The Business and Media Institute has just released "Prescription for Bias," a report (click here to download) that alleges, based on an analysis of 132 news segments, that network news and other coverage of the drug industry is biased against the industry.
One thought: perhaps the reporters are trying to counterbalance the hours of DTC and long litanies of side effects that their viewers are subjected to every night, during the commercial breaks?
Besides, there has been abundant evidence of media coverage going the other way, too.
But here is what the Business and Media Institute had to say about the report today.
...Released today, the report quantifies the bias against drug companies based on analysis of 132 stories on prescription or over-the-counter drugs from the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts between January 1 and Sept. 30, 2006.
Among the studys key findings:
· Industry Ignored “ 80% of stories excluded the viewpoint of the pharmaceutical industry
· Cost to Consumer “ Media overemphasized consumer drug costs as opposed to drug development costs at a radio of 11:1
· Companies Unnoticed “ Only 22% of the stories even named the company responsible for developing life saving cures
· What Development Costs? “ A mere 2% of the stories addressed the cost to companies for researching and developing drugs
The report also includes recommendations to improve network coverage.
The full report can be found at:
http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2007/PrescriptionForBias/PrescriptionForBias_execsum.asp
