An American Cancer Society spot (SHOOT’s “Best Work You May Never See,” 10/9) told the story of Dan Brodrick who lost his job as a truck driver due to a back injury. Along with the job went his family’s health insurance and efforts to get new coverage were to no avail.
Last year, Dan’s wife Sharon died of cancer. He says that her death could have been prevented “if we had insurance. It’s just hard to swallow–to lose somebody like that.”
No matter where you stand politically on healthcare, there’s much that’s “hard to swallow,” which got me to thinking about how an oft-cited media dynamic within our industry corner of the world–“audience fragmentation”–contributes to the situation.
Fragmentation has had profound implications for marketers–and just as, if not a more profound impact on journalism. We’ve gone from the days of dominant network evening newscasts–with Walter Cronkite deservedly at the forefront (and a clear cut delineation between his news and the commentary of Eric Severeid)–to what are now assorted voices on primetime news channel programs.
Fragmentation was supposed to bode well for the public, offering new voices and takes on the news we need to know. That has proven true. But fragmentation has also resulted in genuine news values somehow getting lost in the shuffle, with personalities, sometimes crusading personalities, taking the spotlight.
Today you only need a fiefdom of a million or two viewers–a drop in the bucket compared to the Cronkite Nielsen share–in order to be “legitimate.” The formula for getting that audience fiefdom often involves being impassioned, controversial, galvanizing, if not outright polarizing. The talking heads have branded themselves and even when making some valid points–whether from the political right or the left–get us no closer to solving the issues of the day. Instead they stir the pot enough to attract their requisite number of viewers.
There are legitimate concerns on both sides of the political aisle. A dysfunctional bureaucratic government getting too hands-on involved in healthcare can be scary. Conversely, the daily obscenities that many have had to live and die with at the hands of insurance and pharmaceutical companies are unconscionable.
But where’s the middle ground in terms of areas of agreement? It’s in our everyday lives where people can agree that folks should not be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. They can agree that if a qualified medical opinion deems a person’s only real chance for survival is a bone marrow transplant or some other procedure, then that person shouldn’t be denied proper treatment due to an insurance company declaring it “experimental.” They can agree that the appeals process should be quick. Numerous patients have suffered for prolonged periods–or died–waiting for an appeals judgment to be rendered.
Still, there has been no legislative movement on these areas of agreement stretching across a pair of different Bush administrations, and a two-term Clinton regime–a span of some 20 years during which healthcare costs have risen exponentially.
Never mind the public option or other controversial proposals. The legitimate reforms that we have consensus on have failed to materialize for decades. Meanwhile Brodrick and millions like him see loved ones suffer, die, and are left with depleted life savings and staggering medical bills.
The ones who are getting healthy are the crusaders with their fragmented audiences, and the politicians whose healthcare coverage is paid for by taxpayers, too many of whom know all too well life with an HMO or without any coverage whatsoever.
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More