How Big Pharma Bought Big Media for  $6 Billion: The Unintended Consequences of Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising

Media, whether broadcast, streamed, or print, is a lifeline of information for most Americans. Updates on the pandemic, results of an election, knowing whether you are in the path of an oncoming hurricane or snowstorm—we are alerted by news reports and thereby dependent on the factual information they provide. Media informs, shapes opinions, keeps us out of harm’s way. Despite the public pummeling media has received over the past few years, media remains the means through which Americans view much of their world. What the media reports—or does not report—is therefore crucial to shaping opinion and behavior.  There are troubling trends at work in what the media chooses to report or not to report. I am referring specifically to the impact that direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising has had on the content of media reporting over the past decade. Most people already know that, if you watch broadcast or cable TV or read mainstream magazines, you will see that the pharmaceutical industry is now among the most frequent advertisers in U.S. media. However, what you will not see or read is reporting on problems in healthcare: no mention of the ruthless pricing practices of pharmaceuticals or medical devices, the obscene compensation packages of Big Pharma executives, the aggressive billing practices of hospitals, the boom in people filing for bankruptcy after hospitalization despite having health insurance. In short, given the rich flow of advertising dollars from the pharm...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Open undoctored wheat belly Source Type: blogs