Disclosing conflicts in medical stories
Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview.org usually points out where journalists fail in medical coverage. But in this case, a guest blogger praises AP reporter Matthew Perrone for getting it right. "Under deadline pressure, Perrone did a terrific job on the story and, in writing about conflicts, went well beyond what most reporters do," William Heisel wrote. "Perrone's piece is a nice reminder of the importance of pointing out conflicts."
RE: Disclosing conflicts in medical stories
Written by Gary J Schwitzer on Nov 23, 2011
Thanks for the mention.
We delight in pointing out the successes in the pursuit of excellence in health care journalism. It is not our intent to simply "point out where journalists fail in medical coverage." We ask 2-3 reviewers to apply the same 10 standardized criteria to the review of any story we review that includes claims of efficacy in health care interventions. If we see excellence, we shine a light on it. If we see flaws, we try to offer constructive criticism to help journalists improve.
Unfortunately, the report card after reviewing more than 1,600 stories in 5.5 years is that about 70 percent of stories get unsatisfactory scores for failing to adequately address costs and failing to adequately quantify the scope of the potential benefits and the scope of potential harms.