Before writing an article, New York Times health reporters typically spend days, weeks or even months interviewing sources. This includes people like doctors, researchers, fitness coaches and other health professionals who are leaders in their field or who have valuable knowledge about the news we’re covering.
The process of finding sources can vary from reporter to reporter, but there are a few basic guidelines we follow to help us choose which experts to talk to — and which ones to present to readers.
We look for researchers with a specific focus.
One of the first things we consider is whether a person is truly an authority on the topic we’re writing about. In the hyper-specialized world of health research, just because someone is an expert doesn’t mean they’re the right expert.
Scientists often spend their careers studying and designing experiments focused on a narrow question. We want to interview the researcher whose work most closely aligns with the questions we’re trying to answer for our readers.
For example, when I was writing an article about who needs a whooping cough booster shot, I didn’t just want to find an expert in infectious diseases; I wanted to find someone who had dedicated their career to studying those specific shots and had preferably published papers about how immunity from the vaccine holds up over time. That signals to me that the person has enough expertise to thoroughly answer my questions.
Not every source I interview makes it into the final article. Sometimes, these conversations help me understand the nitty-gritty of a subject, so I know whom I should talk to next and what questions I should ask them. Other times, I realize the source’s expertise doesn’t fit into the article I’m writing, or the focus of that story changes.
We search for a variety of viewpoints.
Ideally, we want to interview many people with diverse perspectives because that helps us publish a more comprehensive and accurate article.
If we’re writing about the rise of vaccine skepticism, for example, a pediatrician can give us his or her on-the-ground experience working with hesitant parents, while a public health researcher can offer a broader view that draws on national polling data to explain falling vaccination rates.
Importantly, interviewing multiple experts can also help us understand when there are disagreements among scientists (which is sometimes a story itself).
We vet experts for conflicts of interest.
Before quoting experts, we always consider whether they have any biases that might influence their comments.
For example, if a researcher speaks positively about a new medicine, I check whether he or she has a financial stake in a company that might profit from positive media coverage of the drug. If he or she does, I disclose that to readers and carefully check each statement to ensure it is based in fact.
If an expert has enough conflicts that we no longer have confidence in his or her ability to offer accurate information, we may opt not to interview that person.
We also call independent experts who are not involved with the research or news we’re covering and do not stand to benefit from positive publicity. For example, while reporting on a new therapy chatbot, I interviewed experts in digital psychiatry who were not involved with the development of the technology or with the study testing how well it worked.
These experts can put the news into broader context, tell us about any flaws in a study’s design and scrutinize whether the data supports a researcher’s conclusions. (Though in my experience, most researchers are often forthcoming about the limitations of their work, too.)
We also vet how studies are funded and whether that could influence the findings. Occasionally, we write stories about the conflicts of interest that arise in health research and how they may affect the quality of scientific studies.
Selecting experts for our articles is not a decision we take lightly. We strive to include voices that support our mission for wellness coverage: empowering people to make decisions about their health.
Teddy Rosenbluth is a Times reporter covering health news, with a special focus on medical misinformation.
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