Last week, iMediaEthics wrote about the media’s cushy treatment of a British psychic claiming to be able to cure cancer, and dangerously advising patients against life-saving chemotherapy.
Now it looks like there’s more news of psychic fluff reporting. Dan Gilmor, writing on his website mediactive.com, brings up another case of bad journalistic judgment: a story in the Arizona Republic about a rise in psychic consultations for economic advice. “Quoting ‘Psychics’ Like Experts: How Low Can News Judgement Go?” Gilmor asks in the headline of his critique, saying that the Republic story “demonstrates serious irresponsibility on the part of the newspaper.”