Journal of General Internal Medicine

, Volume 18, Issue 2, pp 138–145 | Cite as

Helping journalists get it right

A physician’s guide to improving health care reporting
  • Karen Stamm
  • John W. WilliamsJr.
  • Polly Hitchcock Noël
  • Rita Rubin
Perspectives

Abstract

News reports are the way that most people, including many physicians and scientists, first learn about new developments in medicine. Because these reports can raise awareness, influence behavior, and confer credibility, physicians should share responsibility with the media for accurate reporting. Physicians can work with reporters to avoid sensationalizing tentative findings, overstating benefits, and making inappropriate generalizations. This article includes pragmatic suggestions for crafting effective news releases and explaining numerical data. It details “rules of the road” for interviews. Working collaboratively with news reporters to improve the quality of medical stories in the lay press benefits patients and physicians alike.

Key words

journalism, medical mass media physicians communication health education 
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Copyright information

© Society of General Internal Medicine 2003

Authors and Affiliations

  • Karen Stamm
    • 1
  • John W. WilliamsJr.
    • 2
    • 3
  • Polly Hitchcock Noël
    • 1
    • 4
  • Rita Rubin
    • 5
  1. 1.Faculty Associate, Department of Medicine/Division of General MedicineThe University of Texas Health Science Center at San AntonioSan Antonio
  2. 2.Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterThe Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, HSR&DDurham
  3. 3.Duke University Medical CenterDurham
  4. 4.VERDICT, an HSR&D Center of Excellence, South Texas Veterans Health Care SystemSan Antonio
  5. 5.USA TODAYUSA

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