NEJM Perspective Examines Health Care Journalism
"Communicating Medical News -- Pitfalls of Health Care Journalism," New England Journal of Medicine: In the perspective, Susan Dentzer, editor-in-chief of Health Affairs and on-air analyst on health policy for PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," examines how some journalists reporting on health care developments "all too frequently" convey a message that is "wrong or misleading." According to Dentzer, "when journalists ignore complexities or fail to provide context, the public health messages they convey are inevitably inadequate or distorted." She writes, "With some additional skills, care and introspection -- and a change in priorities -- we can produce coverage more in line with our responsibilities" (Dentzer, NEJM, 1/1).
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