Journalism

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Journalism balance Dr. Tammy Boyce Cardiff
School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies,
UK
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• Media content sample 28 January to 15 September
  2002
• Television (2 news programmes with largest
  audience in the UK - weekday BBC 600 evening
  news and ITV 630 evening news)
• Radio (BBC 3 hour morning news Today) (sizable
  audience, 10 million )
• Newspapers The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily
  Mail, The Sun, Daily Mirror, Mail on Sunday,
  Sunday Times, News of the World, The Observer

• Production analysis
• 8 journalists authored highest number of
  stories for media analysed in content analysis
• 11 Sources most common or well-known medical/
  scientific organisations

• Reception analysis
• 2 nationally representative audience surveys
  over 1000 respondents (held in Apr, Oct 2002)
  samples were weighted in terms of gender, age and
  occupation.
• 4 focus groups after surveys (May Nov 2003),
  only mothers

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Source opinion on MMR vaccine by media outlet
(n643)
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John Draper (ITV) In Tonights poll most
respondents think that Tony Blair should go
public. 80 also want alternatives to MMR. This
Liverpool clinic does just that- offering single
jabs for each disease to worried
parents. Parent You should be able to have your
children vaccinated singly at your own doctors. I
object strongly to being told what and when to
inject into my children. Dr Pat Troop (Deputy
Chief Medical Officer) We have no concerns
about our current vaccine. I think it will send
a very strong signal that parents will say, hang
on we think that maybe there is a problem around
this vaccine - why else would you offer us a
single vaccine - and confidence would go. (ITV
news 4 February 2002)
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TONY Blair has failed to convince parents that
the MMR jab is safe, an exclusive News of the
World poll reveals. Four out of ten people do NOT
trust the combined vaccine against measles, mumps
and rubella despite a massive campaign to
reassure families. Our ICM poll reveals that the
government faces a crisis of confidence over MMR.
Just 60 per cent of people support the official
view that the vaccine is safe and should be given
to youngstersDoubts about MMR began when it was
claimed there could be a link between the vaccine
and autism. Critics said parents should be given
the choice of having separate jabs against each
of the diseases on the NHS instead of the
combined vaccine. The government refused to make
separate vaccinations available-so many children
were left with no protection against deadly
measles critic Dr Andrew Wakefield, whose
research raised safety concerns, said health
chiefs were treating the public like a "moronic
mass". (News of the World 10 February 2002)
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Dr Helen Bedford (Institute of Child Health) We
know that by giving single vaccines the coverage
of immunisation would be reduced leaving
individual children at risk of the diseases but
also allowing the diseases to circulate in the
population. Sue Saville (journalist) But some
parents worried about MMR believe they should
have an option for single doses. Parent 1 I
think theres sufficient enough concern and
uncertainty that I dont see any down side in
giving them the single jab. Parent 2 There
should be a choice between the triple and the
single injections (ITV 6 February 2002)
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Harry Smith (journalist) At this clinic in South
London hundreds of parents pay so that their
children can have separate jabs for measles,
mumps and rubella because they dont trust the
combined vaccine. None we spoke to was reassured
by todays report. (Parent 1) Even the so-called
experts have conflicting reports some say there
is a risk some say there isnt. So if theres
doubt in their minds then theres going to be
doubt in my mind. (Parent 2) Well I only heard
it this morning just before I was going to come.
But theres always seems to be some other
research that balances that out. So I think that
if I had thought about it I probably still
wouldve come. (ITV news 12 June 2002)
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How different journalists balanced the story
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TB In terms of the story, if youve got one
scientist or a group of scientists saying one
thing and youve got a larger group of scientists
saying (something) contradictory do you feel it
is adequate or appropriate to balance that story
equally so that each have equal space, equal
weight in the story? Journalist Yes, I think I
genuinely try to do that. TB You genuinely try
to do that? Journalist Yes, the (newspaper) is a
very old fashioned place and were very keen on
balance here. (Health editor)
TB Does it concern you at all that the amount of
evidence is so clearly skewed, one side has so
much more evidence? Journalist Well thats an
opinion and I dont have an opinion. (Health
editor)
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Journalist Its the point isnt it? Theyre
(pro-MMR parents) not campaigning at all. TB I
suppose to be fair, many of the parents on the
Today programme werent campaigners they were
just average parents who were interviewed. Journal
ist Its not average parents who were
interviewed, its the parents of autistic
children in a debate about whether MMR has an
influence on autism TB My point is that was it
an editorial decision - youre saying no, this
was just the way we were reporting the story.
Which is basically what youre saying to
me? Journalist Yeah. Its very loaded though.
What a strange question to ask, people whove got
something to say about the subject rather than
people who havent! (Science correspondent)
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Audience Expectations of Balance

• both sides
• pros and cons
• Arguments for and against
• positives and negatives

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M2 And his research was based on two thousand
people or not even that? TB Twelve. M2 Twelve
- a lot less. V2 Im gob-smacked that based on
that research we are in this situation! I am
really gob-smacked! TB Youre all looking at me
with quizzical eyes. I need to say this for the
tape. (laughter) M1 Im reeling a bit. TB Why
are you reeling? M1 Because of the number. Im
quite shocked thats all on such small numbers.
I am. I am shocked. TB Just shocked or anything
else? M1 Well I would say I feel a little bit
stupid really, I feel Ive been completely washed
along with the crowd. M represents a parent
who modified their vaccination decision since
1998 (either ceased to give or chose single
vaccines) V represents a parent who vaccinated
their child with the MMR vaccine.
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