For lack of a better idea or topic, the Ebola "crisis" has swept the Western world. Ever since "Patient Zero" arrived in America, the media and government officials have blown up the news. Every correspondent believes they have the best solution of how to deal with Ebola entering the US. While some believe we should essentially quarantine Western Africa and ban travel from that region to the US, others believe that we should welcome the infected and treat them accordingly, as the United States is more than able to do so.
Regardless of which option is the right one to pursue, I believe that mainstream media has not handled the reporting of the disease in an appropriate and effective way. They have been overdramatic and have taken advantage of the false hysteria that many Americans were most likely feeling when the stories first began to reveal themselves. After the first American case was confirmed, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) held a press conference assuring citizens that they should not be alarmed, and they should take the proper precautions if they are in the presence of someone who is infected. I believe the media should have spent more time advertising safe practices of personal health and informing the public on what to look for as far as symptoms of Ebola and how it is spread, rather than mindlessly blow up the situation and make unnecessary speculations and hypothetical scenarios.
This criticism is mostly aimed at the 24 hour news networks who are forced to make stories out of nothing. Rather than blow smoke at 2 or 3 domestic cases of a disease, people should be more concerned about the thousands of cases in Western Africa.
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