Health reporters find the slightest whiff of drugmakers cozying up to doctors with perks and presents tantalizing.
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Can a drugmaker pay for journalists' education without posing a conflict?
Such potential conflicts of interest bother the public, too. A recent Consumer Reports survey found that more than two-thirds of people said they think drugmakers hold too much sway over doctors' decisions about which medicines to prescribe.
So we did a double take when we heard about a four-day cancer seminar for journalists being paid for by drug giant Pfizer. Fifteen reporters will get all-expenses-paid trips to Washington in October for the session.
The nonprofit National Press Foundation, which is hosting the seminar, says it's intended to "help journalists understand the latest research and its implications for cervical, prostate, breast and other cancers." But critics say it also creates the appearance of a conflict that journalists should avoid.
Gary Schwitzer, a longtime health journalist who now runs a nonprofit service that critiques health coverage, asked in an e-mail, "How can news consumers be sure of the veracity of the content that attending reporters write on these topics in the future?" He points out that the Society of Professional Journalists'ethics code tells reporters to refuse "free travel and special treatment."
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