By
reviewing health news coverage every day, we are able to see big
pictures of clear patterns unfolding that the casual day-to-day news
consumer may miss.One picture is quite clear. The morning health news segments on ABC, CBS and NBC do the following regularly:
• Unquestioningly promote new drugs and new technologies
• Feed the “worried well” by raising unrealistic expectations of unproven technologies that may produce more harm than good
• Fail to ask tough questions
• Make any discussion of health care reform that much more difficult
He then lists some of the network news
segments that back up those perceptions. Here are a few recent examples
with Schwitzer’s comments:CBS Early Show
“Three heart tests every woman should know about”
June 18, 2009
“Classic
morning show health news garbage — confusing screening and diagnostic
tests and confusing viewers. And a glaring error on the CBS website
claims that heart scans had no radiation! On which planet?”ABC’s Good Morning America
“Breakthrough obesity drug”
July 21, 2009“Miscasts
an experimental obesity Rx as potential ‘silver bullet’ for people
wanting to drop a few pounds. Oddly refers to interviewee’s potential
conflicts of interest as evidence of expertise. Huh?”
I swear you’d be just as well-informed watching Oprah promote colon cleansing as you would watching the typical Today Show-type horseshit. Watching this shit every day has got to be a seriously depressing job, so hats off toHealthNewsReview.
A.