Nieman Reports

Summer 2003

Medical Reporting

Cover for Summer 2003

“The chasm between medical journalists and physicians appears mostly to be one of ignorance rather than conflicting interests or malice,” writes Terry L. Schraeder, who for 10 years worked as a medical journalist before entering medical school. Now doing her residency in internal medicine, she uses these experiences to highlight the problems between journalists and doctors and ways to close the widening gap of distrust. She is convinced that only when they “understand the other’s professional training, education, deadlines, responsibilities, codes of ethics, and internal stresses” will the chasm narrow. – Melissa Ludtke, Editor

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Medical Reporting

Summer 2003: Medical Reporting Introduction

By Journalist’s Trade June 15, 2003

“The chasm between medical journalists and physicians appears mostly to be one of ignorance rather than conflicting interests or malice,” writes Terry L. Schraeder, who for 10 years worked as a medical journalist before entering medical school. Now doing her residency in internal medicine, she uses these experiences to highlight the problems between journalists and doctors and ways to close the widening gap of distrust. She is convinced that only when they “understand the other’s professional training, education, deadlines, responsibilities, codes of ethics, and internal stresses” will the chasm narrow. – Melissa Ludtke, Editor Read more

Tips for Writing Medical News

Journalist’s Trade June 15, 2003

Never use the word “miracle.” Leave that to ministers, mayonnaise-makers and sports-writers. Don’t use “breakthrough.” Breakthroughs are infrequent and this word, like controversy, is so overused that it has lost much of its impact. And “major breakthrough” is redundant.  Avoid … Read more

Medical Journalism Training

Journalist’s Trade June 15, 2003

Medical Journalism Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Journalism and Mass Communication. As one of the nation’s first master’s programs in medical journalism, the two-year experience emphasizes writing skills for print and broadcast media. Read more

Masthead

Publisher
Bob Giles
Editor
Melissa Ludtke
Assistant Editor
Lois Fiore
Editorial Assistant
Elizabeth Son
Design Editor
Deborah Smiley
Cover Story
A patient’s dosage for the Phase I trial of H11, a monoclonal antibody, in the treatment of her ovarian cancer. This image has been manipulated in Adobe PhotoShop. Jetta Fraser/The (Toledo) Blade.

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