Blame it On the Media
August 8, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
“It’s the media’s fault.”
How often do you hear that, or even say it to yourself, on hearing some tired myth or piece of misinformation about autism stated yet again? Michael Savage’s over-the-top “99% of kids are no autistic but brats” comments is but one example.
An article by a team of bioethicists and available online August 6th in Neurology examines media coverage in America about the Terry Schiavo case. In 1990, Schiavo had a cardiac arrest that led to irreversible brain damage and a “persistent vegetative state” diagnosis. From Science Daily:
“In the course of our research, we were surprised by the amount of medical inaccuracies that these newspapers had published, said Dr. ÉricRacine [of the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM)]. Some journalists even wrote about Mrs. Schiavo’s reactions to specific words or expressions supposedly showing that she was conscious.” More than scientific and medical information, the legal, political and ethical dimensions made the headlines.[my empahsis]
Only 1% of the articles examined gave a definition of the “persistent vegetative state,” an essential concept to understand the issues at stake. The persistent vegetative state is an established neurological condition characterized by severe lesions to the cerebral cortex, which eliminate higher functions: inability to communicate, absence of memory, absence of pain, etc.
However, the brain stem responsible for vital functions is not damaged, which accounts for the patients’ reflexes and their ability to breathe and swallow independently. Despite the fact that Terri Schiavo’s medical condition did not allow any reasonable hope of recovery, a fifth of all articles (21%) contained statements according to which her condition would improve. “Our observations show that the press capitalized on the controversy to a large extent, and selling copies mattered more than delivering scientific information [my empahsis]. Media coverage sustained myths and false hopes,” explains Éric Racine.
More than scientific and medical information, the legal, political and ethical dimensions made the headlines.
….[T]he press capitalized on the controversy to a large extent, and selling copies mattered more than delivering scientific information….
Apply these sentences to coverage of autism in the mass media (calling on some recent reports in CBS…..), and of the hypothetical vaccine-autism link in particular, and certain things resonate.
Controversy sells.
I can’t help but live in a constant state of doubt. suspicion and belief simply because, How do folks KNOW? Even scientists knowledge is limited when it comes to autism and the like. Perhaps the truth equals fragments of something from everything…. The media is less interested in facts, more interested in selling papers and magazines and tormenting people with commercials.
Don’t dumb me down
Ben Goldacre
The Guardian, Th, 9/8/2005
How many weeks go by without a ‘New Autism Gene Discovered!” headline despite the fact that no autism specific gene has ever been identified. The few that are identified in a handful of cases within very large samples are all mental retardation genes.
A listing of the “news” outlets would be fun. Not like they’d be different next year.
On which note, here’s a report on genes for anxiety.
“More than scientific and medical information, the legal, political and ethical dimensions made the headlines.”
I am all for scientific and medical accuracy in news reporting. However, we need to be careful how far we take the notion. The Schiavo case dealt with very difficult issues of life and death. As such, the media would be wrong to focus only on scientific/medical/clinical issues to the exclusion of ethical/moral/legal issues.
To allow science and medicine to be the lone driver of these sorts of decisions would run the risk of allowing rampant utilitarianism. It already is creeping into medical decisions that are being made in our community (i.e.: euthanasia).
As a parent of a special needs child, I hope our society doesn’t head in that direction.