The NY reporter that contacted me by email about SARS was pushing deadline on three stories.

So there were two phone calls to accomodate their schedule.

I use the name Bene Diction so blogging stays fun. I don’t want publicity but can facilitiate by putting a journalist in touch with people in Canada dealing with the SARS outbreak. So I did. And I’m happy to help with further contacts. I know what deadlines are like.

It was nice to talk to a collegue, but I’m a lousy interview. I bottom line it.
What do you need? Who do you want to talk to? What do you know about what is going on in Canada? (who is interviewing who here!)
I wonder if someone in big meda realizes many bloggers such as myself have a wide array of contacts.
And I know we are talking about different countries, although, as the cases in New York increase we will have more common concerns and issues.

Ontario’s government has been commended by the CDC for taking such pro-active measures. It isn’t stopping the spread, hopefully it is slowing it. There were two more deaths today.
The SARS head in Toronto is in quarantine. Other provinces have not declared a health emergency.
What I tried to stress is the job media and government are doing to get information out. I tried to stress citizens are getting informed. We’ll deal with it. Masks are being requested, and suppliers are scrambling to get them. The average person is getting knowledge out of a sense of realism. There is no panic, no irrational thinking, intelligent questions are being asked and there are lots of places to get information.
Ontario is Canada’s media capital. SARS dominates news coverage. Citizens are taking unknowns in stride. Seven medical people I know cancelled trips to the GTA hot zone the past few days.

It was a pleasure to talk to such a polite and curious reporter. Thanks. I hope I helped.