SPJ, Assn. of Health Care Journalists urge stations, newspapers to keep health reporting independent

The Association of Health Care Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists are urging local broadcast stations and newspapers to avoid arrangements with hospitals that improperly influence health coverage, saying unethical partnerships interfere with independent news coverage of health care.

The journalism groups said in a press release that they are "concerned about news media that publish or broadcast stories, reports, news releases and interviews prepared or paid for by hospitals," and say "editorial cutbacks, along with pressure on hospitals to market profitable services, may be eroding standards established by the groups' codes of ethics.

"In several recently reported cases, local hospitals have exerted editorial control by supplying pre-packaged stories and other content to news organizations. In some but not all cases, hospitals paid for this special influence," the release says. "A Maryland newspaper sold its weekly health page to a local hospital and put the hospital in charge of providing content. The arrangement was halted amid community protest after just one published issue." Examples of broadcast public relations masquerading as journalism include "airing of hospital-produced segments with hazy branding or no branding at all, leading viewers to believe the local station reported the story."

Some broadcasters say disclosure of such deals validates them, but the groups said such disclosure must be continuous during a report, and in any event, "Arrangements in which television or radio stations or newspapers hand over editorial decision-making to hospitals violate the principles of ethical journalism and betray public trust. Content produced by hospitals does not fulfill the duty of news organizations to provide the public with independent medical reporting."

The groups said news organizations should fully disclose the source of any editorial information not independently gathered, should not run prepackaged stories produced by hospitals unless they are clearly and continuously labeled as advertisements, should not favor advertisers or sponsors over competing health-care providers when choosing sources or story topics, and should develop guidelines for the public disclosure of sponsors and advertisers, including a ban on appearances by news staffers in sponsored programs or advertising.

The SPJ Code of Ethics calls on journalists to "Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two." It and AHCJ’s Statement of Principles say journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know, remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility and deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage."