Judges’ comments: Betsy Q. Cliff shines the light on one of the many companies that makes claims about nutritional supplements – in this case, specifically promising to improve athletic performance. Cliff explains to readers why Bioletics can make claims about athletic performance but cannot promise medical improvements. She also gives Bioletics “doctor” consultant plenty of opportunity to explain the benefits of his product, explanations that ring hollow when Cliff then cites medical evidence from other experts. And then comes the coup de grace, when Cliff explains that the consultant, Richard Cohen, is licensed to practice medicine on only his own family and that this license applies in only one state.
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Aug. 14, 2011
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Stories examined a prominent local company, Bioletics, and its founder, Dr. Richard Cohen. Conclusions included that company likely did not live up to its promises of science-based performance enhancement and that founder had violated portions of Oregon law that prohibits people from portraying themselves as a physician without proper licensing.
History of sanctions: Bioletics founder has been cited in the past
Athlete buyers, beware: Experts question company’s approach
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Used extensive paper records to document Cohen’s life including court records, FAA records, FDA inspection reports, news archives, real estate records, business registry searches and Internet archive searches. A FOI request was filed and completed through the FDA to get inspection reports.
Explain types of human sources used.
Experts in sports nutrition used to review company and its website. Used human sources to trace Cohen’s life through multiple states. Used expert sources in testing to obtain test results on some of company’s products
Results (if any).
Lots of feedback from community, both positive and from loyal customers upset about the article. Oregon Medical Board “had a discussion” with Cohen, after which the company’s website was altered to reflect that Cohen was not a licensed physician and not qualified to provide medical advice.
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.
Cohen and other company founders challenged the accuracy of the report. Out of numerous challenges, The Bulletin ran a correction on a fact in piece that accompanied the main piece. Original piece said Jackie Cohen, subject’s wife, worked at Rebound. In fact, she worked out at Rebound, rather than being employed there.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Start early. It took a long time to get and correlate FOI requests, which went to several divisions in the FDA. Then, it took an equally long time to go through real estate records, which I used to establish a timeline of Cohen’s life, and call sources identified in those records.