Send us examples of explaining complexities of health reform on TV
I know firsthand how hard it is to explain something like an Accountable Care Organization in a 2,500-word magazine piece. I can’t begin to think how difficult it would be in a 3-minute local television news segment.
Joanne Kenen
My posts on this blog have usually highlighted print (or online equivalent) or public radio pieces. But I’d also like to highlight some good local television reporting on health reform – or address some of the obstacles (and solutions) that TV reporters face in exploring health reform.
So if you have done good work or seen good work – or if you have any ideas or thoughts worth sharing with AHCJ colleagues, email me at joanne@healthjournalism.org or find me on Twitter (@JoanneKenen) and maybe I can use it in a future post.
Kenen is AHCJ’s health reform topic leader. She is writing blog posts, tip sheets, articles and gathering resources to help our members cover the complex implementation of health reform.
TV producer makes case for longer embargoes
Bob Ray, a medical producer at WMAQ-Chicago, makes the argument that television journalists need more advanced notice on embargoed stories.
Ray, who shared his view in a guest blog posting for Newswise in June, says that cutbacks in television news mean that, at his station, they can only shoot video interviews once or twice a week.
It would be helpful if we had at least one week’s warning for the release dates of studies and reports. That way, we could interview the study authors, if practicable, or interview one of our local Chicago experts about the study, and then contact the study author by phone to answer any remaining questions.
Ray points out that also gives WMAQ a chance to send its video to the NBC syndication service, possibly giving Newswise clients more exposure. Newswise distributes news releases to journalists.
Television reporters: Do you agree or disagree with Ray’s suggestion? Are you finding it difficult to cover embargoed stories because you don’t have enough lead time?
Research: Local television encourages fatalistic view of cancer
Writing for Miller-McCune magazine, Tom Jacobs puts together the results of two studies that conclude local television teaches viewers over-the-top cancer fatalism with their “Pretty much everything causes cancer, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” approach.
Jacobs found that “This belief, which can lead to health-threatening behaviors, seems to infect both well-educated and less-educated viewers.” Furthermore, researchers have found that local news viewing correlates with an increase in cancer fatalism a year down the road.
These findings applied specifically to local TV, and the same effect was not seen with national broadcasts or, researchers observed, with newspapers.
“Local TV news stories were more likely than newspaper stories to focus on and discuss causes of cancer, more likely to discuss scientific research findings, and less likely to include information that would allow viewers to follow up by seeking out additional resources, guidance or advice regarding the coverage they watched,” they write.
The increased fatalism brought on by the local TV approach is serious business, because it can influence real-world behavior.
… when it comes to cancer, beliefs matter. A 2007 study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention reported that “Americans who hold fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention may be at greater risk of cancer because they are less likely to engage in various prevention behaviors,” including getting screened for cancer, eating fruits and vegetables, and exercising regularly.
The researchers concluded that “Researchers and public health officials might consider conducting educational or training sessions with local TV journalists.” Covering Health thinks tapping into AHCJ’s resources and training aimed at journalists would certainly help!
Network promises ESPN-style surgery coverage
MDiTV, a new online network with several AHCJ members on its roster, has been in the works for a while and officially launched on April 28.
It aims to provide high production value, TV-style medical news segments each day, as well as more in-depth offerings. In addition to its video-heavy main site, MDiTV also has a regularly updated blog. AHCJ board member Andrew Holtz is the site’s senior editor and chief anchor, and AHCJ members Michael Ingram, Tim Park and Amira Dughri are also part of the effort.
Ben Comer of Medical Marketing & Media profiled the new organization.
The network will also present long-format programming, such as the Charlie Rose-inspired “Second Opinion” program, hosted by MDiTV founder and CEO Robert Lazzara, a cardiac surgeon. “Natural Forces,” a weekly health program hosted by Kelly Godell, will cover nutrition, food and healthy eating.
MDiTV will also add slightly less traditional programming, including events which sound like they’ve been inspired by a mix of CSPAN and ESPN.
MDiTV also hopes to premiere live surgeries through partnerships with “founding member hospitals,” and will broadcast medical meetings live, according to Lazzara. Surgeries and medical meetings will be presented in a way similar to how ESPN presents a sporting event, said Lazzara.
Lazzara told Comer the site would add advertising (likely broadcast-style commercials) within 60 days, but that they were currently focused on creating original content. Lazzara said he plans to market the station to patients and providers using a combination of traditional and social media.
NewsPro issue on AHCJ, health journalism (#ahcj2010)
Filed under: Health journalism, Hot Health Headline
NewsPro has once again turned the spotlight toward health journalism and AHCJ, just in time for Health Journalism 2010 in Chicago. Find a PDF of the full issue here, or go to the issue’s online index.
In addition to profiles of AHCJ award winners, highlights include:
- A preview of the main attractions at Health Journalism 2010.
- A “state of health care journalism in 2010” round-up that focuses on the double-edged sword of a reform debate that brought health to the forefront, yet carried with it partisanship and misinformation. The issue also includes a piece on reporters’ struggles to understand and communicate the debate’s issues.
- An argument that “In the arena of iPhone apps, there is perhaps no division attracting as much attention as health care.”
- An interview with Nancy Snyderman, the well-known doctor and television reporter.
- A lead story on how the Internet is passing television as “most essential medium in the lives of Americans.”
