ABC's long awaited "20/20" hit piece on chiropractic was finally aired nationally February 4th at 10 p.m., PST. While some anticipated an original, balanced investigative report, those familiar with previous reports done by "20/20" were under no such illusion. The program was in fact a television clone of the lead story in the November 1993 issue of Pediatric Management, "How Chiropractors Are Manipulating Your Patients." (Please see "Chiropractic Pediatrics Gets Hit Again" in the January 1, 1994 issue). Among the many similarities between the article in Pediatric Management and the "20/20" treatment:
- The focus on DCs Palmer and Jennifer Peet's work in chiropractic pediatrics.
- An interview with Murray Katz, MD, an anti-chiropractic spokesman since the 1960s.
- An interview with Charles DuVall, Jr., DC, a frequent participant in derogatory chiropractic pieces.
- Copying Dr. Stephen Barrett's technique of sending the same child to different DCs (he did this 20 years ago).
Among the questions one has to ask those responsible for the "20/20" chiropractic segment:
Why was it necessary to fly this child all over the country (New York, Georgia, Wisconsin, etc.) to specific DCs? Whose "road map" were they following? Why weren't most of the DCs identified? Why interview Murray Katz, MD, in Toronto, Canada, when the Royal Commission's report on Chiropractic in New Zealand (which the Commission called "probably the most comprehensive and detailed independent examination of chiropractic ever undertaken in any country.") discounted his testimony. Regarding Dr. Katz' testimony in New Zealand, the Commisson's report stated: "... we are abundantly satisfied that it would be quite unsafe to rely on his opinions, or on any of his evidence on matters of fact..." The New Zealand Commission had discovered that Dr. Katz had used pseudonyms and fraudulently claimed he had a degree in chiropractic to gain the confidence of a number of chiropractors. It shouldn't have been very difficult for "20/20" to find a credible pediatrician(s) in the United States to comment on chiropractic.
Why use Charles DuVall, Jr., DC, president of an association so small (less than 100 members) that most DCs don't know it exists? Why were the American Chiropractic Association and International Chiropractors Association all but ignored?
Why not take 10 children who really have earaches, send them to 10 random DCs, and see what the results are?
But something interesting happened after the "20/20" airing. Many of the local ABC affiliates around the country contacted responsible chiropractors and chiropractic organizations in their area for comment and rebuttal. Some of the rebuttal segments were recorded before the DCs had seen the "20/20" piece, and a few were recorded afterwards. All these pieces were included in the local nightly news that followed "20/20."
One organization that was particularly well prepared for the "20/20" program was Palmer College. "When we heard "20/20" was doing the show on chiropractic, we not only wanted to be ready with an appropriate response," said Juan Nodarse, director of Palmer's marketing and communications department, "we also wanted to help educate our people about dealing with the media. We have, on staff, people who have had extensive experience either in the news media or in dealing with it, so we felt we had something to contribute."
Besides assembling material in anticipation of topics "20/20" would cover, the Palmer staff prepared background information to share with students, faculty and alumni on dealing with the media, how reporters pursue stories and pitfalls in dealing with them.
Another key element was to pick the right spokesperson: in this case, Dr. Clay Tuttle, Palmer's director of alumni. "When we were asked to go on the local affiliate with a live feed, Dr. Tuttle came to mind, because he is knowledgeable about Palmer and professional practice," said Juan Nodarse. "He has maintained a successful practice here in the Quad-Cities for 18 years and is well respected in the community. He also is articulate, poised, and most important, cautious."
"The anchorperson who interviewed me didn't give me much time, and the questions were pretty basic," Dr. Tuttle said. "I was a little nervous, but really pretty confident because the marketing department did such an excellent job of briefing me before the show. We had about every base covered, and it wasn't likely I would be surprised by anything that came up."
Palmer's extensive preparation also was a resource for Palmer alumni, five of whom were interviewed by local ABC affiliates. "For example, Dr. Rick Feher of Victoria, Texas, a 1993 graduate, called and asked for help," Nodarse said. "We talked to him about what to expect and perhaps the best way to handle things and sent him the media material we had prepared, including the questions we expected to come up. He later called back extremely appreciative. He went on the air, the questions were exactly what we had prepped him on, and he felt things went well. We're happy to do that sort of thing for our alumni."
Carl Cleveland, III, DC, newly elected president of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), was one of the few who was able to view the "20/20" segment _before_ his interview with the local ABC affiliate in Kansas City. Dr. Cleveland had this to report:
"On Friday morning, Feb. 4, I received a phone call from program director Brenda Poor of local Kansas City ABC affiliate KMBC-channel 9. She was requesting an interview regarding chiropractic's role in the treatment of children to be aired on the 10:00 p.m. news as a follow up to the '20/20' segment. "Eager to attempt to balance what was anticipated to be negative, and seeking an opportunity for damage control, I confirmed a 6:00 p.m. meeting at the Cleveland Chiropractic College health center. I arrived for the interview and a lavaliere microphone was clipped to my tie; with cameras rolling, I responded to a number of questions.
At CCCKC, the cameras also filmed a pediatric patient, two-year-old Eric, being motion palpated and adjusted in the sacrum. Eric's father stated, "Eric developed symptoms of asthma and for four months was administered albuterol. Under the effects of the drug he was extremely hyperactive. He went through the ceiling, disrupting our home life, and the symptoms continued to persist. In November of 1993, we turned to chiropractic. After the adjustment, the cough stopped. Eric was symptom-free for one full week. I am amazed with the results."
Unfortunately, while the news program showed Eric being adjusted, it didn't include the statements made by Eric's father, who is an MD internist.
Dr. Cleveland summed the "20/20" experience this way:
"We all shared the discomfort of embarrassment as we watched '20/20'; the questionable marketing techniques, including free steak dinners; segments of chiropractic procedures taken out of context; and, yes, graphic descriptions of procedures promoted by some chiropractors which are, at best, investigative, and at worst, clinical nonsense. The February 4 segment of '20/20' illustrates a significant misunderstanding that exists about chiropractic treatment of children. "The chiropractic profession is no longer being challenged regarding its effectiveness in the treatment of low back pain. Today we enjoy increased media attention and respect, which has resulted from independent verification and research. But we must move forward.
"The profession must commit to funding multidisciplinary research. We must seek to understand the connection between altered spinal biomechanics, the characteristics of which are described by medicine as somatic joint dysfunction and by chiropractic as the vertebral subluxation complex, and undertake investigation of the somatovisceral relationship in the management of pediatrics and all age groups."
