When the media inaccurately reports medical research results, the most effective damage control involves an immediate press conference with the researchers who conducted the original study. Last month, this strategy was key to the PR team at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston clarifying a misleading and sensationalized London newspaper report that a monkey virus used in early polio vaccinations was "cancer-causing."
The story as reported by the London Sunday Telegraph triggered a short-lived but national media flurry threatening to worry anyone who had received a polio vaccine. The newspaper based its story on research conducted by molecular virologist Dr. Janet S. Butel at Baylor suggesting, but not proving, a slight causal relationship between a monkey virus and human tumors. Despite the disclaimer in the first paragraph of Baylor's press release that a causal relationship "has not been proven," the newspaper reported that pre-1963 polio vaccines contaminated with the monkey virus might be responsible for hundreds of cancer deaths annually.
Baylor's PR department, headed by B. J. Armstrong, quickly organized a press conference with Dr. Butel and other experts to provide first-person clarification on the research results. Her statements emphasized:
- The need for additional research to establish a causal relationship between the virus and cancer.
- That the public should not be concerned about getting cancer from polio vaccines
- That parents should not prevent their children from getting vaccinated.
National print and TV media outlets like USA Today, Associated Press, CBS, ABC and NBC ran stories on the misunderstood study with several quotes by Dr. Butel. And Dr. Butel appeared on a health program aired by Fox TV that dedicated a segment to the subject.
As is usually the case when a story has been misreported, the clarification story received significantly more media coverage than the original press release disseminated in January, says Armstrong. Prior to the Telegraph piece, Dr. Butel's research generated minimal trade coverage in medical journals.
Although Baylor rarely confronts journalists inaccurately reporting its research, "consequence management" issues surrounding misleading stories about vaccine research constantly challenge the press department at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Consequence management" is what the CDC terms its PR strategy to track and correct misleading press coverage.
Shortly after the Telegraph story appeared, the CDC received 49 inquiries from both reporters and individuals concerned about the article's cancer claims, says Barbara Reynolds, a CDC public affairs specialist for vaccine research and infectious disease.
Baylor's press conference helped to squelch these concerns. The CDC also addressed public fears by referring people to other credible resources like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization that could validate the safety of polio vaccines.
The biggest challenge with managing the damage caused by inaccurate reporting is the proliferation of computer databases and noncommercial Web sites that regurgitate the flawed news, says Richard Bruno, director of the Post-Polio Institute at the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.
While there is no way to prevent the media from sensationalizing or inaccurately reporting medical research or keep third-party organizations from recycling it, Reynolds says medical study conclusions need to be more clearly emphasized in press materials to avoid misunderstandings. Also, with the proliferation of health news, reporters need to get better training on reporting medical issues, Reynolds says. "It's not just the cub reporters or reporters at small news organizations that misreport medical findings, it's also national networks and advocacy organizations that need to do a better job of reporting medical news."
(Baylor College of Medicine, B.J. Armstrong, 713/798-4712; CDC, Barbara Reynolds, 404/639-3286)
Damage Control
When the media has misrepresented medical findings, the best way to salvage the damage is to:
- Hold an immediate press conference with the researcher(s) of the original study.
- Determine if your researcher should do exclusive interviews with specific news organizations.
- Work with other medical organizations (national and local) to clarify the specific information misreported by the media.
- Track the media's coverage before and after the inaccurate reports to determine how effective your corrective efforts are and if additional follow up is needed.
Source: HPRMN