[Screening on tuberculosis: an occasion for public debate?].

This article focuses on the public debate in the mid-twentieth century concerning government-directed screening on tuberculosis as reflected in newspapers and medical literature. According to communication theory, media show a variety of functions within the process of democratic political decision-making. This study points out that all national Dutch newspapers, in contradiction to the theory underlined the ideology of screening without any critical contribution. The debate within the medical profession shows a defence of positions in a 'pillarized' society rather than a more ethical discussion.