Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson argued Sunday it was not an accident that there has been less coverage by the media of the Ebola crisis. She buttresses her point with a phone conversation she had with a representative from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The former CBS reporter told Fox News’ Howard Kurtz that since the appointment of Ebola czar Ron Klain by President Obama, CDC Director Tom Frieden has been virtually absent from the public sphere. “Infectious disease experts remain very concerned about the disease,” Attkisson said.
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“A lot of the media coverage has gone from overtime to almost nothing since [the administration] appointed the Ebola czar. And I don’t think that’s any accident. I think that’s a strategy.”
Klain, a former aide to Vice President Joe Biden, has no prior medical experience. Attkisson also noted the CDC is tracking 1,400 possible Ebola cases in the United States, but does not advertise that information on their website:
“I called CDC not long ago and said, ‘How many active cases are being monitored in the United States of Ebola?’ And they said ‘1,400.’ I said, ‘Where is that on your website, these updates?’ They said, ‘We’re not putting it on the web.’
“So I think there is an effort to control the message and to tamp it down. This is public information we have a right to, and I think the media should not hype it but cover it.”
As of Monday, there is no section of “Data & Statistics” for Ebola on the CDC’s website, but the site does include sections for “Life Expectancy” and “Overweight and Obesity.”
Photo: CDC.gov
Photo: CDC.gov