Hinnant Amanda, Len-Ríos María E, Young Rachel
Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri, Strategic Communication, 140J Walter Williams Hall, Columbia, Missouri, 65211, USA,
Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri, Strategic Communication, Walter Williams Hall, Columbia, Missouri, 65211, USA,
Journal Stud. 2013;14(4). doi: 10.1080/1461670X.2012.721633.
Health journalists often use personal stories to put a "face" on a health issue. This research uses a sociology-of-news approach, based on data collected from 42 in-depth interviews and three surveys with health journalists and editors [national (N = 774), state (N = 55), and purposive (N = 180)], to provide a first look at how important journalists think exemplars are to their stories. Results show journalists select exemplars to inform, inspire, and/or sensationalize a health issue. Some of the strategies journalists use to locate exemplars pose ethical concerns. Further, journalists rank the use of exemplars lower in aiding audience understanding compared with the use of experts, data and statistics, and definitions of technical terms.
健康领域的记者常常借助个人故事让健康问题变得“有血有肉”。本研究采用新闻社会学方法，基于对健康领域记者和编辑进行的42次深度访谈以及三项调查（全国性调查，N = 774；州级调查，N = 55；针对性调查，N = 180）所收集的数据，初步探讨记者认为典型事例对其报道有多重要。结果显示，记者选择典型事例是为了说明、启发和/或炒作某个健康问题。记者用于寻找典型事例的一些策略引发了伦理方面的担忧。此外，与使用专家、数据和统计信息以及技术术语定义相比，记者认为典型事例在帮助受众理解方面的作用较小。
