What Are the Roles and Responsibilities of the Media in Disseminating Health Information?

摘要

Some journalists say that their role and responsibility is no different in covering health information than it is in covering politics, business, or any other topic. These journalists say that their primary concern is accurate, clear reporting—they are less concerned about the consequences of their story once it is published [1]. But that approach may result in shoddy journalism and potential harm to the public [2]. I assert that it isn't sufficient to be accurate and clear when covering health news. Journalists have a responsibility to mirror a society's needs and issues, comprehensively and proportionally [3]. Often that doesn't happen in health news.