It’s been said that media coverage of the Terri Schiavo case was disastrous. Now we know how bad:
Looking at The New York Times, The Washington Post, the St.-Petersburg Times and The Tampa Tribune, the research team, led by Eric Racine, PhD, of the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal, found that 21% of articles claimed, incorrectly, Ms Shiavo’s condition would improve (it didn’t).
The paper concluded that articles stressed the “entertainment” angle of the situation, to the detriment of scientific facts and discussions with reputable physicians.
Irresponsible, but understandable give the rapid decline of traditional newspapers. You can’t let facts get in the way of a good story.
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- More coverage requires more doctors, my take in The New York Times
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{ 1 comment }
Thanks for highlighting this article. I recently posted about this as well at Pallimed. I particularly am worried about the findings describing withdrawal of artificial hydration and nutrition. It would be nice to see some opportunities for doctors to learn how to interact with the media better.
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