- An exploration of the ethical and practical dilemmas facing doctor-journalists in Haiti, and a companion survey of members of the National Association of Medical Communicators. The issue also includes profiles of a few prominent doctor-reporters.
- An attempt to address questions raised by the H1N1 epidemic.
Read our post on last year’s issue here.
Snyderman’s MSNBC show is canceled
Filed under: Conflicts of interest, Health journalism
In a little bit of news that may have gone unnoticed over the holidays, “Dr. Nancy,” a health program on MSNBC featuring Nancy Snyderman, M.D., has been canceled in the cable channel’s latest changes to its lineup.
The show launched on June 29, 2009. See earlier posts about Snyderman’s show.
Snyderman previously worked for ABC, which suspended her for a week after she made a radio commercial for Tylenol. She later left ABC to become vice president of medical affairs for Johnson & Johnson – maker of Tylenol.
Medical dramas paint skewed picture of ideal care
Sara Hussein writes for Agence France-Presse about how television dramas with medical themes give patients false impression that top-notch medical care involves huge batteries of tests and highly aggressive, interventionist treatments, probably because such things make for better television.
Hussein quotes AHCJ board member Andrew Holtz, who says the sort of care demonstrated on shows like Fox’s “House” isn’t as consistently successful as it may seem on TV, and can in fact be harmful in some cases.
While the primary goal of medical programming may be entertainment, Hussein writes, they also have the power to help a broad audience better understand complicated issues. As an example of the positive potential of health dramas, she cites a daytime soap opera that mentioned an HIV/AIDS hotline. The day of the mention, that hotline got the most calls it received all year.
Related
The role of medical dramas was discussed during a special ” Hollywood and Health” roundtable at Health Journalism 2007, with writers and producers from Grey’s Anatomy, House and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; and actors from General Hospital.
SF Bay Area station runs sponsored health ‘news’
Michael Mechanic, a senior editor at Mother Jones, blogs about airtime for sale at KRON-San Francisco, a television station that calls itself “the Bay Area’s News Station.” (The section of Mechanic’s post about television segments for sale is about a third of the way through the blog post, starting with “It’s not just the newspapers, of course.”)
KRON, which used to be an NBC affiliate but is now independent, features segments designed to look like news stories but are actually paid for by sponsors. One such segment is called “Medical Mondays:”
The 24-minute segment is preceded by a seven-second disclaimer noting that the following program was paid for by Seton Medical Center. If you happened to tune it in after eight seconds, you’d be none the wiser.
Mechanic describes the segments as looking and feeling like real news, with a ticker and chirons similar to those on regular newscasts.
KRON also runs a show called “Morning News” featuring paid spots with experts, including features called “Eye on Health” and “Weight Solutions.” Mechanic says the financial relationships are not always disclosed and, when they are, they are “mostly couched in the vague language of sponsorship and partnership.”
AHCJ and the Society of Professional Journalists have taken a stand against such unhealthy alliances between news outlets and hospitals.
NBC’s Snyderman to host daily health news show
Nancy Snyderman, M.D., chief medical editor for NBC News, will anchor a one-hour daily show about health news and issues that will air on MSNBC beginning June 29.
According to the press release, Snyderman “will tackle everything from health and wellness tips and medical breakthroughs to in-depth looks at health policy as it makes its way through Washington.”
“The abundance of medical and health information means that we have more news than newscasts at NBC. This program will give us a chance to integrate medical news with politics, health policy, and the health concerns of our consumers,” said Snyderman.
The show, which apparently doesn’t yet have a name, will air at noon on weekdays.
Snyderman previously worked for ABC, which suspended her for a week after she made a radio commercial for Tylenol. She later left ABC to become vice president of medical affairs for Johnson & Johnson - maker of Tylenol.
Just one review of her work is posted at HealthNewsReviews.org but it met only one of 10 criteria the site lays out for responsible health reporting. The piece was deemed to be “disease-mongering.”
Stand against hospital deal lands ethics award
Filed under: Conflicts of interest, Health journalism
Glen Mabie, the former news director at WEAU-Eau Claire, Wis., has won a 2009 Payne Award for Excellence in Journalism. Mabie resigned from his job when his station’s management negotiated a deal with Sacred Heart Hospital in which the station would run stories featuring personnel from that hospital but not employees of other area hospitals or clinics.
“Glen Mabie took a stand for a basic principle of journalism,” the judges’ statement reads. “In an environment where the definition of ‘what is journalism’ is exploding, he was willing to risk his own economic security to uphold that basic principle.”
The Payne Awards recognize journalists who practice “the highest standards of the profession in the face of political or economic pressures.”
Earlier
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Join us in Atlanta
for Health Journalism 2012
Fellowship applications
due Feb. 27
New at HealthJournalism.org
- Data gives depth to investigation of patient safety
- What reporters should know about Alzheimer’s and related dementias
- Apply for fellowships to attend Health Journalism 2012
- AHCJ asks Supreme Court to permit broadcast of arguments in health reform case
- Tips for print, online journalists to embrace broadcast opportunities
- Numbers reveal how often, or how rarely, states check doctors’ disciplinary records
- How I did it: Falsified charts in nursing homes linked to patient care
- Access Denied: Looking at a lack of health care availability
- Transparency & medical errors: Public reporting of patient harm is a potent force
