Health and medical science journalists play a prominent role in setting the health agenda for the nation, yet little is known about how these reporters’ professional practices influence the way health issues are framed. Researchers in the Viswanath Lab surveyed US health and medical science reporters and editors to illuminate methods used to produce health news.

Health and medical science journalists play a prominent role in setting the health agenda for the nation, yet little is known about how these reporters’ professional practices influence the way health issues are framed. Researchers in the Viswanath Lab surveyed US health and medical science reporters and editors to illuminate methods used to produce health news. The researchers collected data regarding the racial, ethnic, and educational backgrounds of the reporters and of editors as well.

The survey revealed that the practices of journalists vary greatly depending on a number of factors, from education level to the size and capacity of the news organization. For example, respondents with a bachelor’s degree or less were more likely to use a human-interest angle in their health stories and less likely to use scientific journals as sources. This was also true of respondents from smaller organizations.

More research remains to be done, but this data provides an important snapshot of the ways medicine, health, and the media interact.