How to avoid overcooking a food story: 10 tips for reporting nutritional science

This post was co-written with Fiona Fox of the Science Media Centre.

In a previous blog we looked at some of the pitfalls in reporting food science in the light of some recent media fiascos.

On a positive note, for journalists looking for handy hints for reporting food science, here are some guidelines drawn up by the Science Media Centre and a group of science journalists.

Our top 10 tips:

• State the source of the story - e.g. interview, conference, journal article, a survey from a charity or trade body etc, ideally with enough information for readers to look it up or a web link

• Specify the size and nature of the study - e.g. who/what were the subjects, how long did it last, what was tested, or was it an observation? If space, mention the major limitations

• When reporting a link between two things, indicate whether or not there is evidence that one causes the other

• Give a sense of the stage of the research - e.g. cells in a laboratory or trials in humans - and a realistic timeframe for any new treatment or technology

• On health risks, include the absolute risk whenever it is available in the press release or the research paper - i.e. if ‘cupcakes double cancer risk’ state the outright risk of that cancer, with and without cupcakes

• Especially on a story with public health implications, try to frame a new finding in the context of other evidence - e.g. does it reinforce or conflict with previous studies? If it attracts serious scientific concerns, they should not be ignored

• If there’s space, quote both the researchers themselves and external sources with appropriate expertise. Be wary of scientists and press releases over-claiming for studies

• Distinguish between findings and interpretation or extrapolation; don’t suggest health advice if none has been offered

• Remember the public: reading in the newspaper that something is ‘good for you’ or ‘bad for you’ can lead to behavioural change - make sure it’s evidence-based!

• Headlines should not mislead the reader about a story’s contents and quotation marks should not be used to dress up overstatement.

There's more about reporting in the Academy website's section on journalism skills.