[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – The Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of public communication, as well as the need for institutions such as the media to build trust in their audiences, panelists said during a discussion on World News Day on Monday. (September 28).
Public communication is often overlooked as a pillar of response to outbreaks, the panel said, and having credible news organizations is critical to such communication.
The three panelists were the head of the National University Health System Medicine group, Professor Dale Fisher; Director of the Digital Media Program at Singapore University of Social Sciences, Dr June Tay; and Mr. Warren Fernandez, editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings of its English / Malay / Tamil media group and editor of The Straits Times.
The session, titled Tackling Covid-19: Getting It Right and How You Can Contribute, was held in The Straits Times newsroom and was streamed virtually. The session was moderated by Strategic Moves CEO and former NMP Viswa Sadasivan.
Professor Fisher, an infectious disease expert, said the lack of good risk communication and community involvement could lead to people not doing their part to slow the spread of disease.
“People always think about case management, infection prevention and control, testing, epidemiology, and epidemic curves that we have to flatten … but the final pillar is always risk communication, community participation.
“And if you’re wrong, this leads to a failed response,” said Professor Fisher, who is also chair of the steering committee of the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.
Fernández said that World News Day was an opportunity to defend that having credible media organizations is important to the public communications process.
“You need good public information, you need experts. But to complete that circle, you also need good and credible journalism,” said Fernández, who is also president of the World Editors’ Forum.
During this Covid-19 period, there has been an increase in the number of people accessing news from sources like ST, he said.
This hunger for information speaks to the question of trust and credibility.
What the newsroom has done is invest in correspondents, increasing their authority and credibility over the years so they can step up when such a crisis breaks out, he said.
Fernández said that the daily newspaper made the decision to place all content related to Covid-19 outside the paywall as a public service.
“We did that with some trepidation, as it has some business implications, but what we found was that our subscriptions increased, and that tells me that people value the information and decided ‘I need to know, and I’m prepared to’ pay, ‘” he added.
When asked how strong trust is between various institutions and the public in Singapore and around the world, Professor Fisher said: “You will notice it when you don’t have it.”
This may not be a problem in Singapore, but other countries are struggling because of this lack of confidence, he said.
Since this is a community outbreak, it is the community that must be part of the solution.
“This is not going to be solved by politicians and health workers. It is the community that needs to hear the messages … and be part of the response,” added Professor Fisher.
In her opening statement, Dr. Tay from the SUSS School of Science and Technology said that Covid-19 has not only brought risks and challenges, but also opportunities in the digital space.
For example, some real estate agents started making virtual reality videos to show clients’ houses. The pandemic also accelerated the use of remote meeting tools like Zoom, he said.
Responding to a question from the audience about how people can adapt as certain jobs are phased out with the advent of the digital economy, Dr. Tay said it was important to harness creativity and the “human touch,” or emotional intelligence, to create more attractive products and services.
“If you see some durian sellers doing live broadcasts, it’s actually very exciting. They can engage the audience and show their personality. So we really have to think about how we do things in different ways,” he said.
[ad_2]
