A clear alert on potential hazards of using bioengineered proteins to promote bone growth in spinal fusion for upper spine pain. But it doesn’t discuss nonsurgical alternatives or costs.  ...

A noticeably different framing in this story than in others we reviewed on the same topic.  But this one comes from the paper in the city where one of the product manufacturers is headquartered. ...

CBS claimed an "exclusive" on this "cutting edge, trailblazing, major advance." But it didn't emphasize that there is no evidence of benefit. And it didn't discuss potential harms or other options....

This is the kind of story that will prompt desperate cancer patients to demand access to "the cure they saw on TV," only to be disappointed when they hear the full facts....

Story generally conveys the main findings, but fails to mention treatment costs, harms or alternatives, and fails to explain the risk reduction in the most understandable way....

Story fails to address: Does the [initially] more costly technique produce better outcomes? Is this another case of an expensive new technique making a company rich before good evidence is in hand?...

Story gave an incomplete picture of harms, complications and followup required with the device. Didn't adequately compare cost or effectiveness with other methods....

Worst of the three network TV segments we reviewed on this same PARP inhibitor study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Just call it a breakthrough and the holy grail and call it a day....

More restrained in its enthusiasm than the NBC story, and offers more info on the underlying science - the real core of the news value of the new study. Still, though, too much dazzle....

Nice job on a story about desensitization for milk and peanut allergies.  Emphasized that the work has been done in small studies so far, and that it’s far from ready for widespread use....

Good job describing the current study and how it relates to current clinical thinking. Adds to the "more is not always better" knowledgebase that is growing in health care....

Thorough reporting, providing a valuable service by warning readers of the shaky basis and likely harms of Lupron treatment of children with autism. They weighed the claims and explained the evidence....