CNN was reporting this afternoon on the “death of” Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D, OH) up until it carried live, around 2:30, a press conference at a Cleveland hospital during which a spokesperson referred to Tubbs Jones being “in critical condition at present,” having suffered an aneurysm. Soon thereafter, before our very eyes, “death of” on CNN’s on-screen headline was switched to “health of” Tubbs Jones.
UPDATE: Fox News, too, was reporting soon after 2pm that Tubbs Jones had died (complete with on-screen headline “FOX CONFIRMS”).
The Plain Dealer's online reports was similar. First she was dead, then she was critical.
Posted by Stephen G. Esrati on Wed 20 Aug 2008 at 03:05 PM
Shades of the old Saturday Night Live bit on Fransisco Franco, who remained "critically dead" for months. Sad.
Posted by Jim Strang on Wed 20 Aug 2008 at 03:18 PM
I used to be on the other side of the fence, as it were, serving as a hospital media relations person in off hours (nursing supervisor, jack of all trades) in the Cleveland and Columbus area. As far as I knew, only officially designated media relations reps gave patient conditions and affirmations of death to media. Why would CNN, Fox, et al, use a different source?
Is the standard convention still to release the following conditions with related definitions:
Critical: unstable and/or life-threatening prognosis
Serious: one or multiple significant injuries or insults to organs with possible life threatening prognosis
Fair: significant injury/illness, but favorable prognosis
Good: illness/injury responding favorably to treatment, no life threatening condition evident
Stable: meaningless term and not used as a condition report
Patients with brain aneurysms are often declared brain dead while still having spontaneous brainstem function (heart activity and possibly some respiratory activity). It may be that Rep. Tubbs-Jones is in the process of being evaluated fro brain death and organ donation status, in which case, she could be be declared brain dead but still be on life support to preserve solid organ function.
Posted by Annie on Wed 20 Aug 2008 at 03:25 PM
Strang is right except Franco was repeatedly "still dead."
Posted by jim lawless on Wed 20 Aug 2008 at 03:42 PM