Introduction, Dan Rather’s Prescription for Bias
By Michael Fumento
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An exclusive investigation reveals that the Nov. 9, 2001
edition of CBS’s 48 Hours on the use of pharmaceuticals to treat
ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) was much more than another
case of agenda-driven reporting by Dan Rather. It was an exercise in journalistic
quackery. So much so, that the very person Rather portrayed as the "medical
expert" and "victims" in the report would be worthy of investigation themselves.
Here's what I found:
Dan Rather and ADHD
Dan Rather has a publicly stated bias against the treatment of ADHD
(attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) through Food and Drug Administration-approved
medications. I have acquired solid evidence...more.
What 48 Hours Didn't Tell the Public About Dr. Mary Ann Block
Medical stories should rely on expert medical sources. 48 Hours
positioned Dr. Mary Ann Block as the primary expert on ADHD. Here’s what
48 Hours did not tell viewers about Dr. Block...more.
Dawn Marie Branson: A Sad Story Only Half Told
The death of a child is heartbreaking. 48 Hours reported on Dawn
Marie Branson, an Arizona mother who drove her three-year-old son, Nathaniel,
to his death in a head-on crash on March 18, 2000. Branson says the Adderall
medicine she had been legally prescribed for her ADHD had made her psychotic.
Here’s what viewers didn’t get to see or hear...more.
Are Ryan and Alex What 48 Hours Says They Are?
The show selected two boys as representative examples of children with
ADHD: They are not. Viewers watched the spectacle of Ryan and Alex acting
violently and seriously misbehaving. But a psychiatrist who looked at
the segment believes their behavior suggests that they are not typical
of most children with ADHD...more.
The "Gateway" Drug Smear and Other Myth-Representations
A 48 Hours reporter cited unnamed "authorities" saying that Ritalin
is a "middle school cocaine, but the General Accounting Office, the research
arm of the U.S. Congress, found there is no widespread abuse of Ritalin
in schools...more.
Hard Questions for Rather's 48 Hours
Did CBS know this information about the people and points of view that
they included, but deliberately decide not to share it with the public?
Why did CBS allow Rather to anchor this program, even though he is on
record in The Houston Chronicle as opposing ADHD medication?...more.
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