The mainstream media repeated the same playbook and failed to cover news that Michigan issued an order for its nursing homes to house coronavirus-positive patients. Michigan’s policy mirrored New York’s nursing home order, which was reversed this week by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
None of the mainstream media outlets covered Michigan’s policy on nursing homes. ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, CNN and NBC News have not reported on the policy.
Detroit-based newspaper Detroit News headlined the controversy, “Republican lawmakers press Whitmer on nursing home order.” Detroit News reported that the “month-old executive order” may have contributed to nursing home deaths due to the coronavirus. So far, 687 deaths from the virus have been nursing home residents, which Michigan officials said was inaccurate data and that the death toll could be higher.
Michigan officials defended the policy, saying that it enabled the state to provide adequate care for infected patients. Also, they said that patients can be transferred to hospitals if nursing homes did not have a special coronavirus unit or lacked adequate personal protective equipment for its staff.
It took over a month for the mainstream media to report on the New York nursing homes order, despite Cuomo admitting that nursing homes were a hot spot for the coronavirus’s spread. In the case of Michigan’s nursing home policy, the local media also took a month’s time to review the potential fallout from the enacted policy. The national media has yet to report on the controversy.
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Spencer Irvine graduated from Brigham Young University in International Relations and currently works as a staff writer for Accuracy in Media.
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