Media Coverage

"News you know"

- WTTQ Channel 10 Eyewitness News

When the Green Flu virus broke out, the media was the first to report and cover all the stories surrounding it. They would work alongside with CEDA and the military reporting to the public important information such as washing your hands, the nearest evacuation centers, and the outbreak/spread of the virus. Also, according to Rochelle, the media (or CEDA) may have created the names of the Special Infected and the news relayed this information to the public to keep them informed and aware. With the use of radio, newspapers, and television, the media helped to inform the public until the FCC, CEDA, and the military took over. Radios switched over to the emergency frequencies and both newspapers and television programs were suspended.

Newspapers
Along with the Savannah newspaper (as seen in Dead Center) and the Daily Edition (seen throughout the Left 4 Dead series) all newspapers were covering the spread of the Infection. Experts and scientists were warning people about possible Infection symptoms and signs as well as agreeing with CEDA in mentioning that washing hands can prevent Infection.

Dogs
In The Church in Death Toll, you can find newspaper articles about missing dogs. If this is supposed to hint that dogs also turned Infected (or spread the infection), they would all have died out within the first 14 days. Another possibility is that the local pets' instincts anticipated the Green Flu virus and left the area due to the threat.

This is similar to the ideas of the movie I Am Legend where dogs were at high risk of infection.

Radio
Radios are currently the only media outlet still broadcasting to the public though regular programs and radio stations have been suspended; CEDA and the military uses them to broadcast on all emergency frequencies. CEDA mainly used the Emergency Broadcast System to update information to the public and the status of the evacuation centers in the area. When the military took over, they ran a continuous tape loop (as stated by Francis), broadcasting out to any Survivors to use the radio to announce their presence and they would send rescue.

Television
The most widely used broadcasting method and able to get messages across to millions of viewers, the television was most likely one of the first media outlets to announce the Infection. CEDA would make statements to the various news agencies reporting to the public their findings and prevention methods. CEDA, however, never told them the spread of the Infection and how bad the situation was due to the mass panic it might provoke (as stated by Rochelle).

Rochelle
As stated in Rochelle's profile and as she mentions in game, she started out as a low-level associate producer for a big-name news station which may have been WTTQ Channel 10 News, where she mostly was in charge of lugging cables and fetching coffee. When the outbreak hit and news staff started calling in sick, she got her break and was asked to produce a segment from Savannah, Georgia about the evacuation center located there and the situation of the Green Flu virus.

News Chopper 5 Pilot
The News Chopper 5 Pilot, who is most likely employed by the Channel 5 local News, is seen flying a news helicopter throughout Fairfield in the No Mercy campaign. He instructs anyone who can hear him to proceed to Mercy Hospital where he can perform a rooftop evacuation and bring them to an unknown location. During the rescue at the top of Mercy Hospital, he engages in communication with the Survivors, where he will reveal he had an "incident," implying he attempted another rescue earlier (on the street) but was attacked by the Infected. Unfortunately for him and the Survivors, he turns into an Infected mid-flight, and is shot by Zoey, causing the helicopter to crash.

Fairfield
The city's local news team, Channel 5 News, was covering the events of the Infection from within the city. Though the ground crew wasn't really visible, the news agency owned and operated its own mixed Bell 204/205 helicopter, which flew around Fairfield looking for Survivors and told them to head to Mercy Hospital.

Riverside
Joining the military at a temporary command center in Riverside, the national news, WTTQ Eyewitness Channel 10 News, was informing the United States about the Infection and the quarantine in Fairfield. They encouraged nearby fleeing refugees to proceed to Riverside where the military could keep civilians safe and keep the Infection out; however, the town was overwhelmed and the military pulled out, leaving the news team vulnerable to the Infection.

Savannah
In Savannah, Rochelle was supposed to make a news report about the CEDA evacuation outpost in The Vannah. However, Rochelle didn't even get a chance to start filming, nor did she gather much information so her story was never aired.