The media: friend or foe?

Television, women's magazines, newspapers, and the Internet all are influential sources of information for patients interested in finding out about, or actually pursuing, plastic surgery. While most of the information that emanates from these media sources has been helpful and positive for our specialty, aesthetic surgery has also had its fair share of negative press. In some instances, the media has provided careless or even dangerous misinformation, or it has focused only on worst case scenarios, ignoring the vast majority of successful outcomes. Furthermore, many of us have had the personal experience of being misquoted by a reporter. Sometimes, we have been surprised to find that the reporter's “agenda” actually was diametrically opposed to our own. As a result, aesthetic surgeons generally remain somewhat “skittish” about our interactions with the media. We still are not sure whether we should regard the media as “friend” or “foe.” There are compelling arguments on both sides of the issue.We do know for certain that the number of plastic surgery procedures is on the rise, and the media has contributed substantially to an increased patient awareness of the available treatments. I have noted overall improvement, perhaps because of the influence of the Aesthetic Society and other organizations, with respect to the accuracy with which many procedures are now portrayed—with particular …