← Reading a Summary Like an Editor · Lesson 4 of 4
The press-release ladder
A finding travels in steps: the research paper, then the university's press release, then the news. Each step can stretch it a little, and the stretch usually happens on the way up the ladder, not at the top.
A study of health press releases from British universities (Sumner and colleagues, in the BMJ, 2014) found three common stretches: a link reported as a cause, a finding in animals reported as true for people, and advice the paper never gave. When the release stretched, the news story usually did too.
So when a headline surprises you, look one rung down. Find the release, then the paper's own summary, and see where the words changed.
A paper finds that people who drink coffee tend to live longer. Which headline has climbed a rung too far?