Making the grade
Study finds that the media does a poor job of reporting all the pertinent details involved in health-related news stories.
My husband thinks I’m a conspiracy theorist. I suppose I can’t blame him, considering every time we see a piece on the evening news or read a newspaper article that deals with a health-related topic, my gut reaction is to “read between the lines” and seek out other resources for the rest of the story. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I think there’s an out- and-out conspiracy happening in the health-media world, but I also wouldn’t say that I have much faith in their ability to cover the whole story (any story) accurately and in an unbiased way. And a new report in the medical journal PLoS Medicine certainly doesn’t do anything to boost my confidence in the media.
According to a recent analysis conducted by professor Gary Schweitzer from the University of Minnesota’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, most medical news stories are frighteningly inadequate when it comes to addressing all the pertinent details involved in any given health-related topic.
This analysis stemmed from a project called HealthNewsReview.com, launched several years ago by the professor. The online publication monitors and evaluates news coverage about new health interventions featured in the top 50 most widely circulated newspapers in the U.S. as well as in several prominent news magazines and on newscasts from all three major television networks. Each story is graded on a scale of 1 to 10 based on several factors, including whether it adequately addresses the costs, risks benefits, quality of evidence, and alternative treatment options.
For the report featured in PLoS Medicine, Schweitzer reviewed the ratings given to 500 health stores published or aired over a two year period and found that as many as 77 percent of the stories had “major failings in the quality of reporting.”
So it looks like my tendency to “read between the lines” of every health news story I see isn’t such a paranoid habit after all. In fact, it may be a good habit for more people to adopt. The bottom line is, most health news stories are only likely to give you part of the story, and it’s up to you to track down the details the media left out. Becoming your own investigative reporter may take some extra time and effort, but you’ll be better informed – - not to mention healthier — for it.
Sources:
“U.S. reporters often do a poor job of reporting about new medical treatments, analysis finds,” Science Daily (www.sciencedaily.com), 5/29/08
“How do US journalists cover treatments, tests, products, and procedures? An evaluation of 500 stories,” PLoS Medicine 2008; 5(5): e95
