NAMPA — Over the last two weeks, you’ve seen newscasts, newspapers and news websites filled with content related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as designated by the World Health Organization as well as the Centers for Disease Control. These stories are impossible to avoid, and as they take up more and more of the news consumers turn to, it’s likely raised alarm and concern in your home and within your families.
Because of this, we at 6 On Your Side wanted to pull back the curtain a little and let you know what we’re doing to handle the novel coronavirus coverage.
We are putting information everywhere: TikTok to Twitter, Facebook to Roku, on our website, our app, and, of course, over-the-air to reach our community with vital information to keep your family healthy.
1. We will continue to note confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the numbers of official tests conducted within the state of Idaho with each day’s coverage. This coverage will hopefully keep you informed about what the situation is in our state while keeping national and international stories related to the outbreak in context.
2. We will not cover rumors of cases, anecdotal evidence of sickness or unconfirmed cases without proper contact with local health officials or proper and ethical sourcing.
3. We will not raise undue alarm of shortages of food, toilet paper or empty grocery store shelves until a time when supply chains within the state see evidence of actual disruption and not panic-buying.
4. We will not cover any story for the sake of ratings, clicks or advertising. Each day, management within our newsroom meets at least twice a day and much more often than that to evaluate the purpose of the coverage we’re doing, managing our resources most appropriately, and, most importantly: doing good for and in our communities.
We understand there’s a lot of anxiety, concern and fear related to what’s happening in our world. Please remember that the journalists we employ as producers, anchors and reporters are working non-stop to bring you the most accurate and appropriate coverage of what is happening in our neighborhoods, communities, cities and state. We live here with you, and the future of our community is also our future.
Thank you for trusting us during this time.
