Watch the Video Recap:
Event Date: Sept. 24, 2024
Our Speaker:
Dr. Jon LaPook, chief medical correspondent, CBS News; professor of medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine; gastroenterologist, NYU Langone Health.
Dr. Jon LaPook, award-winning chief medical correspondent for CBS News, visited the Ethics & Journalism Initiative to discuss the ethics of covering health issues, as well as to share key learnings from his decades-long career at the intersection of medicine and journalism.
LaPook and the audience viewed four news clips from his portfolio and, in a conversation with Ethics & Journalism Director Stephen J. Adler, LaPook addressed the ethical considerations at play in each piece of work and offered broader advice and guidance.
Clip 1: “Is mental illness the explanation for gun related violence in the United States?” CBS News, June 21, 2022
Reporters can make the mistake of repeating explanations and claims that have been widely published by other outlets or shared by spokespeople or leaders – without first determining the truth of the statements.
In this clip from 2022, LaPook sought to find a deeper understanding of the causes of gun violence in America, with a focus on researching the oft-repeated claim that mental illness is a key cause of the violence. What he learned in his reporting was enlightening.
Watch our discussion of this clip.
The takeaways for journalists:
- Be wary of simplistic answers to complicated questions.
- Don’t just parrot conventional wisdom and popular falsehoods.
- Pull back and get a broader view. It takes time, but it’s worth it.
Clip 2: “Experts Warn Against Vaccine Skepticism,” CBS News, Sept. 14, 2024
It can be a challenge to report with empathy while preserving one’s journalistic integrity and commitment to reporting the truth. What is a reporter’s responsibility to publish a source’s positions when the underlying facts are demonstrably false?
LaPook shared his reporting about the anti-vaccination movement from the fall of 2024 that looks at these reporting challenges and others.
Watch our discussion of this clip.
The takeaways for journalists:
- It’s not the journalists’ job to convince someone to take a stand. “Take a deep breath in, take a deep breath out. Investigate the issue, and then present it in a logical way,” LaPook said.
- Shine a “disinfecting light” on false claims made by people.
- In journalism, we have the responsibility to recognize false equivalency. “If a claim is absurd, then we don’t want to give it oxygen,” LaPook said.
The public-relations advisors of politicians, corporate leaders and other famous people often seek to closely guard the words spoken by their clients to journalists. When the boss goes off message, it’s not uncommon for the PR advisor to strongly lobby the reporter to not use the troubling word or phrase.
LaPook encountered this scenario in an interview with Sen. Harry Reid about Congress’s inability to move through legislation that was needed to get life-saving cancer drugs for children. Sen. Reid spoke more candidly about the slowness of the Senate than the PR aide would have liked, setting off a series of threats to LaPook and CBS News, which strongly supported LaPook’s reporting and rights to publish the comments.
LaPook also applauded CBS News for allowing him to correct on air a possible misimpression made in another piece.
Watch our discussion of this clip.
The takeaways for journalists:
- Don’t let politicians take back quotes.
- It’s important to work for a news organization that has your back, especially in ethical matters.
- Eagerly correct errors on the same platform to the same audience where the error was made. “Don’t say it in front of millions and correct it in front of thousands.”
Clip 4: Dr. LaPook Visits Patients in Haiti After the 2010 Earthquake, CBS News, April 24, 2010
Journalists in the field, especially in conflicts and natural disasters, can feel pulled between their role as an observer and a human with feelings, especially if the person has special skills or training that could assist the people being covered.
As a practicing physician and a journalist, LaPook often feels that tension. He shared this clip from the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti to illustrate how he handles the dual roles.
Watch our discussion of this clip.
The takeaways for journalists:
- Being a health-care professional and a journalist can raise an “unavoidable conflict of interest.” Draw a clear line between the two roles. In LaPook’s case, he instructs his crew to stop filming when he feels the need to practice medicine, pivoting away from journalism.
- Consider your responsibility as a journalist to ask patients for consent before filming them for broadcast.
Before leaving the session, LaPook suggested that medical and science journalists have humility and provide context when presenting science findings or ideas that could continue to evolve over time. He cautioned journalists to be careful to not be too strident or to imply that what is believed now will be believed forever.