Promises and pitfalls for the health journalism in Romania
Promises and pitfalls for the health journalism in Romania

Summary/Abstract: The present article starts from Reese’s thesis (1997) according to which journalism is an activity of collecting empirical information, in which various activities have developed (Reese, 1997: 423). The paradigm of journalism is seen by Schudson (1997) as a model that governs the collection of information. In his seminal work on journalism as profession, Schudson (1997) assessed that the true parading of journalism is revealed through practice and is based on some excellence criteria related to the impact of this activity on the public (Schudson, 1997: 8). The article has as its aim to identify the peculiarities of health journalism in Romania. We have started from the assumption that in this case, the health journalists are crossing borders with social and investigative journalism – many of them are migrating from social topics to strict medical topics coverage. Once specialised, they offer a closer and more accurate perspective of the health medical system they covered in their everyday activity. In order to see what are the main traits of health journalism in Romania, we have analysed a set of 24 interviews conducted in February-May 2014. The interviews were made with journalists working directly with the health system representatives and care providers, as well as with health authorities and institutions. The results showed that journalists had declared general negative perceptions about the medical system in Romania. They have defined the Romanian health system as a dysfunctional one (although the aim of the interviews it is not to criticise the system or the professionals), a system which is ”in a profound and structural crisis”. Also, the journalists have stressed the lack of patient education in relation with their doctors - the ”bribe” being seen as the cornerstone of this relation. The future of health journalism in Romania is seen in a rather positive way, due to the main educational aim of this type of journalism.

• Details
• Contents