Sourcing practices in health news: the case of Viktor

This paper analyzes journalist-source relations in light of ongoing changes in the media landscape. On the one hand, the interplay of cost-cutting and digitalization in traditional newsrooms is expected to lead to an increased impact of private industries, special-interest organizations and lobby groups on the news. On the other hand, the tendency towards tabloidization and the spread of so-called citizen journalism occur simultaneously with the emergence of the ‘empowered patient’: in recent decades citizens have advocated for a more active involvement in health care delivery. Some authors contend that, next to elite sources, individual citizens are increasingly important sources for health-related issues (as vox pop or as a source of user-generated content). By means of a qualitative content analysis (N=106), this paper examines how both sourcing tendencies can be observed in the news coverage of a recent health news controversy in the Belgian press. On April 30, 2013, the parents of seven-year-old boy Victor, who suffers from a rare disease that affects his immune system, call out for help through different media channels. The life-saving drugs to treat his condition are very expensive, but they are not refunded by the National Health Service. Yet a few days later, a sharp-eyed journalist reveals that this news story, which was originally perceived as a signal of patient empowerment and broadened news access, was in fact highjacked by Alexion. This pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drugs had instructed a PR company to help the boy’s parents to get more media attention