How does mass media report new discoveries in medicine? What should an effective newspaper or magazine report about a new diagnostic procedure, treatment, or medication consist of? Describe any example of a report you find with respect to the amount of use of medical terminology, the amount of use of layman’s terminology, and the definition of terms within the article. Make a judgment about whether a layperson would be able to understand the article.

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anonymous · Answer

In all honesty I personally see that the major media distributions selectively choosing studies and not giving enough information about them. For real news i go to sciencedaily.com. The mass media tends to write in a way that appeals to the comprehension of the masses. So find an article on cbs and analysis it.

anonymous · Answer

I also think that it also depends on what the audience wants. Mass media (on the level of CNN, BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.) is almost always required to reduce a lot of what is being said from a clinical standpoint to make it palatable for mass consumption. But on the other hand, there are resources out there like what killbot88 has pointed out that take that extra step in terms of coverage beyond the simplified reporting. One other site that you might want to look at for trial reports is the National Cancer Institute ( http://www.cancer.gov/) which allows you to search on existing trials and the summary reports on what they are involved in doing from a medical standpoint. These reports are definitely not meant for the kind of audience mass media is normally focused on and might also contribute to helping with your question.