Sometimes you see a letter to the editor of a newspaper that you just want to frame. One such note appeared in today’s Star Tribune.
The letter stated:
“Why not a more accurate headline for your Oct. 23 Business article “Massage that offers a healing message”? I suggest “St. Thomas prof sees business opportunity in quack remedy.”
Would the Star Tribune’s “Small Business” feature have endorsed treating breast cancer by manipulating the patient’s “energy”? Would a St. Thomas professor (mindful of that institution’s business ethics program) have cited the fact that breast cancer patients are “very likely to take on alternative therapies” as a marketing advantage?
As an Asperger’s parent, I’m tired of being treated as a sucker and cash cow for unproven remedies. When looking at possible medical treatments, businesspeople, writers, editors and “experts” owe the public the truth. If the “evidence” for effectiveness is just someone’s personal story and there is no scientific rationale, it may be all right to study the treatment, but it is evil to commercialize it.“
I recall reading the story in question (but was unable to find it now in the Star Tribune archives), and I recall my reaction was not far from this woman’s reaction. But, as I’ve stated before, newspapers seem to have a different set of guidelines – and perhaps a different standard of ethics – for the Business section. There seems to be a lower standard of evidence if the story promotes any local product or company.
Opinions on other issues in news, journals, PR, advertising, marketing
We’ve written about the hype of liquid biopsies for years (see link in comment below). And now this…. https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/12/medicare-shouldnt-cover-liquid-biopsies-early-cancer-detection/
Case counts still matter. “(There) are stories that may not be told adequately if only hospitalizations and deaths are emphasized.” @garyschwitzer interviewed by @dbauder of @AP. https://apnews.com/article/omicron-changing-news-outlets-covid-data-da9272f7c4c8a109c3bfb56bed9e9c76
My friend Gary @garyschwitzer wrote to his city council representative in a Minnesota town about a Viva Las Vegas event scheduled for January.
The response he got seems to perfectly capture where we are now.
https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2021/12/2021-ends-with-covid-craziness-in-sports-and-politics/
Comments (2)
Please note, comments are no longer published through this website. All previously made comments are still archived and available for viewing through select posts.
Indy Rutks
October 31, 2006 at 12:24 pmThe story in question can be found here: http://www.startribune.com/535/story/757188.html
Our Comments Policy
But before leaving a comment, please review these notes about our policy.
You are responsible for any comments you leave on this site.
This site is primarily a forum for discussion about the quality (or lack thereof) in journalism or other media messages (advertising, marketing, public relations, medical journals, etc.) It is not intended to be a forum for definitive discussions about medicine or science.
We will delete comments that include personal attacks, unfounded allegations, unverified claims, product pitches, profanity or any from anyone who does not list a full name and a functioning email address. We will also end any thread of repetitive comments. We don”t give medical advice so we won”t respond to questions asking for it.
We don”t have sufficient staffing to contact each commenter who left such a message. If you have a question about why your comment was edited or removed, you can email us at feedback@healthnewsreview.org.
There has been a recent burst of attention to troubles with many comments left on science and science news/communication websites. Read “Online science comments: trolls, trash and treasure.”
The authors of the Retraction Watch comments policy urge commenters:
We”re also concerned about anonymous comments. We ask that all commenters leave their full name and provide an actual email address in case we feel we need to contact them. We may delete any comment left by someone who does not leave their name and a legitimate email address.
And, as noted, product pitches of any sort – pushing treatments, tests, products, procedures, physicians, medical centers, books, websites – are likely to be deleted. We don”t accept advertising on this site and are not going to give it away free.
The ability to leave comments expires after a certain period of time. So you may find that you’re unable to leave a comment on an article that is more than a few months old.
You might also like