By L. Stewart Marsden
Brittany Spears “Oops, I did it again!” comes to mind for what is becoming a recurring scenario: the media displaying its ignorance of approved medical condition reporting. Iconic evangelist Billy Graham was admitted to Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC recently in order to have tests run to determine whether or not the 93 year old is in the throes of pneumonia. The hospital released a statement that describes Graham’s condition as stable. Following suite, the media below repeated the error:
| Media | Health Status of Graham reported |
| ABC News | Stable |
| US News | Stable |
| Graham’s physician | Stable |
| Washington Post | Stable |
| NPR News | Stable |
Hello?
STABLE IS NOT A CONDITION! (pardon the yelling). Never has been. And the media should know that. Admittedly the press release was in error, but, c’mon, guys – do your homework! Graham is in either good, fair, serious or critical condition – one of those – maybe unknown as well. He may be stable in fair condition, which means he is not fluctuating between conditions. NPR, I’m especially disappointed in you! I pay to get your news! Get it right!
For more on medical conditions, click here to see my blog on the subject.
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