Health "Journalism"

[Arnon Krongrad, MD]

The media exist to sell media. Given the intensely competitive nature of media, there is pressure to put out high quantity. So what happens to quality?

 

Consider this example from a Staten Island outlet. It comes from a Dr. Motta, who since June has put out two articles, both related to nurtition and the prostate. His credentials are not posted and it's not clear if he's a medical doctor of a doctor of history or whatever.

 

The issue is the facts. They are wrong. Dr. Fair, now deceased, is an old acquaintance of mine and he had nothing to do with the selenium trials. By contrast, Dr. Clark was a close friend and we did do the selenium work together. We never said selenium was a preventive. And as for the SELECT trial, it was aborted because the data did not support the use of selenium. You'd never know any of that from this article.

 

How can non-experts innoculate themselves from the ill effects of reckless journalism?

 

For more on the state of health journalism, click on the video by Gary Schweitzer: