summer-2003-Part 2-live - Nieman Foundation - Harvard University

Medical ReportingWouldn’t debate be more informed,and perhaps more civil, if people hadmore information about aspects ofmedical research before it was underway?No one could argue with the premisethat it would be better to get peoplethe information they need to weighthese ethical and political decisions.Coming up with these ideas was theeasy part. Out of these ideas grew ourmission: to inform citizens and engagethem in a thoughtful and civil discussionof the ethical implications of medicalresearch. Now we needed to determinehow best to do this. We settled onusing the approach of civic journalism,because we wanted to reach not justscientists and other experts who have anatural interest in these topics, butalso other members of our community.We wanted to encourage ordinarypeople to think and talk about theseissues that sometimes seem disconnectedfrom their lives. To engage thebroader community, we joined forceswith two local television stations andused the Internet. Through this partnership,and with the assistance of thePew Center for Civic Journalism, weworked to reinforce the sense that theseare topics that a broader audiencecould—and should —ponder.What follows are the basic elementsof our series:• A series of in-depth reports that appearedin the Lincoln Journal Staron four successive Sundays in January2001. University of NebraskaMedical Center scientists exploredgene therapy, stem cell research,xenotransplantation and cloning.• A survey of opinion in Nebraskaabout these areas of research.• A televised public forum in whichpeople who weren’t specialists ponderedthe ethical implications ofmedical research. A panel of citizenssat on the stage of the auditorium.As needed, the moderators calledon experts seated in the audience—doctors, ethicists, interest grouprepresentatives, state senators—tofurther the discussion. The moderatorswere careful to keep the momentumwith the citizens, not withAll articles and photosare protected undercopyright law. LincolnJournal Star photos andarticles may not be placedon websitesPanelists from the community watch as a video about xenotransplantation starts off themedical ethics town hall meeting at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Photo courtesy ofthe Lincoln Journal Star.the experts.• A Web site (http://net.unl.edu/newsFeat/med_eth/me_index.html)where much of our work is archived,along with a discussion board, lessonplans for teachers, and links toother resources.Lessons Learned Inside theNewsroomWhile we were working to prepareordinary Nebraskans to grapple withtough decisions about medical ethics,we were also making tough choices asjournalists.These included:• Working to overcome “the eggheadfactor”: Medical and science reportersknow how easy it can be to losethe reader among the white lab coatsand the test tubes. So we workedhard to understand complex issuesso that we could then make theinformation accessible to readers.Our strategy, not a novel one, was totry to put a human face on eachstory: We profiled a family copingwith a rare genetic disease and ayoung mother who had a stem celltransplant. And we paired these personaldimensions with what welearned about the science. Storieswe did about cloning presented aparticular challenge because themedical center wasn’t doing researchin that area. Reporter JoAnne Younghad a good idea: Use identical twinsas an example, since they are nature’sclones.• Finding space in the newspaper, timefor the extra reporting, and moneyto support this extra effort: Thesesituations are perennial strugglesfor journalists, especially for thoseat small- and medium-sized newspapers.A $23,500 grant from Pewhelped to fund these additional demands.• Working with other media partners:Print journalists and broadcast journalistsdon’t think alike and theywork on different deadlines. Thesedifferences can be stimulating, butthey can also be frustrating. Weworked hard to collaborate and communicate.Sometimes we failed.Mostly, it worked.• Keeping the focus on the future: Weaimed this series at a range of medicalissues, rather than getting entangledin the polarized debate onfetal tissue research.30 Nieman Reports / Summer 2003