MEDIA TURNS SWINE FLU FOR KCR

It’s common for politicians to blame the media for everything and Telangana State Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is not an exception. At the recent press conference on swine flu, Rao accused the media of “highlighting” a handful of swine flu cases and creating panic among the public. When a scribe asked, “Had the government responded fast and conducted awareness programmes to educate the public to check swine flu, could the situation have been better?” the Chief Minister said, “Awareness is required not for the public but for the media. Without knowing the facts, you people are highlighting a handful of swine flu cases daily, which is creating panic among public.” He, however, immediately acknowledged the role of the media in alerting the government about the intensity of swine flu in the state. “It is because of your reports, that we were alerted and sprung into action to contain swine flu. The cartoons in the media on swine flu cases also made us understand the ground realities, like doctors too were contracting swine flu and running from patients affected by the virus.”