I Have Swine Flu Fever....Errrr....I Mean H1N1 Fever

If I never see the inside of this room again, it will be too soon. This is where the state of North Carolina holds it's daily briefing about the swine flu...ooppss....I mean the H1N1 Virus. The media, and by media I mean every out of touch newsroom in the country, has attached themselves to this swine story like mud on a pig. That means 5 out of the last 6 work days I have been covering this horrible, grab your children, cover your mouth when you sneeze, and for heaven's sake wash your filthy hands, worthless story.

Now, I applaud Dr. Engel, who is the North Carolina State Health Director. He has answered more redundant, mind numbing question from clueless reporters than I have ever heard. How he has not strangled a member of the media yet is beyond me.

Anyone with half a brain, and by that I mean most photographers, could have told you this was a non-story a week ago. According the CDC's own website: more than 200,000 persons are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year. About 36,000 Americans die on average per year from the complications of flu. To date one person has died in the U.S. from this...and that person only died in the U.S....he was from Mexico. A reporter I work with a lot sums it up nicely: "TV news is like a toddler in a playpen...they grab on to the shiniest object and never let go." This past week it has been the swine flu....next week...who knows!!!!