Friday, November 13, 2009

Clear, tight, accurate: N&R's cancer near the landfill story.

The (Greensboro, NC) News & Record's Amanda Lehmert writes a piece on the high rates of cancer around the White Street Landfill. She didn't break the story, Yes!Weekly's Jordan Green did a week ago, but Amanda brings a broader survey of the facts and increased understanding to the matter.

Although Dr. Joe Guarino says the N&R story is all just so much hysteria, claiming (erroneously) to have already debunked the report's findings, I think it's appropriate to give Amanda kudos for a tight, accurate story that includes the salient facts.
  • A state agency study found cancer rates around the landfill to be higher than they expected.
  • The cause of the higher rates is not known, but there are several possible reasons.
  • Pancreatic cancer is higher among African-Americans and that alone could account for the higher rates.
  • Local officials want further explanation.
People will argue about the significance of the facts and try to massage them to fit their agendas, but Amanda is right where a reporter should be on something like this, dispassionately bringing factual context to information.

3 comments:

  1. I agree, kudos are warranted. It seems the commenter's main beef is with the headline.

    --Brandon Burgess

    ReplyDelete
  2. "A state agency study found cancer rates around the landfill to be higher than they expected.

    The cause of the higher rates is not known, but there are several possible reasons.

    Pancreatic cancer is higher among African-Americans and that alone could account for the higher rates."

    This cracks me up, does this represent ANY conclusive proof that there are Cancer producing oprganism's at the land fill. "Higher rates than expected" is there some accepted universal acceptance by medical or scientist as to what constitutes an acceptable rate! Pure Liberal junk talk. "The Cause is not known" Then how in the world can you make any conclusion with any medical certainy." Unfreaking believable! Is there any statistical proof that landfills have ANYTHING to do with Pancreatic Cancer! I doubt it. Your comments are no more than hot air. Beau

    ReplyDelete
  3. If Beau changed that last period to a comma, his resulting final sentence would be the most perceptive thing he ever said.

    ReplyDelete

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