I generally like to keep my leader columns focused on a single issue, but there’s a lot going on at the moment and there are a few things I would like to mention as there are several quarters within the sector having a hard time of it.
Hand hygiene standards among contact lens wearers should already be beyond reproach, but the Covid-19 pandemic has brought additional scrutiny from mainstream media on hand washing and all things coronavirus. So when the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) suggested contact lens wearers should use glasses during the coronavirus crisis instead, the world’s media understandably latched on to it. Thankfully, the Centre for Ocular Research & Education’s new peer-reviewed paper (page 19), which has put some of the erroneous reports to bed, is already attracting the right sort of media attention.
Some areas of the optometric press have also come for some criticism. I recently read with interest and, indeed, concern, the responses to a tweet from one of the other titles regarding the work a multiple was doing in the current coronavirus outbreak. ‘Blatant bias,’ and ‘Is this an advertorial?’ were among the replies from the mob of indies that had quickly assembled. Expression of opinion is always welcome, especially to Optician, but I can’t help but feel that everyone is more ‘on edge’ at the moment, which is clouding judgement somewhat.
Trade publications have to be representative of the industries they cater for. In the case of retail optics, independents need to know what multiples are doing so they can remain one step ahead. If a multiple rolls out an e-commerce platform, the reporting of that news by magazines and journals is not an endorsement of the activity, merely a footnote in the direction the sector is headed.
Independents are doing some cracking work in these challenging times. I implore them all to tell Optician about it.