Which events shaped the news in 2005?

The transition to a new year is one in which the news media typically reflect on events of the past 12 months. Although this is the second issue of Chiropractic Economics in 2006, as I write this editorial it is still the first week of January, and it seems appropriate to see what types of events shaped chiropractic last year, judged by the news they made.

To identify these events, I looked at our Web-page statistics on news articles. (During 2005, we posted 451 news items on www.ChiroEco.com.)

Top honors in total number of “hits” throughout the year went to these stories:

• No. 1 — “DCs help ‘turn heads’ in TV ad.” This short article about a television commercial aired by JC Penney Co. during the Emmy Awards ran at the end of September. It was good press for chiropractic.

• No. 2 — “Syndicated columnist blasts chiropractic; ACA responds.” In his column, which was published nationwide at the end of November, Peter Gott, MD, asserted that chiropractic care can lead to permanent nerve damage. Bad press for chiropractic.

• No. 3 — “FSU chiro college caught in political tug-of-war.” Politics killed a proposed state-funded chiropractic college at Florida State University. It would have been the first publicly funded chiropractic college in the nation.

• No. 4 — “Judge’s ruling on SEMG important to Florida chiropractors.” A Florida administrative judge struck down a rule that had denied reimbursement of SEMGs to chiropractors because they were “not medically necessary.”

• No. 5 — “Palmer appoints presidents of colleges; discontinues ‘university’ name.” This story reported on the reorganization of Palmer College of Chiropractic a year after Guy Riekeman, DC, left its presidency.

All of these stories are obviously important to you, judging by the large number of hits they experienced. They show the diversity of your interests, and your need to know what is going on in all things chiropractic.

With that in mind, I pledge that during 2006, we will continue to keep you up-to-date. Stay tuned and stay in touch.

Until next time,

Linda Segall, Editor-in-Chief