TV Stations Step Up ’Back To School’ Coverage In Light Of COVID

Remember when ‘back to school’ meant a return to normal?

Not this year.

Now, instead of seeing smiling parents sending off their kids to school, we see angry parents pointing fingers and hurling threats at school officials.

We see governors threatening to cut school funding over masks mandates.

We see lines drawn between personal freedom and community safety.

Schools are caught in the middle, between following the guidance of health organizations or the politics of state government.

And local TV station news organizations are stepping up to provide coverage on many of the tangled issues this year when it comes to ‘back to school’.

In Tampa, 1,444 new COVID-19 cases among teachers and students are reported in just the first few days of school. WFST, the Scripps ABC affiliate, talks to local doctors.

At WDIV, Graham Media’s NBC affiliate in Detroit, a simple idea using Zoom answers the do’s and don’ts of school this year.

In this town hall from KCBS Los Angeles, the science of vaccines and masking for students is explained by Dr. Bradley Ackerson, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Kaiser Permanente.

And in another story from KCBS, with the nation’s second-largest school district reopening full time, here’s a list of all the precautions and mandates taken to ensure everyone’s safety.

In Salt Lake City, KSTU, the Scripps Fox affiliate, no state-wide mask mandate has the teacher’s union disappointed.

In San Francisco, CBS O&O KPIX interviewed a pediatrician who’s also a mom.

In Hartford, Conn., WFSB, Meredith’s CBS affiliate, offers what a school superintendent says about how a school is prepared for 850 unvaccinated students.

In Atlanta, some school districts have seen dozens of COVID cases in the first weeks back to school. WGCL, Meredith’s CBS affiliate, shows parents protesting against any mask or vaccine mandates.

In Houston, KPRC, Graham Media’s NBC affiliate, takes us inside an elementary school where face coverings are optional.

In Ontario, Canada, City News shows how some schools are handling mask mandates for Grade 1 and up, but no mandatory vaccines for eligible students and staff.

NOTE: How is your station covering Back to School? Send me your examples and any promotion for your coverage.

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