for the 6pm figures to find out the latest cases and deaths situation. It’s scary to see how every single media outlet in this country is putting all their attention on this (yes, gloom sells). Not just RTE, but the other stations and every single paper has the latest on the front page in some form or another.

Contrast this to European media - search any of the national news channels or newspapers and you’ll find its never (usually) the top story. They are over the initial panic and are I guess realise they are in for the long haul with this virus.

People here are only obsessed with three things; deaths, cases and the “R” number. I’m not a Statistician or epidemiologist but a few weeks ago when there was concern and hype raised over the R number increasing beyond 1 on the basis of 20 odd cases or so made me completely lose faith in the strategy of the government/NPHET. 10mins reading about R numbers will prove it’s not an effective measurement with low numbers yet this was peddled across the media.

The fear-mongering of the Irish media is seriously starting to affect the mental health of the population - I’m sure everyone has witnessed it on a personal level either themselves or their friends/family. If you’re get stressed I highly recommend deleting the news apps, distract yourself around 6pm when you know the figures will be released, and try enjoy the last of the long days and sunshine because if the current media narrative continues, it’s going to be a miserable winter.

Ireland needs to evolve from our sheepish culture and learn to think outside the box and make our own opinions of matters. The media need to tone down the hysteria and the government need to realise this virus is here to stay so have to start making some difficult decisions against the ultra-conservative NPHET advice to safeguard the country.

Thoughts?

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paw patrol

Deleted User wrote: »

What we did, undoubtedly worked

welding people into their houses in china worked too.
doesn't mean it was appropriate and the consequences will be long lasting.

Not denying covid was "a thing" but the whole reaction was hysterical and overblown. Concern for certain grouping on society causing all other sections to be ignored and have the rights trampled on.

Protecting grannys sounds noble but we introduced hugely damaging policies on an entire population for only a few.

there were much better ways.

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What we did, undoubtedly worked

We’re an island with a young population and the longest lockdown in Europe. I’d be surprised if we were topping the death charts.

But we are topping the debt charts. But who cares about that sort of stuff anymore.

finalfurlong

paw patrol wrote: »

welding people into their houses in china worked too.
doesn't mean it was appropriate and the consequences will be long lasting.

Not denying covid was "a thing" but the whole reaction was hysterical and overblown. Concern for certain grouping on society causing all other sections to be ignored and have the rights trampled on.

Protecting grannys sounds noble but we introduced hugely damaging policies on an entire population for only a few.

there were much better ways.

RTE surpassesd themselves last night with comment on ICU at 23 "an increase of one on yesterday "!they made no reference when saying cases were 248-which is the lowest in year to date.Beyond a joke if they feel it is okay not to see that as worth a mention

Feria40

[Deleted User] wrote: »

1x opinion piece

2x good common sense based on what we know is happening in the UK. They will be getting the second over the next few weeks

I can't agree.

A headline saying "won't be allowed travel" is awful clickbait. The piece then goes on to say won't be allowed travel without a negative test which is correct.

Chivito550

Shameful SCAREMONGERING.

https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1404381985364193282?s=19

mcsean2163

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What we did, undoubtedly worked

I blogged about it here.

https://seanmcm.medium.com/how-strict-have-the-covid-19-lockdown-restrictions-been-in-ireland-22c80ea06222

We've a young population but spent the most in EU per capita on covid19 and yet Finland seemed to do markedly better.

I'm not even sure if it helped old people much either. Hearing terrible stories of isolation and non covid19 deaths. It'd be a sad end to quarantine for a year and then die, the funeral number limitation is not great at all.

Wibbs

Deleted User wrote: »

We’re an island with a young population and the longest lockdown in Europe. I’d be surprised if we were topping the death charts.

But we are topping the debt charts. But who cares about that sort of stuff anymore.

Never mind that we've one of the lowest population densities and far more people living in non communal housing too. Add all of that up and we should have had one of the lowest mortality rates in Europe.

The Czech Republic is an interesting case. They were the first to mandate masks, had extensive testing and tracking, border restrictions and a lockdown. This resulted in one of the lowest mortality rates in the West. They had deaths in the hundreds when the rest of Europe had them in the thousands. Then the restrictions started to be eased and their cases and deaths went massively up.

The more I look at the overall picture of this pox it seems to me at least that lockdowns and other public health moves do work, but that they "flatten the curve" of deaths more than massively reduce them. That inevitably until the population is vaccinated a percentage of people over 70 are going to die from it.

It is an odd pox though. Some countries/populations suffer much worse from it, it can have a delayed event in others. India an example. I'm not in the least bit surprised that there's an Indian variant or that India was hit hard by it. I am surprised that they seem to have near completely missed the first wave of it. If India had implemented a Czech Republic first time around I could understand it, but they don't have near the healthcare coverage and can barely stop their citizens defecating in the streets, so that isn't it.

