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News About ISFiT The ISFiT way Theme 2013: Global Trade

“8 signs that you have a health problem”

Silje Helene Nilsen

”8 sign that you have a health problem”, ”This is how an orgasm feels”, ”Do you drink too much milk?”, “Madonna starts her own fitness franchise”, “Lose weight using hypnosis”, “Gender equality leads to suicide among men”. An ordinary morning in November, this is the headlines that meets you in the Norwegian tabloid press, online and on paper.

When I was asked to write a comment about a health related issue that lately has been in the spotlight of the media, I struggled finding something interesting to write about. The main reason for that, I think, is because of a health journalism that has become one-sided and uncritical. If you take a look at the front pages of VG, Dagbladet and Aftenposten, which are the most popular newspapers in Norway, what meets you are headlines like the ones mentioned. This is the type of health journalism readers are offered in the country’s biggest newspapers.

The main theme of ISFiT 2011 is global health, a very important and complex theme, but this is not reflected in the media coverage of health issues. The critical and nuanced health reporting is something a reader rarely experiences in the tabloid press.

Health is an issue that has relevance for everyone; people care about their own health. That makes health a topic that sells. The circulations of Norwegian newspapers are sinking, and the tabloids react by publishing what seems to be their concern and care for you. With big, bold headlines they explains how they will help you to live a better life. If a reader would to actually obey all the warnings and advices he gets from the news during a week, both on paper and online, he wouldn’t have much of a life left.

The newspapers often have journalists who specialize in specific domains such as politics, economics and sports. Journalists specialized in health is however not something that is prioritized in the same way. That’s probably one of the reasons why we more rarely experience complex stories and journalism that’s got a critical eye on health authorities and medical research.

If you go to Adressa.no, the local newspaper in Trondheim, a large part of their health page consists of short articles from the Norwegian News Agency. Here’s an example of the kind of articles I’m talking about: “People working night shifts should eat dark chocolate. A study from South Korea says that it will give them better health.” And that’s about it. The media has a social responsibility. For this to be maintained the media can’t continue to publish this one-sided journalism, and it can’t be taken for granted that one “expert” holds the truth. Their social responsibility requires that they cover more than one side of the story. The media should provide the reader with better insight. Not creating fear. Because that’s what they sometimes do. The media relies on our fears of health problems in order to sell more newspapers or to get more hits.

The marked is taking more control, the newspapers are forced to use less money, and the journalists get less time and resources to do their job properly. Journalists and the newspaper are not the only one to blame. Doctors, researcher and health authorities also have a responsibility when they’re disseminating their often complicated work and research to the journalist. But in the end it is the media that conveys the information to the audience. In the end it is the media that has the social responsibility, and that must be taken seriously. I bet Norwegian journalists could learn a lot from participating on ISFiT in February, when 450 students from all over the world meets in Trondheim to discuss important topics within global health.