Broadcast Health News: A New Prescription?

There was the story about bras that can cure breast cancer, another about blue food dye preventing paralysis and a third about how the sleep diet can help you shed pounds.

All aired on network television and all gave misleading information on health to millions of viewers.

In a segment on the latest edition of NPR's On The Media, Gary Schwitzer, professor at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication and publisher of HealthNewsReview.org, critiqued the failings of broadcasters who cover health.

As he makes apparent, it isn't hard to find flawed health coverage on television. But Schwitzer, who teaches health journalism and media ethics, in September announced on HealthNewsReview that he will no longer review broadcast health news as part of his site's effort to "hold the bar high for quality in health care journalism."

Schwitzer, a former television medical news reporter, will soon announce a change in HealthNewsReview's focus that could explain all this further. But he doesn't mince words in explaining what he sees as the chances for improvement if he continues his broadcast critiques.

"After 3.5 years and 228 network TV health segments reviewed, we can make the data-driven statement that many of the stories are bad and they're not getting much better," Schwitzer explains.

Is moving on the right thing to do? You need to be a registered member of ReportingonHealth.org to leave a comment, so if you haven't joined yet, click here.It's easy, quick and free. You can follow us on Twitter, too, @ReportingHealth.