Still none of your business

Here's the headline from the lead story in the business section of a nearby newspaper: "Celebrex tops Vioxx in study."

PHILADELPHIA — New research suggests that top-selling pain reliever Celebrex does not carry the same heart attack risk as Vioxx, a similar drug pulled from the market in September because of safety concerns.

Celebrex is a widely used drug for treating arthritis pain, so this is big news. But what's it doing in the business section?

Part of the answer has to do with the mundane rhythms of the newspaper business. The Associated Press put this story out on the "health" wire, which makes sense, since the 14 million arthritis sufferers taking Celebrex (and millions more taking similar drugs) need to know about whatever heart-attack risks they may or may not be incurring.

The AP also put this story out on the business wire — which also makes sense, since news of studies like this one will have an effect on the stock price of pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer (maker of Celebrex) and Merck (maker of the recalled Vioxx). Since the business day closes at 5 p.m., business sections usually have earlier deadlines and get wrapped up sooner than the rest of the paper, so they tend to get first dibs on wire stories.

So I don't imagine that there's any sinister motive in running a story like this in the business section. The effect of doing so, however, is not so innocent.

Many more people — many more readers and subscribers — take Celebrex than own shares in Pfizer, so one might think this story should be run with their concerns in mind. But by setting it aside in the business section, the paper sends the message that the interest of shareholders trumps the interest of arthritis sufferers.

That's not a good message to send. Yet every day you can find countless examples of newspapers doing this very thing. Recalls and health warnings and consumer safety articles — matters that may be of extreme importance to readers who don't own stock and therefore rarely scan the business section — are regularly reported only from the perspective of how they will affect a company's share price.

Changing this custom would be a worthy step toward restoring a sense of proportion and unskewed priority to newspaper journalism.