Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

When will the media get it?

I read this article today from Meatingplace.com regarding the use of "H1N1 flu" in the media. I find it interesting that once the negativity hits the press box it is extremely hard to shake it. Not only is this important for the pork sector but it is also important for all of Agriculture to be up front and get the positives out there immediately and correct any misinformation (if that is possible?).

copied from meatingplace.com:

A scan of headlines — including those from news organizations that participated in teleconferences Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and other USDA officials held yesterday to implore the media not to call the H1N1 virus "swine flu" — do not reflect much change of heart by the mainstream media.

A look at headlines on news Web sites this morning turned up these:

* A Washington Post story was headlined, "Swine Flu Vaccine Works with One Shot." In its nineteenth paragraph, the story adds "The new virus, also known as H1N1…"

* Similarly, the New York Times headed its story "One Vaccine Shot Seen as Protective for Swine Flu." It refers in its first paragraph to "the new H1N1 swine flu vaccine."

* Time.com, a partnership between Time magazine and CNN, headlined a story this morning, "Pork, Stigmatized by Swine Flu, Gets a Government Bailout" — a reference to the $30 million pork purchase USDA announced last week. A headline on the site yesterday fared better: "Early Data Show H1N1 Vaccine Is Highly Effective."

On yesterday's media teleconference, a CNN correspondent countered that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses "swine flu" as a reference on its Web site because that's what people are searching for and that's what more people are familiar with.

"To get the information out, it is sometimes unavoidable to also include that in a story. So, I'm not sure how we can get around that," the reporter said.

One headline on the CDC Web site reads "2009 H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and You." A Washington Post item linking to the CDC Web site reads: "Centers for Disease Control: Swine Flu and You."

Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan disagreed that it would be problematic for the media to drop the inaccurate name tag.

"There may be some bridging you have to do … but I think that most of the American public has heard 'H1N1.' We have seen it written in your articles. We have heard it on the radio," she said. "So I don't think, unless there is massive amnesia out there, that people won't pick up on what you are trying to convey if you switch to the more appropriate nomenclature."

Views: 80

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by pigsrgr8 on September 12, 2009 at 3:59am
Hi Wayne: I think the mainstream media is more worried about headlines and Swine Flu is more colourful that HINI which does not scare anyone....They have heard the appeals from the pork industry and still don't give a sh**. I think the pork industry needs to make sure people don't link swine flu with food safety...the media are not going to give us a break.
Permalink Reply by Wayne Black on September 12, 2009 at 2:12pm
You are correct "Swine Flu is more colourful". People can relate to Swine but when you state H1N1 - the public say 'huh?'
A comment on H1N1 I received today was pretty accurate: "The only way to get people to use the correct terminology is to only use the correct terminology, Period."
So when a person is speaking to the media - do not refer to that other name, just say "H1N1 flu". So for Tom Vilsack to say "refer to H1N1 flu instead of the swine flu" does not help our cause. It would be better to not even mention that other name. That is one thing I stress when speaking with local media. One local writer I write it for them so they can not get it wrong. You have to be able to trust your main reporters (well trust them as much as you can trust media..)
Say it once to introduce it, so it again so they may write it down, and say it a third time so they remember.


pigsrgr8 said:
Hi Wayne: I think the mainstream media is more worried about headlines and Swine Flu is more colourful that HINI which does not scare anyone....They have heard the appeals from the pork industry and still don't give a sh**. I think the pork industry needs to make sure people don't link swine flu with food safety...the media are not going to give us a break.
Permalink Reply by Ron Steenbergen on September 18, 2009 at 3:54pm
It is really unbeleivable that the mis naming of something like this can cause so much damage!
Most in Europe refer to H1N1 as the "Mexican Flu" and it has not affected the pork industry very much.
If the media needs a new headline catching name is it too late to start refering to it as Mexican flu?, or TeQuila flu? (although I do not want to hurt the Tequila industry?)
The mis naming is not affecting NA consumption much - it becomes a much bigger issue in less Educated? countries where it is harder to shake the link and many consumers of pork still are not eating pork as they used to due to lack of education on the truth that the meat and the animal has nothing to do with the Flu!
Iff mis information spreads so easily perhaps it would be easy to implant the notion that eating copious amounts of pork builds a natural immunity to H1N1 so you do not need to run and get a rushed into production vaccine?

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Crop Undercount Raises Questions About Reliability of U.S.D.A. Data

The Agriculture Department projected last July that farmers would harvest 86.8 million acres of corn in autumn. The projection was repeatedly revised upward until, in January, the department found 1.3 million more acres of corn — an area larger than Delaware — and concluded that the final amount harvested was 91.3 million acres. “It was a miss. No other way to call it,” said Seth Meyer, who served as the department’s chief economist until leaving in December. The 5 percent undercount may seem small, but it was the department’s worst projection in recent memory. It came as the Trump administration was cutting staff at the Agriculture Department and as President Trump’s trade war raised prices for equipment and hurt exports. Some people in agriculture have become increasingly worried about the reliability of department data. That skepticism could lead to a breakdown of the historically close relationship between the department and farmers it serves, they said. “U.S.D.A. always had a

Weekly Crop Progress and Condition Report

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time. “April will go down as one of the wettest on record, and that moisture has helped ease drought conditions for the majority of the state,” said Secretary Naig. “Looking ahead, the forecast trends a bit cooler and drier through the first few weeks of May, which should give farmers a longer window to keep the planters running.” Crop Report There were 4.2 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 3, 2026, which is 1.0 day more than last year. Topsoil moisture condition rated 1 percent very short, 9 percent short, 81 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 2 percent very short, 13 percent short, 78 percent ade

Ten years of Canadian agricultural innovation through EMILI

This year marks the tenth anniversary of EMILI (Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative), the culmination of a group of community leaders working towards a common goal: to grow Canada’s economy, with a specific focus on advancing agtech in the Prairies. Jacqueline Keena, Managing Director, explained that EMILI “is an industry-led non-profit committed to driving agriculture innovation, partnership, and engagement. We provide innovators access to leading-edge equipment, technology, and production practices to increase productivity, sustainability, and profitability across the agriculture and agri-food sector.” At the heart of it all are the partnerships that EMILI cultivates between producers, industry leaders, investors and innovators. These stakeholders work together “to grow a sustainable, economically resilient digital agriculture industry.” This work is done in a number of ways. “We know that Canadian agriculture can lead the world through transformative innovati

This is Agriculture: Field Trial Modernization Scientist

As a field trial modernization scientist at Corteva Agriscience, Dr. Kevin Falk is dedicated to improving the way field scientists work. The lead on Corteva Agriscience’s spray drone trials taking place at EMILI’s Innovation Farms, Falk holds an M.Sc from the University of Manitoba, a Ph.D in Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Agronomy from Iowa State University, and an Advanced RPAS Pilot Certificate from Transport Canada. Here, Falk shares his path to becoming a field scientist, the importance of relationships in building his career, and some keen observations about the digital agriculture industry. Describe your job or product in one sentence. I build digital tools and workflows that help agricultural scientists work faster, smarter, and with better data, including AI models, drone systems, and automation platforms. Where did you grow up? Was it an agriculture or urban environment? I grew up in Carman, Manitoba, a town of about 3,000 people that punches way above its weight as an agric

Grain Bin Emergencies Turn Deadly in Seconds, but Training Can Save Lives

Grain entrapment kills within seconds, but a decade-long partnership between CASA and G3 is helping farmers and first responders prevent fatal accidents.

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service