Media’s role in portraying pandemic

REPORTING REMASTERED Informing public of factual information has become ever more important

JACK SHIELDS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NICKY VARELA MANAGING EDITOR

In a time when the concept of “fake news” is widely publicized, media outlets face the growing challenge of maintaining honest reporting and establishing themselves as credible sources. Add a global pandemic and the 2020 general election to the mix, and the criticism of the press today only continues to grow. Despite the pressure placed on the media, it still plays a crucial role in reporting with integrity and informing audiences. This should be the priority of any news publication, including student media sources.

For students, the last seven months have presented challenging circumstances of social isolation. But as the new school year began, some students started making personal exceptions to social distancing guidelines. On Sept. 8, students got together for “Senior Sunrise,” a yearly tradition where senior girls meet up and take pictures on the football field before classes on their last first day of high school.

“Even though it’s coronavirus, we still have to maintain the small little traditions, or else we won’t have a real senior year at all,” senior Anna Rodriguez said.

The Highlander reported on the studentorganized event, posting one of many pictures taken of the gathering on our Instagram. Some students expressed their frustration that the photos showed seniors who were not social distancing or wearing masks.

All audiences are entitled to their criticism of media outlets and news publications, just as publications themselves have the freedom to print or post anything that they deem newsworthy. When publications face criticism for the material they publish, their top priority should still be to ensure that all relevant issues are reported on accurately.

“[Criticism] is part of news literacy. It’s a responsibility of living in this world,” said Caty Weaver, a reporter from Voice of America, a U.S.-owned international news organization. “That makes journalism better—demanding that you get the truth.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, public health guidelines play an important role in fighting the virus. But even though McLean students at the Senior Sunrise event did not practice social distancing or follow the mask mandate, it was still a newsworthy event and worth documenting the student activity.

“I don’t think anyone was trying to ignore social distancing,” Rodriguez said. “We tried just sticking to our friend groups, but the excitement of seeing our friends for the first time in months made us forget about it for a few minutes.”

[CRITICISM] IS PART OF NEWS LITERACY. IT’S A RESPONSIBILITY OF LIVING IN THIS WORLD.”

-CATY WEAVER VOICE OF AMERICA REPORTER

Still, the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic should not be downplayed. The McLean administration is already brainstorming ways to rework senior events and provide alternative ways to celebrate seniors.

“The administrative team will be meeting with senior class officers to try to find ways to recognize seniors this school year,” Principal Ellen Reilly said. “FCPS would like all schools to work together on this as well, and I am on a committee to start creating some ideas to do this school year.”

Fundamentally, a publication shouldn’t censor coverage of an event for the purpose of appealing to the public. All student activities in McLean are worth reporting on, although frustrations about students failing to follow health guidelines are not out of place. To voice any future complaints regarding our website, magazine or social media content, we encourage students to write letters to our editors to discuss these grievances.

“It’s not just news media, but all information that you receive, and if you find a flaw you should write to [the publication]. Or if you find something that you want to speak out about, you should write a letter to an editor or get a movement going,” Weaver said. “For people, that’s part of what makes journalism better.”