Copyright 2001 Burrelle's Information Services
ABC
News
SHOW: World News This Morning (6:00 AM ET) -
ABC
October 18, 2001 Thursday
TYPE: Profile
LENGTH: 374
words
HEADLINE: Too much media coverage of
terrorism threat and anthrax scare making Americans anxious
ANCHORS: DEREK McGINTY
REPORTERS: DEAN REYNOLDS
BODY:
DEREK McGINTY, anchor:
And finally, the media coverage of the
terrorist threat and the anthrax scare. Is information power or does nonstop
coverage simply alarm people? ABC's Dean Reynolds checked out some public
perceptions.
Unidentified Newscaster #1: Now for the latest, as America
strikes back...
DEAN REYNOLDS reporting:
(VO) For more than a
month...
Unidentified Newscaster #2: Seven cases of anthrax in
Florida...
REYNOLDS: (VO) ...we have been bombarded with bad news, and
for some Americans, it is too much. Linda Prince teaches middle school in
Minnesota.
Ms. LINDA PRINCE: The veil of apprehension that we feel now
that we've never felt before is a lot harder to lift when it's ever present on
television and in the headlines.
REYNOLDS: (VO) Gina Miness is a nursing
supervisor in Chicago.
Ms. GINA MINESS: It's way too much. It's putting
fear into everybody when it doesn't need to be.
Unidentified Woman: It's
not scaring me. No, I don't think that it's scaring people.
REYNOLDS:
(VO) Scary or not, there are complaints about other aspects of the coverage.
Shirley McMann is a retiree in Florida.
Ms. SHIRLEY McMANN: I feel like
we're telling the enemy more than we need to. There's just so much coverage that
it seems like we're letting them know where we're vulnerable.
REYNOLDS:
(VO) Heidi Fackleman, a mother from Reno, says she's missing other news.
Ms. HEIDI FACKLEMAN: The world didn't stop because this happened.
There's lot of other stuff still going on.
REYNOLDS: (VO) With all the
hoaxes and evacuations recently, many said reporting must be cautious.
Dr. DAVID ZEICH (Northwestern Memorial Hospital): Anthrax is not an
effective way of reeking mass destruction, but what it is an effective way of
doing is creating mass hysteria. And the United States media is partially
responsible for that.
REYNOLDS: (VO) Many people said, if others are
anxious, they can stop reading papers or watching television, but at a time like
this, few seem willing to do that. Dean Reynolds, ABC News, Chicago.
McGINTY: And we will have the latest coming up on "Good Morning
America."
I'm Derek McGinty. Thank you for watching WORLD NEWS THIS
MORNING. You have a great day. Bye-bye.
LOAD-DATE:
October 18, 2001 
