Media Coverage

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing economic and social change. Moderated by David Banks, the Director of the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI), six eminent scientists who study different aspects of social change and public policy came together to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. and the world. The discussion took a range of quantitative perspectives on how to respond to the crisis and to forecast what challenges lie ahead. Specific topics include the role of data science, strategies for beginning to reopen the economy, the international impact of the disease, and its effect upon universities.

Despite continued spread of the coronavirus, Wisconsin residents are traveling more than they were a month ago. Cell phone mobility data shows Wisconsin residents started traveling more during the first week of May. And that movement continued to increase after the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state’s 'Safer at Home' order on May 13, according to Oguzhan Alagoz, a University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering professor who specializes in modeling the spread of infectious diseases.

Shortages and rationing are foreign concepts to most Americans.  But the Covid-19 pandemic has shocked our nation of plenty as Americans scrambled to stock up hand sanitizer and facial masks. Young and healthy citizens find it a nuisance to search for these materials, but they can still protect themselves to a great extent by wearing a cloth face covering, washing their hands with soap and following social distancing guidelines. However, social distancing is not possible for the sick and elderly requiring long-term care from healthcare workers. Hence, the dire shortage of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 masks (known for filtering at least 95 percent of airborne particles) can be disastrous for this group of vulnerable people.

Is the reporting of media outlets biased in favor of firms that advertise with them? A new study looked at the relationship between advertising by car manufacturers in U.S. newspapers and news coverage of car safety recalls in the early 2000s. The study found that newspapers provided less coverage of recalls issued by manufacturers that advertised more regularly in their publications than of recalls issued by other manufacturers that did not advertise, and this occurred more frequently when the recalls involved more severe defects.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported that between March 22 and April 22 of 2020, 58 firearms were seized in passenger carry-on baggage. This compares to 346 firearms during the same period last year. When the TSA started crunching the numbers, they found that 1.24 firearms were detected per 100,000 passenger screenings this year, compared to 0.46 firearms detected per 100,000 passenger screenings in 2019. Is this a moment for celebration, or a cause for concern? The TSA has so far offered no explanation.