NEW YORK For a story that has dominated the news during the past four months, a survey out Monday illustrates the difficulty that many Americans have in finding information they can believe about the coronavirus pandemic. I can't think of any precedent for that, said Dan Fagin, director of New York University's science, health and environmental reporter program, and a former reporter. That is why the federal government has blown this and many of the state governments haven't.The Pew survey found dramatic differences in how the public assessed key sources of information on coronavirus, said Amy Mitchell, Pew's director of journalism research. What is encouraging is that people do have great faith in public health experts, Fagin said. More Republicans increasingly believe the coronavirus is overblown, said Pew, which conducted an online survey between June 4-10 of 9,654 people in a panel of adults selected randomly.

News organizations accustomed to following leads and filing political analyses are being challenged now to perform service journalism so readers and viewers understand the new coronavirus and how to protect their families. The Seattle Times' website tells readers what percentage of people with coronavirus get a fever, and how many get a cough. “We're super in-touch with our readers here,” said Lynn Jacobson, deputy managing editor of the Seattle Times. Grateful readers have had pizza and Vietnamese sandwiches delivered to the Seattle Times' newsroom, she said. Following the day's news is what most journalists are oriented toward doing, and some might consider service features boring or something that readers can look up online, he said.