Media wars

Study of the media's potential influence on prospective research participants' understanding of and motivations for participation in a high-profile phase I trial

PURPOSE

To describe prospective participants' initial source of information about, understanding of, and motivation to participate in a phase I clinical trial of the antiangiogenesis agent human recombinant endostatin.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We surveyed 100 of 130 persons referred to the endostatin trial between October 1999 and November 2000 and analyzed media coverage of the agent from 1997 to 2000.

RESULTS

Forty-seven percent of survey respondents first heard about the trial from media reports. Fifty-one percent of these subsequently contacted their physicians. Thirty-three percent of respondents correctly understood the purpose of the trial. Seventy-nine respondents were interviewed before they met trial investigators to discuss the trial. Of these, those who first heard about endostatin from the media were five times more likely to understand correctly the trial's purpose than those who first heard from other sources. Seventy-four percent (70 of 95) of respondents cited hope for personal benefit as the main reason for their willingness to enroll. Those who first heard about endostatin from the media were no more motivated by hope of personal benefit (77%) than those who first heard from other sources (71%) (P =.46). Ninety-nine percent of all respondents cited "joining the study gives me hope" as a contributing factor in their decision making about the trial.

CONCLUSION

Media coverage prompted prospective participants to contact their physicians but did not seem to hinder understanding nor could it be shown to heighten their hope for personal benefit.

Science information in the media: an academic approach to improve its intrinsic quality

The lay audience expresses a clear demand for scientific information, particularly when health and welfare are involved. For most people science is what they learn from the media. The need for good scientific journalism is pressing, to bridge the gap between the slow pace of science and the fast-moving and concise nature of successful mass communication. This academic postgraduate course was established by the Department of Pharmacological Sciences to train mediators to improve the quality of lay scientific dissemination. The programme focuses on teaching a method of selecting, analysing, understanding, mediating and diffusing scientific information to lay people. The course explores the theoretical and practical aspects of methods, techniques and channels of scientific communication. Case studies, practical exercises, and stages complement the theoretical curriculum. The teaching focus is on reducing the asymmetry between scientists and the public. The different backgrounds of students and the spread of topics are major challenges.

Print media coverage of research on passive smoking

OBJECTIVE

To assess the extent and content of newspaper and magazine coverage of research on passive smoking.

DESIGN

Content analysis of newspaper and magazine articles.

SUBJECTS

Articles reporting on passive smoking research published in newspapers (n = 180) or magazines (n = 92) between January 1981 and December 1994.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Numbers of articles, conclusions of articles, sources quoted, numbers and characteristics of research studies cited, presence of tobacco advertising.

RESULTS

The number of newspaper and magazine articles reporting on passive smoking research increased from four in 1981 to 57 in 1992 and 32 in 1994. Sixty-two per cent (168/272) of articles concluded that the research on passive smoking is controversial. Tobacco industry representatives were quoted significantly more often in newspaper articles (52%, 94/180) than magazine articles (12%, 11/92) (p<0.0001). Of 121 different research studies cited in the lay press articles, only 15 were from tobacco-industry sponsored projects or publications. In magazines, acceptance of tobacco industry advertising was associated with the conclusion that research on passive smoking is controversial (p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Although research on the harmful effects of passive smoking accumulated between 1981 and 1994, lay press coverage of the research maintained that the science was controversial. Few research studies were cited to support the industry's claim that passive smoking is not harmful to health. However, tobacco industry representatives who were critical of the research methods used to study the health effects of passive smoking were frequently quoted.

The Ingelfinger rule, embargoes, and journal peer review--Part 1

It is 27 years since Dr Franz Ingelfinger announced that a manuscript would be rejected by his journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, if it had been published elsewhere. Many other medical journals have since adopted this so-called Ingelfinger rule. The restrictions resulting from the rule have generated enormous controversy in medical journalism, as shown by the first of the two-part article The Ingelfinger rule, embargoes, and journal peer review. Critics say that the rule restricts the free flow of information, whereas proponents claim that information from a paper released early may be inaccurate because the paper has not been subjected to peer review. Yet peer review itself has also come under scrutiny, with its many limitations rarely being openly discussed.