Up to today, it has been more than 3 months that the unprecedented disease SARS was first publicly reported, spread and under controlled in China. .
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In this essay, I would like to talk about the role of media in the social management during SARS and what we can learn and conclude from this lesson.
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Like many respiratory diseases, SARS is very easily spread in modern cities where the density of the population is considerably high. In many occasions when we are in the office, in the transportation or when we are having dinner or watching a movie, the high density of people in those areas are potential threats for a massive spread out of diseases like SARS. What I have seen in Hongkong and which I think is the most important tool in the management of modern cities during SARS is the role of the media. Everyday after 6:00pm, the health department of the HK government will announce to the public not only the number of the newly infected people, but also the names and the exact location of the building where newly infected people are found. Through the media, almost all HK citizens would be notified of those places so that they can avoid visiting. Another role of the media takes place in educating the public, SARS has been spreading very fast in a very short time, many people especially the old people didn't know what exactly they should do for themselves, similar problems may happen on the young children in the schools where their parents and teachers are not around. Through the effective propaganda of the appropriate preventive measurements of SARS by the media, the public can obtain the suitable information and the people are less likely to be infected.
The third critical function of the media comes from the social effects it can bring. In the Amoy Garden where many residents are infected and killed by SARS, quite some young children whose parents are killed. The government may not be quick enough to provide the immediate aid and the other necessary aids to those children.
