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The source of ideas and information on medicines most important to journalists in the Netherlands, and most commonly consulted by them, is known to be the scientific medical literature. In this study we therefore, explored the relation between the kind of medicines discussed in the scientific medical literature and those discussed in newspapers. A content analysis of scientific medical journals was combined with a content analysis of Dutch daily newspapers. The results show an agreement in the main groups of medicines discussed in the scientific medical literature and newspapers. In both the newspapers and the professional journals antiinfective medication and drugs for the central nervous system are the groups of medicines most frequently discussed. Although it has been suggested that 'bad news' is more newsworthy then 'good news', the negative consequences of the use of medicines received proportionally more attention in the professional literature than in the newspapers. Key words - scientific and medical literature, newspapers, medicines

In this article we describe from which sources science writers who write about medicines in daily newspapers get their ideas and information. This study was undertaken because mass media, and therefore newspapers, can play an important role in the diffusion of information about medicines. Two approaches, interviews and a content analysis, were used to answer the research questions. Both methods show the importance of professional medical journals and information from universities and their hospitals as sources of ideas and information. Although the pharmaceutical industry did not seem to play a role as source of ideas and information according to the journalists, it is the third most frequently cited source of information in the newspaper articles. To gain a better insight in the role of the pharmaceutical industry as source of ideas and information for newspaper journalists further research is necessary.