Gary Schwitzer, University of Minnesota School of Journalism & Mass Communication

Visit Schwitzer health news blog

Science by news release

Posted on September 25, 2008

Sandy Szwarc, on her Junkfood Science blog, blasts lazy news coverage this week of a study reportedly finding that acupuncture works to reduce the side effects of breast cancer treatment as effectively as conventional medicine, without the side effects. She counted at least 144 news stories and tied them to a news release issued by the Henry Ford Health System. She wrote: Whether it s been from WebMD to the New York Times and every media outlet in between, the medical news has all simply repeated the script provided in the press release. ABC s medical science reporter, John McKenzie, ha...

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acupuncture , breast cancer , cancer , cancer treatment