text_1: Blood test for Alzheimer’s
text_2: This report fairly describes a promising but not imminent blood test that may be able to identify people with Alzheimer’s disease. It does a good job, particularly in a broadcast piece, of describing how the study was conducted and its potential implications. The story could have been significantly stronger, however. The report should have indicated how small the groups were, so people could appreciate the potential fragility of these findings. The report failed to disclose vital information about conflicts of interest that was easily available. The person-on-the-street interviews contribute nothing of value, but they consume valuable seconds which could have been devoted to the two areas mentioned above–or to providing insight from a clinician. The ABC News website has a much more complete report on the study. The broadcast segment should have referred viewers to it.