In the past two days, we’ve outlined a number of concerns about news organizations, professional journalism organizations and academic institutions that are involved in health care journalism reporting or training while accepting sponsorship or funding from health care industry entities that are often subjects of what the journalists or trainees do or will write about. (Part one of series. Part two.) These practices may be good for corporate, organizational or academic institution coffers, but the sponsorship comes at a price – of potential damage to journalism’s integrity and to the public trust in journalism, news reports and news organizations.
We have touched on examples of our concerns involving:
- The World Conference of Science Journalists
- The Association of Health Care Journalists
- The University of Colorado
- The University of Kansas
- The National Press Foundation
- NPR, STAT, Vox.com
Ben Bagdikian, journalist/educator/media critic, wrote to and about journalists:
“Never forget that your obligation is to the people. It is not, at heart, to those who pay you, or to your editor, or to your sources, or to your friends, or to the advancement of your career. It is to the public.”
In this final part of our three-part series, I talk about some of these issues in more depth, and from the perspective of my growing concerns over a 44-year career in health care journalism.
HENRY KOTULA 