NEWS: Weintraub calls Tribune Lyme article "sensationalistic hatchet job"
"Cure Unknown" author Pamela Weintraub responds to the Chicago Tribune's recent controversial article about Lyme disease.
Award-winning medical journalist Pamela Weintraub posted the following response of the website of the Chicago Tribune:
Whenever a diagnosis enters the wild west of contested disease, charlatans may prey on the sick–many of whom do not have the disease at all. But to profile this disordered fringe as representative of those on one side of a medical debate while presenting university scientists as representative of the other is biased reporting. In its failure to research the essence of the debate over Lyme disease symptoms that persist after short-term antibiotic treatment, and especially in its failure to interview scientists from mainstream academia to present an alternate viewpoint, this article represents a low in science reporting. This agenda-driven piece rides roughshod over complexities and nuances–and the core ethics of journalism–by implying it has relied on predators for information because legitimate scientists with alternate viewpoints do not exist. I assure you, they do, and would have to be quoted to make this real journalism instead of a sensationalistic hatchet job.
–Pamela Weintraub, Features Editor, Discover Magazine and Author, Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic (Winner of the American Medical Writers Association Book Award, 2009.)
Click here to read the Chicago Tribune’s article.
Click here to read the Lyme Policy Wonk’s response to the Tribune article.
Good, but how many people read a rebuttal.
Thx, Pam – I think it's imperative that you make a statement when sham articles like this one get written – people need to know there's such a thing as real journalism and real science when it comes to Lyme and co's.
John, you'll never know how many people will be reading Pam's rebuttal, but just speaking for myself, I have been getting emails from nonLyme friends about that article and it's good to have urls to refer them to, like Pam's and Lorraine's responses, to say nothing of the comments to the article, most of which are panning it.
Pam
You nailed it. It was the presentation of science on the one side and nothing but charlatans on the other that distinguishes journalism from propaganda.
Lorraine
What about the (CDC) 90% or more 'misdiagnosed' cases (thousands and thousands every year) – declared "easily diagnosed" acute and late-disseminated tick transmitted diseases – Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Erhlichiosis (Anaplasma), Borreliosis, Bartonelliosis, Babesia, etc., acquired by innocent young children (approx. 25%) and adults every year – w/ gross negligence misdiagnosed and others even 'intentionally-ignored' misdiagnosed as a virus, flu, headache, chronic fatigue etc. – denied (CDC) recommended prompt, proper prophylactic antibiotics in prevention of damage to major organs w/ neurological and long term health consequences, disability, and even death.
We wouldn't suffer from this political 'Lyme-War'if their was proper tick borne disease education, prevention, surveillance, diagnosis and treatment in the first place. Main stream (IDSA) physicians and affiliates are not doing their job to protect the public – the 'suffering misdiagnosed' then seeking out(ILADS) Specialists – prosecuted for treating and saving lives after (IDSA's) gross negligence and misdiagnosis of "easily diagnosed" tick transmitted diseases.
WTF was that article? They actually dug up some nut talking about Lyme as a man made disease?!?! In the six years since I first got this horrible disease, not once have I met a patient who espoused this absurd theory. They equated those of us who know persistent Lyme exists (because duh, it didn't go away with 3 weeks of treatment!) with total flakes. What kind of journalism portrays the entire other side of the Lyme controversy as a bunch of crackpots? It defies credibility that this issue is still being debated-(but then people are still debating Obama's citizenship.)The saddest thing is an article like this has tremendous impact as most folks believe what they read and don't think critically. My brother was very nasty about the whole thing, insisting that all the Lyme docs are quacks and ridiculing me about my "hypochondria". While I wouldn't wish this devastating illness on anyone, I did have the thought that it would be justice if this food critic turned science writer had to deal with falling down the Lyme rabbit hole herself. I bet she'd change her smug little tune pretty quickly.