Pharma And Its Influence On The Media

[Guest guest]

Pharma And Its Influence On The Media

By Ed Silverman http://is.gd/8PO5

Who is watching the watchdog? That's a question posed in an essay in

BMJ. The authors caution doctors that drugmakers may be quietly

influencing some media by endowing university chairs or underwriting

professional groups; fund journalism awards; sponsor video material

with high-profile broadcasters, and hire public relations firms to

contract with freelance writers (whose ranks are growing as newspapers

throw staffers overboard) to compose stories for trade mags.

" Financial ties between medical journalists and for-profit companies

they cover in their reporting have received little attention in the

media or from the research community, " they write. " Such ties warrant

scrutiny, not least because many of us first learn about new

treatments from the news media, and these reports can affect the way

the public uses health care. The media also affect medical practice by

influencing the medical literature: journal articles that get media

coverage are more likely to be subsequently cited, regardless of the

article's intrinsic value…

" One of the more astonishing forms of financial ties between

journalists and drug companies is the sponsored award, which often

involves lucrative cash prizes or opportunities for international

travel, " they write. An example: Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim have

co-sponsored an award for `reporting on urinary incontinence,'

carrying a prize of international travel. Boehringer has an award for

reporting on `chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,' offering prizes

worth (about $6,400) each…

The essay goes on to note some awards are sponsored by organizations

that are heavily funded by industry, such as the non-profit Mental

Health America. Its 2007 annual report shows that almost half of its

funds came from drugmakers, including more than $1 million each from

Bristol Myers Squibb, Lilly, and Wyeth.

Why should you care? " Growing evidence from the biomedical literature

indicates that industry sponsorship matters, because it is associated

with more favorable research outcomes and because interactions with

the industry result in more prescribing of the sponsor's drug. We

suspect that entanglement may also matter in journalism, " the authors

conclude.

[Our thought: To keep it simple, industry funding for training,

education and awards is not a good idea. And any conflict should be

disclosed. Full disclosure: we belong to the Association of Health

Care Journalists, which has strict rules about such things.]

[Guest guest]

I was just about to post that. There was another " Ed " column about

pharma partnering with universities

http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/11/jj-and-ucsd-binding-pharma-and-

academia/

Both articles made me wonder if there ever will be my dreamed-of

pharma fall and pharma fire sale. I so wanted a collection of Zyprexa

purple rubber brains and Seroquel Legos for cheap.

>

> Pharma And Its Influence On The Media

> By Ed Silverman http://is.gd/8PO5

>

> Who is watching the watchdog? That's a question posed in an essay in

> BMJ. The authors caution doctors that drugmakers may be quietly

> influencing some media by endowing university chairs or underwriting

> professional groups; fund journalism awards; sponsor video material

> with high-profile broadcasters, and hire public relations firms to

> contract with freelance writers (whose ranks are growing as

newspapers

> throw staffers overboard) to compose stories for trade mags.

> " Financial ties between medical journalists and for-profit companies

> they cover in their reporting have received little attention in the

> media or from the research community, " they write. " Such ties

warrant

> scrutiny, not least because many of us first learn about new

> treatments from the news media, and these reports can affect the way

> the public uses health care. The media also affect medical practice

by

> influencing the medical literature: journal articles that get media

> coverage are more likely to be subsequently cited, regardless of the

> article's intrinsic value…

> " One of the more astonishing forms of financial ties between

> journalists and drug companies is the sponsored award, which often

> involves lucrative cash prizes or opportunities for international

> travel, " they write. An example: Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim have

> co-sponsored an award for `reporting on urinary incontinence,'

> carrying a prize of international travel. Boehringer has an award

for