The Beat

Live at ViVE: Finding Accurate Health News Amid Media Misinformation—with Sony Salzman

Episode Summary

On this episode of The Beat, recorded live at ViVE 2024, Sony joins hosts Dr. Jessica Shepherd and Dr. Gautam Gulati to discuss the rapidly evolving media landscape, an environment that is increasingly riddled with misinformation.

Episode Notes

In traditional journalism, reporters work to present information in an unbiased way.

And if you ask Sony Salzman, it’s not difficult to maintain those same standards in creating content for social media.

What is difficult is competing with a hyperbolic, fearmongering post designed to go viral.

So, how do we know who to trust when it comes to health and medical news? Whose responsibility is it to vet the information we’re consuming?

Sony is an Emmy award-winning journalist covering science and medicine and coordinating producer of ABC’s Medical Unit, where she directs health, science and medical coverage across ABCs platforms.

Sony supports broadcast streaming and digital content at Good Morning America, GMA3, World News Tonight, Nightline, ABC news.com and ABC News Live.

On this episode of The Beat, Sony joins hosts Dr. Jessica Shepherd and Dr. Gautam Gulati to discuss the rapidly evolving media landscape, an environment that is increasingly riddled with misinformation.

Sony walks us through the complex process of producing health news, explaining ABC’s principle of reporting information without bias and her approach to stories based on preprints.

Listen in for insight on distilling complex health information in a way people can understand and learn how to discern well-balanced medical news from one-sided content designed for virality.

Topics Covered

What encompasses the medical and health beat for a reporter
Sony’s role as Coordinating Producer at the ABC News’ Medical Unit
The infinitely complex process of producing health news
ABC’s principle of reporting information without bias and why it’s crucial
Maintaining the same standards of accuracy on social media
Narrative techniques for drawing people into stories that aren’t inherently interesting
How health reporting has changed since the pandemic
Sony’s approach to reporting on a study published as a preprint
Why it’s the network’s responsibility to vet the health information it reports
Distilling complex health information in a way people can understand
What AI can and cannot do when it comes to health reporting
Losing the public’s trust in an industry where perfection is the standard
The process of correcting information when a reporter makes a mistake
Sony’s challenge to listeners to subscribe to their local paper

Connect with Sony Salzman

Connect with Dr. Gautam Gulati & Dr. Jessica Shepherd