Home Login RADIO ONLINE RSS Facebook
Advertisement

News Media Wants Front-line Journalists in Early Vaccine Phases


Several news media organizations today sent a letter to the committee advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about COVID-19 vaccine distribution requesting that journalists providing critical and essential functions in their communities be included in early phases of vaccine deployment. While highlighting the risk to journalists who are in the field reporting about health care workers and patients, meeting with people in essential businesses and covering rallies, protests and public events, the letter clearly specifies that the most at-risk populations should come first.

The news media organizations support prioritizing vaccines for front-line health care workers, first responders and others providing critical support, as well as the most at-risk populations. However, the letter urges the committee to consider the essential role of journalists and the risks they encounter as it develops subsequent phases of vaccine deployment.

In the letter to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the news media organizations highlight the essential role journalists have played during the pandemic as a lifeline of important health information. The letter also notes the role the media is certain to play during the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, including, "educating Americans about the importance of vaccination, as well as aiding in the monumental task of informing the public about the logistics of the vaccine's dispersal around the country."

The letter notes that, during the course of their work to provide the public with essential information, journalists are at risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus. "To continue providing these critical services, however, journalists cannot simply work from home, but must interact with government officials and the public to report on the stories that matter, regardless of the risks they must assume," reads the letter. "Despite efforts to protect themselves and the public, members of the media are necessarily exposed to the COVID-19 virus while doing their jobs and serving as ‘first informers' in local communities across the country."

Signing onto the letter are the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the News Media Alliance (NMA), the America's Public Television Stations (APTS), the Asian Americans Journalists Association (AAJA), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the National Newspaper Association (NNA), the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), the News Leaders Association (NLA), NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ).

Advertisement

Latest Radio Stories

Report: Majority of U.S. Voters Trust Public Media
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
As the Senate prepares to vote on the Rescissions Act of 2025 -- which would eliminate $1.1 billion in previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) -- a new national poll finds that most U.S. voters trust and value public media more than commercial More

NRRC Welcomes New Natl. Radio Network & Syndication Members
The Network Radio Research Council (NRRC)
The Network Radio Research Council (NRRC)
The Network Radio Research Council (NRRC) has announced the addition of leading research professionals from several major national audio companies, including Audacy Networks, Compass Media Networks, Entravision, Key Networks-United Stations, and Reach Media. The expansion brings a More

Quu Visual Radio Ads Boost Purchase Intent by 89%
Cumulus Media and Westwood One
Cumulus Media and Westwood One
New research finds that in-dash visuals synced with AM/FM radio ads can dramatically increase purchase intent and brand engagement, offering a new frontier for audio advertising. In this week's Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog, studies from Quantilope and System1/JCDecaux examine the More
Advertisement

Rising Through the Ranks 2025 Scholarship Recipients Revealed
Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB)
Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB)
The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) and Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio, Inc. (MIW) have revealed the 26 scholarship recipients selected for this year's Rising Through the Ranks program. Designed to foster the next generation of female leadership in the radio industry, the annual initiative combines More

Radio Milwaukee Adds Jon Adler and Maggie Corry
Jon Adler
Jon Adler
Veteran Milwaukee radio personality Jon Adler is returning to local airwaves, joining Radio Milwaukee's WYMS (88Nine) as Assistant Program Director and weekday evening host. Starting Monday, Adler will be on the air from 6-10pm and will also helm a new Saturday request show, "Let's Hear It!," debuting August More

CPR Approves FY 2026 Budget, Welcomes Three New Members
Colorado Public Radio (CPR)
Colorado Public Radio (CPR)
During its annual meeting, Colorado Public Radio's board of directors approved its budget and work plan for the new fiscal year beginning July 1, while also announcing the addition of three new members to its governing board: Carrie Okizaki, Arnold Salazar, and Sruta Vootukuru. The three incoming members More

Return to Menu

Advertisement

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Radio news and headlines delivered right to your e-mail box -- and it's free.

Advertisement

Advertisement