Prevention Magazine and Chiropractic

February Issue Opens Door to New Opportunities

By Editorial Staff

The books and magazines published by Rodale Press in the past have taken a critical view of chiropractic. And so when the Alliance for Chiropractic Progress announced that Prevention magazine (published by Rodale Press) was chosen as one of three forums for their chiropractic PR campaign, some in the chiropractic profession questioned that choice.

But the Alliance's choice was based on the changing tide at Rodale Press that began in 1997. The most tangible evidence of that change was the selection of Anne Alexander as Prevention's new editor. Ms. Alexander is a young, energetic woman who brings a renewed sense of health to Prevention, the nation's largest health magazine. While not a chiropractic patient herself, she has a refreshing openness and a willingness to learn about all forms of "alternative" health care.

The reality, however, is that change takes time. The February 1998 issue of Prevention featured the article, "A Consumer's Guide to Alternative Medicine." The article was the work of a free-lance writer who lacked the resources necessary to present an accurate review of chiropractic. The section on chiropractic painted DCs as mechanists rather than doctors.

In the past, the chiropractic profession's consternation would have been evidenced by hundreds of angry letters and calls to the magazine or publisher, but without any satisfying resolution. But now, because the Alliance has a working relationship with Prevention, the communication lines are open.

After examining the article, and listening to the reaction of both the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) and the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), Rodale Press responded with this letter:

Rodale Press
Barbara Newton
Vice President
Publishing Director, Women's Health
Magazine Division
January 15, 1998
Dear Mr. Cuneo and Mr. Hendrickson:
I'd like to take this opportunity to layout a plan of action PREVENTION Magazine will take to alleviate the problems caused by our February article on chiropractic.
We pride ourselves in reporting accurate information to our readers and doing complete fact checks on our edit. This was not the case in our recent piece on chiropractic ... simply put, we erred. Therefore, we propose:

Future articles dealing with chiropractic, will be sourced through Ron Hendrickson at the ICA and Gary Cuneo at the ACA (our designated representatives).

A response to our article signed by Ron Hendrickson and Gary Cuneo (titles included) featured in our Mailbag section. Your letter will be followed by an editor's note referencing a positive article on chiropractic that will run in our April 1998 issue. The Mailbag section runs in the front of the book and is a very well read section ... consistently falling in the top three regular features for popularity with our readers.

Our April issue will feature a piece entitled, "How to Find an Alternative Medicine Specialist." We will include edit(orial) that supports chiropractic can be used for more than lower back pain.

A letter will go out with our monthly journal announcing the action plan.

By taking the above mentioned actions along with the campaign that will be appearing in PREVENTION, it is our intention to open up the dialogue/discussion with the ACA, ICA and PREVENTION Magazine.

Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Barbara Newton

Prevention, begun in 1950, is an excellent health magazine with a circulation of 3,250,000, and an estimated readership of 12 million. Rodale Press is the "how to, you can do it" magazine publisher. They also publish, among other magazines: Organic Gardening; Bicycling; Runner's World; Men's Health; Scuba Diving; Mountain Bike; American Woodworker; Backpacker; heart & soul; and Fitness Swimmer.

Despite the February gaff in Prevention, many in chiropractic feel that Rodale and chiropractic are a natural partnership that should have come together long ago.