Ethical Reporting of Sensitive Topics by Ann Luce

Author:Ann Luce [Luce, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781351166300
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2019-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

Conclusion

Poor quality health reporting is a disservice that effectively misinforms, or reinforces the ignorance and prejudice of the news audience: giving misleading information on drugs and treatments can encourage people to take unwise, unhealthy, and sometimes even dangerous decisions; in this way it can do harm – and fall short of the ethical standards health journalism should uphold. For example, scaring people away from properly using ibuprofen might result in them resorting to even more dangerous alternatives.

Just as being found out in a lie is poison for any public relations professional, publishing any news which has to be revised, or which is soon discredited, or that inflates claims and hysterical warnings without justification, runs the risk of creating cynicism and distrust of other health coverage: people who cannot access quality health reporting from the mainstream media may turn to even less reliable sources – such as random internet sites or the advice of no-better-informed friends.

Journalists in busy newsrooms often have little grounds for satisfaction in their work, but at least taking the time to double check and investigate the facts behind a press release can offer some reason to feel cheerful at the end of a hard day, especially when a potential error can be found and averted.

This chapter has attempted to set out the need for health reporters to take a critical, analytical approach to reporting on health – and the availability of materials that can assist.

The three case studies underline the dangers of writing a health story from any one source or press release – and suggest a few possible alternative sources for cross-reference or comment.

It’s important to find some way of including at least one balancing, critical comment in articles that can offer the news audience the best chance of properly understanding the issue.

Each health journalist who takes the job seriously will want to draw up what could be a growing list of well-informed experts and people able to give responses based on evidence, as well as where necessary a political balance from a political or trade union spokesperson. We don’t want every article to say the same thing, but we do need every article to reflect a critical approach that allows the news audience to develop its own understanding.

Note

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References

Adams , J.U. (2017) 2017 year-ender: What I’ve learned from reading health news every morning, healthnewsreview.org December 21, https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2017/12/2017-year-ender-ive-learned-reading-health-news-every-morning/

Altman , D.G. (2015) Clinical trials: Subgroup analyses in randomized trials—more rigour needed. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology 12, 506–507.

Australian Associated Press (2017) Nurofen linked to a 31 per cent increased risk of heart attacks – leading to calls to restrict over-the-counter sales, Daily Mail online, March 16, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4321810/Nurofen-linked-increased-risk-heart-attack.html#ixzz55HouidXi, accessed January 2018.

Bate , A. (2018) Accountable Care Organisations, Commons Briefing Paper, Number CBP 8190, 9 January, researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8190/CBP-8190.pdf

Behind the Headlines (2014) Ibuprofen unlikely to extend life, NHS, December 19, https://www.nhs.uk/news/medication/ibuprofen-unlikely-to-extend-life/

Behind the Headlines

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