[Deleted User]

mcsean2163 wrote: »

We've a young population but spent the most in EU per capita on covid19 and yet Finland seemed to do markedly better.

Finnish society is very different to irish. In Finland social distancing has always been a way of life.

AlekSmart

Wibbs wrote: »

Never mind that we've one of the lowest population densities and far more people living in non communal housing too. Add all of that up and we should have had one of the lowest mortality rates in Europe.

The Czech Republic is an interesting case. They were the first to mandate masks, had extensive testing and tracking, border restrictions and a lockdown. This resulted in one of the lowest mortality rates in the West. They had deaths in the hundreds when the rest of Europe had them in the thousands. Then the restrictions started to be eased and their cases and deaths went massively up.

The more I look at the overall picture of this pox it seems to me at least that lockdowns and other public health moves do work, but that they "flatten the curve" of deaths more than massively reduce them. That inevitably until the population is vaccinated a percentage of people over 70 are going to die from it.

It is an odd pox though. Some countries/populations suffer much worse from it, it can have a delayed event in others. India an example. I'm not in the least bit surprised that there's an Indian variant or that India was hit hard by it. I am surprised that they seem to have near completely missed the first wave of it. If India had implemented a Czech Republic first time around I could understand it, but they don't have near the healthcare coverage and can barely stop their citizens defecating in the streets, so that isn't it.

On-Street Defecation Indeed....India and Ourselves do have that in common recently....:rolleyes:

Mind you,the Mainstream Media appear to have lost interest in the awfullness of the Indian situation,with only the UK's experience of it now being pursued,when a bit of Fear on the streets is deemed necessary ?

Polar101

bubblypop wrote: »

Finnish society is very different to irish. In Finland social distancing has always been a way of life.

They also had a fairly simple regional three-tier restriction system, and a somewhat effective quarantine system during outbreaks. It all worked reasonably well, even though bureaucracy tried to make it more complicated by fine-tuning restrictions (which lead to silly situations such as maximum crowd of 6 at football matches, and some strange pub/restaurant restrictions).

Also, no-one wants to go to Finland for holidays, so less trouble with variants.

[Deleted User]

Polar101 wrote: »

Also, no-one wants to go to Finland for holidays, so less trouble with variants.

Except me

crooked cockney villain

paw patrol wrote: »

welding people into their houses in china worked too.
doesn't mean it was appropriate .

Actually, in a way, it was appropriate.

We had two choices.

Wipe the thing out, like China and Australia did, with proper travel restrictions, very heavy fines, heavy handed police

or

Live alongside it, as Sweden did.

We went for a bizarre third option- about 95% of what China and Australia did, but not the remaining 5% bit while being convinced the Swedish approach was totally wrong.

End result- far longer lockdowns than China and Australia ever endured, yet ended up with pretty much the same end results as Sweden that remained relatively open.

An absolute comedy show for which various members of government should be jailed.

crooked cockney villain

Kingston Mills in the Indo "after one dose of AZ 3 out of 10 people could end up in hospital if they get exposed to the Delta variant"

A figure pulled completely out of the hole. 3 in 10 likely wouldn't realise they had it never mind go to hospital.

[Deleted User]

crooked cockney villain wrote: »

Kingston Mills in the Indo "after one dose of AZ 3 out of 10 people could end up in hospital if they get exposed to the Delta variant"

A figure pulled completely out of the hole. 3 in 10 likely wouldn't realise they had it never mind go to hospital.

Find that hard to believe

Deeper Blue

Quote from an ad for RTE News that came on there during the Euros:

"It's important to report the facts, not chase clicks and likes"

I have no words

TefalBrain

finalfurlong wrote: »

RTE surpassesd themselves last night with comment on ICU at 23 "an increase of one on yesterday "!they made no reference when saying cases were 248-which is the lowest in year to date.Beyond a joke if they feel it is okay not to see that as worth a mention

They are long past even attempting to be a proper news organisation at this stage. They are closer to a propaganda wing of the government at this stage than actual journalists. Pathetic really but that's what we are stuck with.

NIMAN

crooked cockney villain wrote: »

Kingston Mills in the Indo "after one dose of AZ 3 out of 10 people could end up in hospital if they get exposed to the Delta variant"

A figure pulled completely out of the hole. 3 in 10 likely wouldn't realise they had it never mind go to hospital.

I honestly think these experts are afraid that they won't be needed on TV or radio soon, and we are watching the death throes of them, doing their best to keep the media hyped up, and keep the population scared, so they will be invited back on to talk about the virus.

And with RTE, I think they might just get their wish.

namloc1980

Prime Time are doing Delta variant special tonight and the impact it could have on reopening. Would they ever just fook off. RTE are an absolute thundering disgrace. They're going to frighten many many people tonight with this nonsense.

