Over on the always-excellent Schwitzer Health News Blog, the University of Minnesota’s Gary
Schwitzer spotlights a notice that appeared in the Society of Professional
Journalist’s (SPJ) e-newsletter:
“Interested in covering the health
industry, science and medical research? Even more interested in using
journalism to inform the public about the leading cause of illness and death
worldwide? The National Press Foundation offers an all-expenses-paid four-day
fellowship for journalists on ‘Cancer Issues.’ The program will be in Washington,
D.C. Sept. 13-16. Fifteen fellowships will be awarded and they all include
lodging, airfare and most meals. The applications deadline is 5 p.m. July 28,
2009."
Who exactly is paying for such
largesse? Schwitzer provides a link to
the National Press Foundation website where, at the very bottom of the announcement, in small type, you discover that
“This program is underwritten by Pfizer Inc.” In an e-mail that I received earlier
this week, Schwitzer writes: “As always,
I see health policy ramifications here. At a time when Pharma is
negotiating just what its role in health care reform will be, this is
especially troubling."
I couldn’t agree more.
Schwitzer also points to a 2008 BMJ
article titled “Who’s Watching the Watchdog” by Lisa Schwartz and Steve Woloshin, both
associate professors at the Dartmouth
Institute for Health Policy and Clinical practice, and Ray Moynihan, a lecturer
at the University of New Castle, Australia.
“As watchdogs the media play a vital role in
highlighting interconnections between doctors, researchers and the drug
industry. But who watches the watchdogs? Financial ties between medical
journalists and for-profit companies they cover in their reporting have
received little attention in the media or from the research community. Such
ties warrant scrutiny, not least because many of us first learn about new
treatments from the news media, and these reports can affect the way the public
uses health care.”
Schwitzer also quotes SPJ’s own code
of ethics, adding “I don’t think SPJ should promote events in its own
newsletter that, in my reading, invites journalists to violate the SPJ
code.” To read the whole post, click
here.
well, perhaps journalists should take Nancy Reagan’s advice and just say no.
Jim–
Schwitzer’s real point is that SPJ shouldnt’ be promoting this.
This is a very interesting take on the Schwitzer Health News Blog. Indeed in the present time we get to hear a lot about interconnections between doctors, researchers and the drug industry.