Comments on: Why the media is a barrier to health reform

By: Tom McLoughlin

Tom McLoughlin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Frankly I thought this article was hogwash even allowing for untrained journalists, cynical editors, and commercial imperatives. I kept searching for a practical piece of evidence for the thesis. None that I could see in how many words? Medical stories that have run recently of real public interest - the girl who died from mistreatment of a golf ball to the bead (Dempster et al Stateline), Reeves in Bega (Coulthard/Sunday 9). The seriously alarming history of bullying in Cowra Ambulance station - what’s the bet the bullies are ALP connected? - SMH. I mean - who is the good professor kidding with the a priori assertions all the way through. She may well be right … but how would anyone know? Not from this public dribbling. Fact is the higher rungs of medicine are a haughty closed shop - which do need sunlight. Sure it might need a bit more refractory finesse in there but I’m not buying, sorry.

By: Gill Williamson

Gill Williamson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Get real Prof - you and your mob get paid heaps of money to be the ‘experts’ and it is you who have the power to shape the healthcare system. When you fail, as has been the fate of the NSW Health system of late, it is nothing to do with anyone else. Concentrate on your job!

By: Bernard

Bernard — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

this has a good tie in to Stilgherrian's rant (or is that piece?) today ; it is not in the "old" media's interest to properly and constructively and fearlessly pursue stories. Unless there is a commercial impact (babies born in ED loo's make great page 1 headlines and sell well), or unless a scalp can be claimed.

I'm sure that it is very frustrating to those behind the scenes who do brief journo's on what is going on to find that they are incredibly selectively reported.

And no, generally the journo's don't understand the complexities of the system.

Then there is the influence that other political lobby groups do have over the media - at times more than over the government; I'm referring to the AMA. The "quality media" frequently give them huge fat column inches, while neglecting to point out that they are just a union who have Doctors Rights at heart - more so than what is best for the resource starved health system.

By: Dave Liberts

Dave Liberts — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

This story doesn’t sound right to me. Why would senior bureaucrats need to get tied up with this when they’re meant to be running the health system? Surely it only takes a couple of flacks in the Minister’s office to trot out the usual responses to these stories. Certainly, most of the tabloid journalists coming up with these stories and the vast majority of their viewers are all idiots, so why should they tie up ‘senior management’ for up to ‘days or weeks on end’?

By: james

james — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

yep I am sad to say that this article hits the nail on the head. The media not only love tabloid bed closure story and on the small number of occasions that a story is a positive it usually is a “medical technological marvel” that reinforces the a distortion in funding to the tertiary sector, Primary care and health prevention are the crucial areas where a health services can improve population health. Would love a day where the media demands more awareness and prevention measures