Three Things the Press Must Learn to Say… and a Bonus

1. “That’s a characterization; lets’ talk about behaviors.”
2. “Those are absolute numbers; let’s discuss percentages.”
3. “Do you deny that ______________ ? So I’ll take your unwillingness to deny it as an admission of its truth.”

And when asked why we should shut down our economy for the coronavirus, if the flu killed 80,000 people in 2018 and 8,000 people die every day anyway, the press must say this:

1. Covid-19’s is at least 10 times more deadly than the flu.
2. Covid-19 is 5 times more contagious than the flu.
3. Covid-19 is 15 times more likely to put you in the hospital.
4. Covid-19 causes hospital visits that are twice as long as the flu.