Cronkite professor researches media coverage of World Trade Center Cough Syndrome before, after COVID-19 pandemic

Cronkite Assistant Professor Sada Reed

News coverage during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic felt eerily familiar to Sada Reed.

When reporters first began outlining the effects of COVID-19 before much data was available, Reed was reminded of the coverage in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, when journalists reported on rescue workers and survivors who were suffering from an array of respiratory issues in the days after the terrorist attacks, later known as World Trade Center Cough Syndrome.

Reed, an assistant professor at the Cronkite School, also remembered her own personal experience with Sept. 11, when she was stranded in New York City for about two weeks after the attacks while traveling to Scotland to study at the University of St. Andrews. 

So it piqued her curiosity to know how those who suffered from World Trade Cough Syndrome would be affected by the newer coronavirus and how journalists would cover the issue compared to before the pandemic. 

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