Today, the media, with rare exceptions, often shifts its attention between the latest visible “shiny object” in the observable universe and the most dramatic recent tragedy. In doing so, it frequently neglects important stories that genuinely deserve sustained coverage or fails to bring attention to matters of greater significance.
SHORTAGE OF ESSENTIAL MEDICINES
Few media organizations, if any, have reported on the ongoing shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies that hospitals nationwide continue to grapple with in the wake of COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 33 to 36 million hospital stays annually in the U.S. alone—not to mention the countless outpatient visits occurring every year. Each of these stays has the potential to be impacted by these shortages.
Had the media asked, “When did critical shortages of essential medical supplies first occur?” they would have discovered that Hurricane Maria—the devastating hurricane that struck Puerto Rico in 2017—started it all. The storm disrupted the production of IV fluids, a significant portion of which is manufactured in Puerto Rico for the U.S. market. This disruption forced hospitals nationwide to ration supplies and seek alternative treatment methods.
Sadly, the mainstream media and the U.S. government continue to ignore this ongoing crisis.
BABY FORMULA SHORTAGES
The Abbott Nutrition Baby formula shortage would have been an embarrassment in a developing nation. In the U.S., it highlighted supply chain fragility. The catastrophic consequences of consolidated suppliers, often called monopolies, coupled with dependency on foreign manufacturing, created a recipe for critical reserve severance.
The company temporarily closed its Sturgis, Mich., plant—one of the largest baby formula production facilities in the U.S.—due to contamination concerns. The actual cause has never been entirely disclosed. This led to a massive recall of popular brands such as Similac Alimentum and EleCare, resulting in dangerous baby formula shortages nationwide. The situation worsened in June 2022, when the plant experienced flooding, forcing another closure and exacerbating the crisis.
The fragile supply chains and consolidated manufacturing facilities amplified each incident. Control of customer and labor markets guarantees increased profitability in parallel with creating a certainty of supply chain fragility. When this approach to manufacturing is allowed to dominate production of critical products, any presented problem will be heightened.
This single facility accounted for 40% of the U.S. baby formula supply. Despite the magnitude of this issue, little has been done to mitigate the risks to infants across the country moving forward.
The situation disappeared from the mainstream media news cycle almost immediately upon the lessening of the criticality. We know too well this observable yet depraved notion: “If it bleeds, it leads.” The sage prescience of the Eagles lyrics once declared, “It’s interesting when people die.” Could this be a reason that no institution in our society is less trusted than the professional media?
The 117th U.S. Congress did act with minimal urgency in late 2022 to address the baby formula supply chain and manufacturing crisis by passing H.R. 8982 (signed into law on Oct. 10, 2022, by POTUS Joe Biden), temporarily reducing tariffs on certain imported components of baby formula. However, the same problem exists for many other critical products. It is also informative to note that since that time, an intrepid observer might conclude that the problem has become worse at least in terms of non-government producers of baby formula. Although the subject is complex, the article “Baby Formula’s Biggest Buyer Takes a Closer Look at Supplies and Shortages,” from the U.S. Government Accountability Office website, contains this ominous quote: “While the shortage was resolved, it raised concerns about whether WIC’s [Women, Infants, and Children’s] system for purchasing formula worsened supply chain disruptions and made shortages more severe.”
We all observed the suffering through the early years of this century’s third decade, but little has been accomplished in the subsequent years to address any of these issues. Silence is not a solution, as this broad problem is progressively worsening.
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY
In April 2019, we published an article titled “Data Security—And the Real Dragon in the Room.” Forbes and the Los Angeles Times broke the story with Marriott Hotels (before Bonvoy) in the headline. However, the breach involved the Starwood guest reservation system, which contained more than 500 million records. While “Marriott” certainly makes for a more attention-grabbing headline, the focus on the brand overshadowed the real story.
The true, and far more critical, narrative was lost in the media coverage. That is, that the breach had been ongoing for years, yet the hackers never attempted to monetize the stolen data—a fact that went largely unnoticed or at least minimized by the press.
This raises an essential question: Who steals voluminous valuable data and sits on it for years without ever attempting to monetize it? That was the real story, one that demanded deeper investigation.
Unfortunately, today’s media often fails to focus on these fundamental albeit nuanced questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? The most important stories remain untold without these inquiries, leaving the public without the necessary answers.