Doctoring the Media

First published in 1988, Doctoring the Media by Anne Karpf offers a lively and incisive critique of how the broadcast media reports on health and medicine. From the wartime Radio Doctor to TV coverage of the AIDS crisis, Karpf examines the media’s portrayal of medicine as a triumphant conqueror of disease, often through sensationalized narratives of “miracle cures.” She critiques the media’s reliance on official medical definitions, neglect of the social determinants of health, and uncritical promotion of 1980s health fads, which she argues may have done more harm than good.

Through case studies on childbirth, disability, alternative medicine, and moral panics over surrogate mothers, herpes, and AIDS, Karpf reveals the medical profession’s profound influence on media narratives and the challenges faced by medical program-makers. She also explores the cultural significance of medical dramas and comedies, uncovering deeper messages in shows like Dr. Kildare and Carry On Nurse.

This engaging and thought-provoking book concludes by analyzing the real and imagined effects of medical programming on society and speculating on its future. With a new preface for this reissue, Doctoring the Media is essential reading for students and scholars of medical sociology, media studies, and sociology.