After reading various articles from Irish Times, an Ireland-based newspaper similar to some of the newspapers in the United States, one specific article caught my attention. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0218/1224264715137.html
This article was about a Pakistani doctor would had worked in many Irish hospitals and moved onto hospitals in Britain in 2004 without anyone knowing he cheated on a postgraduate test. The first thing that stood out to me was the title: Doctor cheated in postgraduate exam, because I would be willing to bet you would never see something like that in a United States mainstream newspaper that most Americans read on a daily basis. We like to believe as a nation that the media coverage we are receiving is accurate and truthful however, it is not in the best interest to share information with the public that would cause suspicion or make people think twice about their doctors because, essentially, money is power and those who are in charge of doctors have both.
Another interesting part about this article is the part "Dr Iqbal apologized and said there would be no repetition of the “single incident”. What happened would remain with him for life. He stressed he had served his 12-month suspension and had now been offered another job in the UK" this to me is no excuse for cheating on a postgraduate exam especially since I am just someone reading this article like most Irish and British people are; there is nothing in the article that says how important or not the exam was in his academic career and how it could affect the way he cares for patients or what skills he may lack because of his misconduct. I find it shocking to read an article in one of the most popular newspapers people of Ireland read that reveals something so controversial and could possibly affect many people's lives. The main reason I do not think an article such as this would be found in a popular American newspaper would be the mere fact of scaring the public, what they don't know won't hurt them, or so we think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm not so sure we wouldn't see this type of article. If someone who has the public trust and/or has a responsibility to serve the public is found guilty, as this man was, it is news and is reported. The public has a right to know.
ReplyDeleteThat's the hallmark of a free press--serve the public--give them information that is accurate, fair and balanced. Maybe I am misunderstanding what you mean-though-
I think thats a very interesting topic. I dont know if I agree it wouldnt be in our media though. I feel like this kind of a story would be a big hit for news media in our country. Its the idea that bad news is good news. I feel like this a story that people would be drawn to, and the fact that it would scare them I would think would attract news agencies. People watch things that are scary because they want to know what kind of threats they are up against and it would make a great short clip in the comercials to get people to watch the news.
ReplyDelete