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This week, public hearings were held on the West Virginia Sago mine disaster that gripped the country back in January. It turned out 12 of 13 miners died after first having been reported saved. The risks associated with mining rarely catch the attention of journalists – until, that is, something goes horribly wrong. Brooke speaks with Ellen Smith, editor of Mine Safety and Health News, about the response to Sago.
Big Tobacco agreed, as part of its 1998 settlement, to fund the American Legacy Foundation and its anti-smoking truth® campaign. The deal stipulates, however, that the Legacy ads cannot "vilify" or "personally attack” the tobacco companies. But Lorillard – which makes Newport, Kent and other brands – argues in a lawsuit that truth® crossed the line. William Sorrell, Chairman of the Board of Legacy, tells Bob that it can't be vilification if it's the truth.
Harper’s Magazine is not known for shunning controversy. But, an article in the March issue ignited a blaze of condemnation when it gave an uncritical platform to HIV skeptics, who contend that drugs cause AIDS, not HIV. In response, AIDS researchers issued a flurry of rebuttals. Brooke speaks with Harper’s editor Roger Hodge about the strong reaction to the article and how journalists should proceed when discrediting hard-won scientific research.
Gary Schwitzer, of the University of Minnesota's Health Journalism Program, believes that faulty health reporting can actually make the public less healthy. And so he created a website that rates – on a scale from one to five – health news stories from the country’s major media outlets. Schwitzer tells Bob how his new site will up the quality of health reporting.
Gary Schwitzer, of the University of Minnesota's Health Journalism Program, believes that faulty health reporting can actually make the public less healthy. And so he created a website that rates – on a scale from one to five – health news stories from the country’s major media outlets. Schwitzer tells Bob how his new site will up the quality of health reporting.
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the worst nuclear accident in history. But two decades later, Chernobyl’s human toll is still disputed. And if the picture is unclear now, it’s nothing compared to the days and weeks following the explosion. Bob talks with longtime CBS Moscow correspondent and Soviet historian Jonathan Sanders about the journalism that Chernobyl left in its wake.
For years, Kevin Trudeau used late-night infomercials to pitch everything from memory enhancers to cancer cures. He was eventually sued by the Federal Trade Commission, and, in a settlement, agreed to pay two million dollars and cease product sales. And so he did the only thing the government would let him do: he wrote a book called Natural Cures They Don’t Want You to Know About. But, as reporter Sebastian Krueger reports, Trudeau hasn’t exactly stayed one step ahead of the law.
This week, the USDA said it would tweak its new food pyramid to include warnings about mercury in fish. If you didn’t notice, you’re probably not alone, because the latest pyramid design is entirely Internet-based. As NYU nutritionist Marion Nestle told Brooke last year when the new design was unveiled, without the Web it doesn’t communicate much at all -- except a long history of food industry influence.
