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In 1976, President Gerald Ford authorized the National Influenza Immunization Program to inoculate every American against an impending swine flu epidemic. But despite government predictions of one million dead, only one confirmed fatality was recorded by the end of the year. In May, Bob spoke with science writer Patrick Di Justo, who recalled the last time the media developed a fever over a mild case of flu.
Science departments at newspapers everywhere are shrinking. One outlet that aims to help fill the coverage gap is Futurity.org, a new website that lets scientists publish their findings directly to the public. Michael Schoenfeld, Futurity’s co-founder, explains the site’s mission.
With Congress in recess, much of the fight over health care reform has migrated to the airwaves as millions of dollars of advertisements are rolled out, primarily by critics. But how accurate are these ads? Brooks Jackson, director of factcheck.org, says not very. He explains what misinformation looks like.
In discussing national health care plans, reporters, politicians and especially critics have been fond of invoking the failed Clinton plan of '93 & '94. Paul Starr, Princeton professor and author of The Social Transformation of American Medicine, says the history of national health care and its discontents is at least a century old and that for proponents and critics alike, most everything old is new again.
In a lawsuit last month against drug manufacturer Merck, the plaintiff introduced a 'peer reviewed journal' strongly supportive of Merck drugs. The ‘journal’, it turned out, was paid for by Merck and its peer-review status was a fraud. Since then, six other journals have been revealed – all falsely identified as peer reviewed. Dr. Peter Lurie of Public Citizen explains how journal publishers and drug companies work together.
Twenty years ago this week 60 Minutes introduced much of the country to Alar, a chemical used to make apples ripen on time. They argued that Alar was also an unregulated carcinogen, after which a panic ensued. Food journalist Michael Pollan argues that the fallout from the Alar scare is still all around us and the real story of what happened is in need of retelling.
News reports on climate change now have the tone of certainty that global warming is upon us. But there is anything but certainty when it comes to the cost of action. Shorenstein Fellow Eric Pooley says the media don't scrutinize the economic projections of pro-business groups, who rig their models to say climate change legislation will break the bank.
Being a brilliant scientist doesn't always translate into being a good talking head on television or even a good source for a science reporter. So the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program at Stanford University was created to give scientists a better understanding of how to deal with the media. Program director Pam Matson explains what goes on at their training camp.
