Newspaper Coverage of the Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Report

Abstract

The accuracy of medical stories in newspapers is a controversial issue. This study evaluated the accuracy of newspaper reports on an annual consumer report that reports the expected number of deaths following bypass surgery conducted in Pennsylvania hospitals. Analysis of 42 articles published following the 1994 report identified 52 factual errors, 127 mistakes in technical terms, 29 misspellings of proper names, and 7 misquotations. Daily newspapers averaged 5.61 errors per article, weekly newspapers averaged 4.33 errors per article, and trade publications averaged 2.83 errors per article. The authors conclude that trade publications appear to have provided the most accurate coverage and recommend development of a voluntary certification program for science reporters and that scientists be encouraged to seek additional training in newspaper relations.