Widening the debate about conflict of interest: addressing relationships between journalists and the pharmaceutical industry

Abstract

The phone-hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News of the World newspaper in Britain has prompted international debate about media practices and regulation. It is timely to broaden the discussion about journalistic ethics and conduct to include consideration of the impact of media practices upon the population's health. Many commercial organizations cultivate relationships with journalists and news organizations with the aim of influencing the content of health-related news and information communicated through the media. Given the significant influence of the media on the health of individuals and populations, we should be alert to the potential impact of industryjournalist relationships on health care, health policy and public health. The approach taken by the medical profession to its interactions with the pharmaceutical industry provides a useful model for management of industry influence.

Mechanisms for addressing and managing the influence of corporations on public health policy, research and practice: a scoping review

“…43 However, in reality, these interactions often are the default approach in public health, probably driven by a strong influence exerted by businesses. 43 These interactions, the reasons for them to happen and ► Institutions should not accept money, if doing so pushes them to be something that is not consistent with their mission (eg, to promote the health of the public) 71 Policy on academic publication rights 40 ► opposing industry-sponsored prizes and educational endowments Where countries regulate journalism, the above strategies could be mandated by law, with substantial fines for those who fail to comply (and third parties acting on behalf of the industry) and journalists, editors, media organisations and journalism organisations (including professional and educational bodies) 88 Where countries regulate journalism, the above strategies could be mandated by law, with substantial fines for those who fail to comply X X Other Public database of conflicts of interests for individuals and institutions in public health 40 Open access associated risks for public health were recently discussed in the literature. 43 Public institutions sometimes lack resources, particularly financial resources, to address urgent public health issues.…”

Power and Control in Interactions Between Journalists and Health-Related Industries: The View From Industry

“…Those with concerns about these relationships have generally proposed some combination of greater transparency of journalists' interactions with their sources, and external regulation of industry-journalist relationships (Moynihan and Sweet 2000;Schwartz, Woloshin, and Moynihan 2008;Lipworth et al 2012) Our findings suggest that, at least from the point of view of industry, transparency and regulation of journalists might be warranted-but that such measures should serve not (only) to protect otherwise vulnerable journalists from being manipulated by an allpowerful industry. Rather, they should be seen, at least in part, as ways of curtailing both journalists' and industry's capacity to adversely manipulate information about medicines, medical devices and diagnostics, foods and beverages.…”

Views of health journalists, industry employees and news consumers about disclosure and regulation of industry-journalist relationships: an empirical ethical study

“…While it is beyond the scope of this article to elucidate a detailed strategy for managing competing or conflicting interests (see refs 3 and 4), our results have pointed to several practical steps that could be taken to ensure that all key stakeholders accept greater regulation and disclosure, and that these measures have the intended effect on the quality of journalism and the actions of news consumers.…”