Under the headline, “Big science zooms in on a new cure for baldness” – which was about male-pattern baldness, the Los Angeles Times Health blog published a local TV station’s video segment about a “Go Bald shave-a-thon” fundraiser with a little boy who had neuroblastoma.
Did someone actually think the two totally unrelated types of baldness were related? Male-pattern baldness in adult males versus kids with cancer who “go bald” as a result of treatment?
Or was this an auto-generated layout – with the website grabbing anything that had baldness as a key word and posting the stories on the same page?
In either case, a fix is in order.
If it’s the former reason, someone needs some education.
If it’s the latter reason, if this is the way your website is populated, you have a problem that needs correction.
Here’s a screenshot of the webpage.
ADDENDUM on 3/23: The video has now been removed from the LA Times Health blog story and replaced with a photo of Jason Alexander, actor, who, the caption says, “like many men, has a bald pate.”
ADDENDUM later in day on 3/22:
Back on the male-pattern baldness story – breathless headlines abound.
TIME gushes: “Study Finds Patter in Male Baldness: Could There Be a Cure?”
But here’s what the story reported: “researchers have identified a protein that appears to play a role in male pattern baldness.”
Proteins that appear to play a role 
CURE. Others need to get the message:
Is curing male-pattern baldness important to you? – CBC.ca
New Cause For Male Pattern Baldness Discovered: Is Cure Next? (CBS News)
Cure for baldness in ‘could be on sale within five years’ – Daily Mail
Baldness Cure May Be on Horizon – MedPage Today
Possible baldness cure on horizon – Fox TV
Researchers closer to finding baldness cure – ABC7Chicago.com
An Effective Cure for Baldness May Soon Be On the Market – Medical Daily
Breakthrough Male Baldness Cure Could Be On Sale Within Five Years – Huffington Post
And NBC News put Cure in its onscreen graphic, referred to a “baldness cure” with the tired old “Holy Grail of medicine” line, and said a cream or medicine could be available “as soon as 5 years.” The height (or depth) of hyperbole.
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.
Alan
March 22, 2012 at 11:12 amDoubly offensive. Even without the the juxtaposition with shave-a-thon, the whole “cure for baldness” is offensive. Bald guy and proud member of the “no rugs, no drugs, no plugs” club.
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