StemCell Therapy

Only one major outlet reported on
the watershed events yesterday at the CIRM governing board meeting at
the Claremont Hotel in Oakland – at least from what our Internet
searches show.

The piece was written by Bradley Fikes
in the San Diego U-T, the dominant daily newspaper in that area,
which is a major biotech center. The major media in the San Francisco
Bay area, home to the stem cell agency and also a biotech center, were absent from the coverage.

Fikes wrote a straight forward account
of the meeting, saying that the governing board voted “ to
accept in concept proposed
changes to reduce conflicts of interest on the agency's
governing committee.”

Fikes wrote the story based on the audiocast of the meeting. He probably would not have written his daily piece without the availability of the audiocast. 

Some of those connected with the stem
cell agency often wonder about the lack of mainstream coverage of its doings,
particularly the lack of favorable coverage.

Much of it has to do with the shriveled
state of the media business, which is understaffed and overworked
compared to 15 years ago. Specialized science reporters are all but
an extinct species. Also, the mainstream media has traditionally
ignored the affairs of most state agencies.

Speaking as a former editor at a major
Northern California newspaper, I would not have sent a reporter to
cover this week's two-day CIRM board meetings. It would have consumed
too much valuable time with little likelihood of a major story,
especially when weighed against other story possibilities. There was
no guarantee that the board would have even acted. The events and
their significance could be better handled in a roundup story later
with more perspective, perhaps keying on the board's meeting in
March, where details of yesterday's action will be fleshed out. The
fact is that many, very important events occur within state
government every day that never receive media attention. Some don't
even see the light of day until a catastrophe occurs.

All of this may be deplorable in the
eyes in stem cell agency backers and others, but it is the reality of
today's news business.