PJ Media

PJ Mediahttps://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2009/04/29/is-swine-flu-the-media-flu/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 06:42:07 -0400Is "Swine Flu" the "Media Flu"?<![CDATA[I don’t know the answer to this, but it’s certainly a distinct possibility. I suppose it could be rationalized by the all old saw about being safe rather than sorry, but it will interesting to study the real cause of the spread of this flu if it turns out be a very minor outbreak. A warning bell that this could be more of a “Media Flu” just came (probably inadvertently) from the WHO, which announced that, as of Wednesday morning, there were only 7 documented deaths, not 152, from this “pandemic.” That’s out of a current global population approaching 7 billion. Given that number there must be at least 7 documented mortalities from just about anything in that period of time. [Overeating spinach?-ed. Don’t tell my mother.] We also know that roughly 36,000 Americans die yearly from the “regular” flu. Slow news day or dangerous health hazard? You tell me. (No, I’m not an idiot. I’m not planning a trip to Mexico in the near future – but I wasn’t anyway.)]]>Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:36:53 -0400<![CDATA[Roger L. Simon]]>https://pjmedia.com/roger-l-simon/2009/04/29/is-swine-flu-the-media-flu-n217040