Media hype? It's not as bad as it seems

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7448.1140-a

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David Spurgeon, freelance journalist

Quebec, Canada

Researchers are often quick to blame the media for inaccuracies and distortions in reporting on health matters (BMJ 2003;327: 688). But what if it turns out that newspapers are being unfairly criticised? A Canadian study of media coverage of genetic research shows that the charges are not well founded and that in most cases the media gets it right (CMAJ 2004;170: 1399-407).

“Our data suggest that the majority of newspaper articles accurately convey the results and reflect the claims made in scientific journal articles,” say the reports authors, Tania M Bubela and Timothy A Caulfield of the University of Albertas …