Jornada sobre periodismo biomédico

For some time now, biomedical journalism has been facing a number of changes and challenges which, to say the least, are forcing it to review its objectives and raison d’être. Commonplace as it may be, the irruption of the Internet has shaken the foundations of this journalistic specialty, and of the whole media. Even so, the Internet is only one of many opened fronts.

Major scientific journals like Nature or Science are betting heavily on a greater presence in the media. The influence of press offices is increasing at the same pace as the number of institutions which find it indispensable to have one. Journalists, on their part, are increasingly directed towards a comfortable and friendly environment that is difficult to lay aside. This scenario, however, raises serious questions about the journalist’s function and about how the media should adapt to this context.

Receptors too are evolving, as shown by the increasingly decisive influence of audiences. “We are reaching new patterns of behavior on how information is accessed and on how knowledge is transmitted to society” states Vladimir de Semir, coordinator of this book and former director ofLa Vanguardia’s scientific supplement (no longer published). Again, the Internet is mostly responsible for this new attitude of society. This communication tool allows users to access directly any source of information relevant to their interests, which leads them to increasingly ignore conventional media. If the journalists’ intermediary role is slowly fading because direct communication is esblished between institutions and society, and if the information they receive is increasingly homogeneous and directed, what role is left for them?

This is the question that 28 scientists and representatives of different media and press offices attempted to answer at the one-day meeting on biomedical journalism organized by the Foundation in October 2005. Three specialists also tried to cast some light on this subject: Gemma Revuelta, from the Scientific Communication Observatory of Barcelona; Erik Cobo, from the Department of Statistics and Operations Research of the Catalonia Polytechnic University, and Rafael Bravo, a physician at the Healthcare Center Sector III of Getafe (Madrid) and the creator of webpage Infodoctor.org. Both their submissions and further discussions generated during the meeting have been gathered in this new publication by the Esteve Foundation. Again, science journalism in the spotlight.