Medical Issues in Italian Journalism: The Journalistic Coverage of ‘Stamina'

Covering science-medical news is of paramount importance for newspapers; at the same time it requires careful attention, because it represents a primary source for citizens, governments, public opinion. Through a qualitative content analysis, the paper analyses the way in which two Italian daily newspapers covered the most controversial medical case of the last years in Italy: the so-called “Stamina case”. The research shows that, also referring to science-medical news, journalists have to balance themselves between strict and rigorous reporting of events, and attracting and maintaining the readers’ interest.