So what is 'news'?

News is new, dumbo.  But it also seems to have to be interesting, or surprising, or intriguing.  And it has to speak to the reader ("our readers") as patient, parent, tax payer or perhaps voyeur.  Someone told me the other day that if the opposite of what you're about to write about is more surprising than your story, then you probably shouldn't write the story. 

Yesterday I was sent to another media briefing at the Science Media Centre.  The SMC is part of the Royal Institute.  The RI is dripping with Victorian grandeur.  The SMC is tucked away into two rather grotty rooms at the back of the RI and the hacks have a separate door.  Presumably so they don't mess up the glorious RI entrance hall.

The briefing was on new research on violence in people with bipolar disorder.  Data from Sweden shows that people with bipolar disorder are no more violent than people without bipolar disorder, but only if they don't abuse alcohol or illegal substances.  Those people with bipolar disorder who take drugs are six times more likely to be involved in violent crime than those who don't.  But people with bipolar disorder are also 20 times more likely to take drugs than people without. 

You can understand that the hacks were a bit confused.  So they aren't more violent.  Except when they're high.  And they're more likely to be high.  So they are more violent?  "Yes," said Prof. Forensic Psychiatrist, "but they're not more violent because they're mentally ill, it's because they take drugs."  But they take drugs because they're mentally ill?

Prof. Psychiatrist was patient.  He was calm and he tried to answer every question.  The reporter from the BMJ led the questioning.  He's pretty sharp.  You will be glad to know that everyone was very polite.  There was absolutely no "why exactly have we come here to be told that mentally ill people take drugs and commit violent crime?"

I wrote a story on 'post-natal' depression in fathers instead.