The Cancer Pill on Brazilian Television: television coverage of a scientific controversy

Abstract

In 2015, synthetic phosphoethanolamine appeared in the headlines of many national newspapers in Brazil as the “cancer pill.” Patient advocacy groups, legal experts, politicians, doctors, and scientists weighed in on the ensuing debate about the use and legality of the compound. Through the quantitative content analysis of videos shown on the three leading free-to-air TV channels – Rede Globo, Record TV and Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (SBT) –, this article examines the way the phosphoethanolamine case was covered on Brazilian television. Sixty-four stories aired on 14 different programs were analyzed, totaling 5 hours and 12 minutes of footage. The main narrative perspectives explored by the channels were political/legal and scientific. Although they depicted more scientists than patients, this coverage included interviews with just 22 scientists versus 75 patients. While Record and SBT made patients’ first-hand accounts the focal point of the case, Globo highlighted the rational side of the debate, centered on scientific evidence and doctors’ warnings.

Keywords
Science Communication; Television; Media Studies; Scientific Controversy; Phosphoethanolamine