Media outlets throughout the nation have sought Wayne State’s experts and leadership for information about various topics related to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 60 stories have run in most of the major markets, including television, radio, print, and web-based news and information sites.
A sampling of media outlets includes; The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, BBC, NPR, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, Yahoo News, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News and numerous other local, state and regional sites.
Much of the media traffic has been routed to 34 Wayne State experts through a comprehensive media tip sheet that the Office of Marketing and Communications developed and maintains on an ongoing basis. These experts have commented on topics in the areas of medical, economics, psychological, legal, business, communications, nutrition, political science and crisis communications.
Specific topics have included:
- COVID-19 pandemic medical updates
- Racial disparities in the African American community
- The trajectory of COVID-19
- The importance of testing for COVID-19
- Wayne State’s plans for fall semester in light of the pandemic
- Employment fallout – long and short term
- Economic ramifications of mitigation measures
- Impact on the labor force
- Working from home transition
- Stock market and personal finance hits
- Supply chain disruptions
- Managing anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak
- Mental health and substance abuse
- Proper nutrition during quarantine
- Crisis communications response
An example of recent media stories includes:
- President Wilson talked about the racial disparity in coronavirus cases on CNN, WJR-AM, WJBK Fox 2, WDIV-TV and WDET-FM. President Wilson also wrote op-eds for the Detroit Free Press and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The virtual graduation celebration held on April 29 received extensive coverage focusing on the Board of Governor’s unanimous vote to confer posthumous degrees to three students who died just before completion of their degrees. WDIV-TV, WJBK Fox 2, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, WWJ-AM, WJR-AM and WOOD-TV (Grand Rapids), among other media outlets, provided extensive coverage.