Jeopardy! to air clue on nursing on June 23 in response to Center campaign

June 23, 2005 -- An editorial supervisor for the widely syndicated television show Jeopardy! has informed the Center that the show has included a clue on nursing "in a category called AWARDS in Single Jeopardy!" on the show to be aired on June 23, 2005. The popular show promised in September 2004 to air a nursing-related clue in the future, following the concerns of many nurses about a clue aired on September 7, 2004 implying that nurse practitioners do nothing more than tend to minor ailments. The Center thanks Jeopardy! for following up on its promise--and we urge everyone to tune in for the clue!

We understand that the clue to be aired on June 23 will relate to the Center's own Golden Lamp Awards, which recognize the best and worst media portrayals of nursing that the Center has seen during each year. In September, the show promised to air another clue that would define the work of nurses "more fully and fairly" than its nurse practitioner clue did. We want to stress that the Center discussed with a show producer a number of potential subjects for nursing-related Jeopardy! clues. We did not suggest that the show do a clue about the Center's activities, nor do we believe that the existence of the Golden Lamp Awards is the most important fact about nursing today that the show could convey to its viewers. However, the show of course has the discretion to create the clues it chooses, and it is, after all, in the business of trivia. A clue about the Golden Lamp Awards might at least tell the show's estimated 12 million viewers that nurses care deeply about how they are portrayed in the media, and that such portrayals matter.

We commend Jeopardy! in advance for airing this clue about nursing.