Browsing by Author "Stassen, Wilma"

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    Health research as news in South Africa: measuring the quality of health journalism at six daily newspapers
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12) Stassen, Wilma; Claassen, George; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Quantitative analysis of reporting on new medical research by six South African newspapers The media are extremely influential in shaping public opinion about various issues. News reports on new medical research have the potential to impact on people’s health – not only by influencing individual behaviour, but also by informing health professionals and policy-makers about new medical findings. This study measured the standard of news reports on new medical research that were published in six daily newspapers in South Africa during 2014. Using a rating model developed by Health Media Review and based on ten criteria that characterise a good health news report, every relevant article published in that period was analysed and rated. The ratings of individual articles were combined to determine an average rating for each newspaper. Averages for each criterion highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of each newspaper’s reporting on new medical research. Additional information about the number, placement and origin of articles was also collected and provided insight into the value newspapers attach to reports on new medical research. The findings indicated that although the average scores varied widely between individual newspapers, definitive trends in high and low scoring criteria applied to all the publications. In other words, newspapers displayed similar strengths and weaknesses for certain criteria and there were definitive areas in which all newspapers either scored very well or fared poorly. In general the assessed newspapers fared well regarding some very important basic principles of science reporting, such as grasping the quality of evidence and avoiding disease mongering, but much more can be done to improve the standard of reporting on new medical research. The research indicated that journalists should engage more critically with new research by highlighting the benefits as well as the risks of a new medication or technology, adding comment from independent sources and ensuring that they only report on peer-reviewed research. Journalists should also do more to inform readers about the accessibility and true value of new research by discussing availability and costs and benchmarking it against other therapies.