Author Archive

November 16th, 2009

Live Debate: Breast cancer screening and mammography

Posted by: Reuters Staff

cancerSweeping new U.S. breast cancer guidelines released on Monday recommend against routine mammograms for women in their 40s, and suggest women 50 to 74 only get a mammogram every other year.

The new guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential panel of independent experts, would sharply curtail the number of breast mammograms done in the United States, sparing women the worry of false alarms and the cost and trouble of extra tests.

But U.S. cancer experts say the altered schedule may mean more women will die from breast cancer.

Should you and your loved ones get mammograms? What are the implications for health care reform, with members of Congress looking for ways to cut costs?

Join us for a live online on breast cancer screening and mammograms on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 12pm ET. The event will be moderated by Reuters Health Executive Editor Ivan Oransky and joined by Reuters’ editor in charge of health and science, Maggie Fox.

Our confirmed participants:

Heidi Nelson, research professor of medical informatics and clinical epidemiology and medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences University, who has led systematic evidence reviews for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Daniel B. Kopans, professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School and director of breast imaging at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

You’ll be able to follow the discussion by listening in on the conference call line below or via the live blog here (it’s also embedded lower on this page.) If you have any questions for the participants, please leave them in the comments below. We’ll ask a selection on your behalf.

Update: Thanks to everyone who participated. You can hear a recording of the call here

International direct dial-in number

+1 857 350.1676

US Dial-in number

1 866 788.0538

Passcode:

545 963 95

October 22nd, 2009

What price the news?

Posted by: Reuters Staff

bushshoe

Ethics in journalism are always under growing scrutiny but perhaps never as close as today. Thomson Reuters is hosting a debate at its London offices to address current questions including the following:

–When is a potential story so important to the public interest that it’s ethical for a journalist to pay for information?

–Has fact-checking and editing become less of a priority in an age of cost-cutting and “personal” journalism? What are the consequences for news organisations’ commitment to accuracy and freedom from bias?

-Are Western standards of news ethics and standards necessarily correct? Should there be a global standard for what constitutes proper journalism ethics?

–Which is more ethically challenged: Journalism practised by state-run news organisations or that practised by news organisations owned by large corporations?

Ray Snoddy will be chairing the event and the evening will be introduced by Dean Wright, Reuters Global Editor, Ethics, Innovation & News Standards. And on the panel will be: Anne McElvoy - London Evening Standard; Joe Lelyveld - Pulitzer Prize winner and ex-NYT editor; Marwan Bishara - Al Jazeera; Sean Maguire - Global Editor, Politics and General news, Reuters.

Click here to view the full live blog

September 9th, 2009

Debating healthcare: Two perspectives

Posted by: Reuters Staff

As part of Reuters’ coverage of the U.S. healthcare reform, Reuters.com asked Peter J. Pitts, president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and Stephen M. Davidson, a Boston University School of Management professor to discuss the issue. Here are their responses.

September 9th, 2009

Nuclear power: pros and cons

Posted by: Reuters Staff

As part of the Reuters Summit on global climate and alternative energy, Reuters.com asked Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club and Ian Hore-Lacy, director of public communication for the World Nuclear Association to discuss the role of nuclear energy. Here are their responses.

(Carl Pope’s rebuttal was posted at 8:30 a.m. ET on September 10.)

September 7th, 2009

Thomson Reuters Newsmaker: Ireland and the Lisbon Treaty

Posted by: Reuters Staff

Political leaders gathered in Dublin to debate both sides of the controversial Lisbon Treaty and the implications it could have on the future of Europe.

The panel consisted of Micheál Martin, Ireland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nigel Farage MEP, leader of UKIP, Mary-Lou McDonald, Deputy President of Sinn Fein and David Begg, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Watch the debate on the player below.