An interesting point is that neither The Times nor The Sun covered
papers that were not accompanied by a press release.
This tells us either that the people who produced the press releases
were spot on in their assessment or, more likely, that the journalists
didn't bother with the other papers. Maybe they would have had to work
harder to understand them.
This puts a lot of responsibility on the people who decide which papers
deserve a press release.
One factor here I that the media spends more time looking at the rest of
the media than observing the outside world. It has always been my view
that a good reporter finds their own stories. They do not sit their
awaiting a press release. But I am in a very small minority here. The
first thing that a reporter now does is to check to see what the rest of
the pack has done.
MK
_______________________________________________________________________
Michael Kenward / Phone: +44 (0)1444 400568 Fax: 401064
/
Science Writer & Stuff / Genetically modified words for sale
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on the public understanding of science
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Simon ,Miss Louise
Sent: 16 July 2002 10:48
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: What is newsworthy? Study of medical research reporting in two
Br itish newspapers
List members may be interested in a study appearing in this week's BMJ
(13
July) that examined medical research reporting in the Sun and The Times.
An
assessment was made of the characteristics of research that had been
press
released by the Lancet and the BMJ, and of the research that
subsequently
appeared in the two newspapers. They concluded that "newspapers
underreported randomised trials, emphasised bad news ...and ignored
research
from developing countries". Further details at:
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/325/7355/81
Regards
Louise
++++++++++++++++++
Louise Simon
Information Officer
Wellcome Trust Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine
183 Euston Road
London NW1 2BE
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7611 7316
Fax: +44 (0)020 7611 8726
mailto:[log in to unmask]
The Wellcome Trust is a registered charity, no.210183.
Its sole Trustee is the Wellcome Trust Limited, a company
registered in England, no. 2711000, whose registered office
is 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE.
Have you visited psci-com, the searchable database of quality internet
resources on the public understanding of science? Click on
http://www.psci-com.org.uk
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