International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

The news media are an important source of health information, not just for the general public, but also for patients, for doctors and the medical community, for entertainment producers in search of story ideas, and for policymakers and funding organizations (→  Health Communication ). Journalistic practices favor the use of established sources, so public health and medical journals are one of the principal sources for health reporting. Fundamental differences between the institutional norms of →  Journalism and public health and medicine create potential sources of misunderstanding and confusion among news consumers. Nonetheless, studies have demonstrated the effects of news media on knowledge, health behavior, medical practice, and public policy (→  Media Effects ). Journalistic practices facilitate the routine construction of news, and affect how medical and health information is presented. For example, journalists favor established sources because their credibility can easily be confirmed, and because they can provide a steady flow of information to the journalist, which is useful for the continuous development of new stories (→  News Sources ; News Routines ). Medical and public health journals are an important established source for journalists because certain rules and practices of the journals have facilitated their use as sources for reporters. These journals are peer-reviewed ... log in or subscribe to read full text