by Corin Kelly, Editor of Australian Hospital & Healthcare Bulletin
For journalists writing about health, it’s a balancing act. With increasing demand for light, lifestyle content, we often struggle to deliver vital coverage about health policy, research and the quality and delivery of healthcare.
Daily health grabs and alerts are gaining popularity and it could be argued that a more engaged population will lead to better health awareness and outcomes. People can change their lives based on what they read, watch or hear. The trouble is that a significant percentage of this information is based on news releases from marketing firms with no back-ground checking or additional reporting.
Quality health journalism provides a conduit between scientists and the general public who they don’t often interact with directly. Accurate reporting is essential during emergencies like Ebola or SARs outbreaks and can mean the difference between a public that is informed and a public that is panicked.
University of Minnesota Professor Gary Schwitzer believes,
“It is the job of journalism to independently vet claims that are made … and with commercial pressures and the reality of newsrooms of fewer people being asked to do more with less, that independent judgement is not there all the time anymore”.
The positive spin is that online assets have made the job of health journalism that much easier. New media and online resources could herald in a shiny new era in health journalism. University databases and journal archiving allows reporters to delve into stories in depth and video helps us to explain ideas better than we might ever have been able to do in text. Social media helps us to network and make connections with valuable sources.
The future is bright and it’s up to us as health journalists to value our role and take advantage of the brave new world of new media to bridge the information gap between science and our readers.