List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Jan-11
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
My piece examined the debate over what constitutes the medical condition of “premature ejaculation” — if it even exists — and the role of the pharmaceutical industry’s interest in selling drugs designed to give men more stamina.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
This story required extensive searches of the PubMed database for relevant articles published in medical journals, as well as searches of JSTOR for relevant articles in sociological journals. Documents also included presentation materials from various medical societies and pharma companies that were obtained through advanced Google searches.
Explain types of human sources used.
Human sources included two women who had dated men whom they considered to suffer from premature ejaculation, six doctors/professors who authored journal articles on the subject, several pharmaceutical executives, a market analyst, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the founder of the New View Campaign (a nonprofit opposed to the medicalization of sex), Peter Rost, an expert witness who advises on pharma marketing cases, and a J&J spokeswoman.
Results:
The piece was designed to educate Playboy readers on the latest science on this commonly perceived problem.
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.
None.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Make sure to ask every source to disclose whether they are or were funded by industry to conduct their research, and do this at the very beginning of the interview. Pay very close attention to citations and footnotes in journal articles on the subject, as this could help turn up studies you were previously unaware of. Also, pay close attention to the study populations and how the trials were designed. Don’t be afraid to ask why a trial only enrolled a certain type of person, or why it was designed the way it was.