- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/01/her-name-was-mary-she.html
- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/01/health-reform-changing-the-game-for-pediatric-cancer-patients.html
- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/01/share-your-photos-childhood-cancer-awareness.html
- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june12/childrencancer_01-12.html
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Jan. 12, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
A series of reports on the future of cancer treatment and the strides made in the study of Cancer since “Nixon’s War on Cancer” 40 years ago.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
We did extensive research on the Internet on cancers that have seen improved cure rates and those that have not. We used government data, American Cancer Society data, American Society of Clinical Oncology date, as well as scores of peer-reviewed articles on cancer research and news articles that have been written in the 40 years since President Richard Nixon announced a “war on cancer”.
Explain types of human sources used.
The emphasis in our research was heavily on human sources. We talked to scores of researchers, physicians and health policy experts who work in the cancer field to see where they felt things stand today in the so-called “war” against cancer. We also developed a relationship with the American Society of Clinical Oncology which helped us identify physicians and patients who could tell their stories. We worked with the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, Stanford University Hospital, University of California Davis, University of California San Francisco, and Jackson Laboratories, a leading research firm producing Jax mice strains for cancer research and individualized treatment.
Results:
In conjunction with the broadcast piece, the NewsHour Health Unit launched an interactive board on the social network site Pinterest, allowing viewers to submit photos and stories of family members struggling with childhood cancer. Hundreds of families responded and many were included in the final photo quilt: http://pinterest.com/pbsnewshour/childhood-cancer-awareness-your-photos/
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
If you’re going to try to do justice to a subject this broad, you need to give yourself enough time to do extensive research before you can narrow down what exactly you want to cover.