MadYaker

namloc1980 wrote: »

Prime Time are doing Delta variant special tonight and the impact it could have on reopening. Would they ever just fook off. RTE are an absolute thundering disgrace. They're going to frighten many many people tonight with this nonsense.

Is this a joke post? The program hasn’t even aired and you’re already whining about it.

namloc1980

MadYaker wrote: »

Is this a joke post? The program hasn’t even aired and you’re already whining about it.

No joke. It was on the news there. Special tonight on delta and the impact on reopening. It won't be a happy clappy show I can guarantee you that. But maybe it might be??

Silentcorner

MadYaker wrote: »

Is this a joke post? The program hasn’t even aired and you’re already whining about it.

To be fair, you don't have to be a genius to predict the thrust of the show....

Fann Linn

Silentcorner wrote: »

To be fair, you don't have to be a genius to predict the thrust of the show....

Only thing missing will be this lad.

TefalBrain

MadYaker wrote: »

Is this a joke post? The program hasn’t even aired and you’re already whining about it.

RTÉ have trived on misery and doom since this thing started. Its not a stretch to guess they will continue that tonight.

TefalBrain

Fann Linn wrote: »

Only thing missing will be this lad.

Joe Duffy?

Tenger

Irish Indo today has a scaremongering front page article warning of the imminent danger of 250K passengers a week arriving into Dublin airport.

Irish Govt isnt implementing the DCC for another 4 weeks. Dublin airport currently is at less than 15% capacity and has about 5000 passengers a day. (c. 35K a week))

Silentcorner

Tenger wrote: »

Irish Indo today has a scaremongering front page article warning of the imminent danger of 250K passengers a week arriving into Dublin airport.

Irish Govt isnt implementing the DCC for another 4 weeks. Dublin airport currently is at less than 15% capacity and has about 5000 passengers a day. (c. 35K a week))

They are some shower of scumbags....probably reporting the Euros from cities all over Europe and don't mention the packed stadiums, pubs, cafes.....

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

namloc1980 wrote: »

Prime Time are doing Delta variant special tonight and the impact it could have on reopening. Would they ever just fook off. RTE are an absolute thundering disgrace. They're going to frighten many many people tonight with this nonsense.

There are more members of nphet than people in ICU with covid...yet here we are a year and a half in and RTE are still persisting with the bullshìt. It's over.

crooked cockney villain

What riles me is the vague bits of doom that lack context and statistics. All through the last few months:

"cases have more than doubled compared to this day last week". Figures will never be quoted. I've seen it last summer meaning 8 last Tuesday, 16 this Tuesday.

"In the UK hospitalisations, infections and deaths are on the rise"

How much of a rise? How many total Indian variant cases have there been, and how many hospitalisations have there been out of that, how many deaths, how many even felt sick?

Not a word on it, not a word.

Say 300,000 people catch the Indian variant, and 700 "die". Pick and monitor 300,000 random people for 28 days in a given year and, in a 28 day period, several hundred of them will die. X hundred thousand people having Covid and X amount of them dying is not a reflection of anything .

"More than X thousand frontline medical staff have been infected" at no point in the last 15 months have I seen it stated how many frontline meical staff are employed in Ireland.

I have seen plenty of scares about bed capacity, how many are occupying beds- not a single report on how many bed spaces Ireland has, and what the average occupancy rate is per month.

We don't get given numbers in context, we get thrown words like double, rising, infections.

Silentcorner

I was watching The Tonight Show back at the start, the show begins with a news bulletin.

"The amount of people who have died from Covid has increased"....I thought to myself, this is going to be a circus!!!

The highly emotive negativity of that headline is geared to frighten...I always thought it odd...in a pandemic I'd have thought that politicians and media would be trying to calm people down, I was wrong.

I switched off established media from then, I never trusted them before, but now I'll assume they are just trying to frighten us all the time be it climate, brexit etc...it's worse for your health than eating fast food every day.

M_Murphy57

Silentcorner wrote: »

I was watching The Tonight Show back at the start, the show begins with a news bulletin.

"The amount of people who have died from Covid has increased"....I thought to myself, this is going to be a circus!!!

The highly emotive negativity of that headline is geared to frighten...I always thought it odd...in a pandemic I'd have thought that politicians and media would be trying to calm people down, I was wrong.

I switched off established media from then, I never trusted them before, but now I'll assume they are just trying to frighten us all the time be it climate, brexit etc...it's worse for your health than eating fast food every day.

I saw one that said deaths in the UK amongst the vaccinated were "up 30%" as a result of delta. By which they meant a rise from 9 to 12 people (out of about 45 million who've had a vaccine )

Rte reported the "concerning delta plus" variant yesterday. Their concern was based on 40 cases in india where the popn is 950 million.