Cancer coverage in newspapers serving large and small communities in Ontario.

Local newspapers are an important source of health news, especially in small communities. We describe the amount and type of cancer information in Ontario daily newspapers dichotomized by circulation size (> 400,000 or < 40,000) and community size (> 250,000 or < 25,000 people) for 1991. All cancer articles (n = 1027) in five newspapers with large circulations, serving large communities, and five newspapers with small circulations, serving small communities, were read and evaluated for focus and newsplay. Although large newspapers had an absolute greater number of cancer articles, there were no significant differences by newspaper size in the number of cancer articles per 1,000 pages. Large newspapers included more cancer articles with a scientific vs. human interest focus than did small newspapers (p < 0.001). Large newspapers tended to use wire services whereas small newspapers tended to use staff reporters. Differences in the type and amount of cancer information varies by newspaper and community size, potentially contributing to differences in community cancer information resources.     

HIV/AIDS coverage in Black newspapers, 1991-1996: implications for health communication and health education

HIV/AIDS coverage in five African American newspapers (Amsterdam [New York] News, Oakland [California] Post, Washington [District of Columbia] Afro American, Atlanta Inquirer, and Chicago Citizen) was analyzed from 1991 to 1996. During this period, HIV/AIDS became the leading cause of death of young adult African Americans. This study found that coverage of the disease was most prominent in the New York, Oakland, and Washington, D.C., African American newspapers. Although most of the 201 articles analyzed framed the story primarily as a health issue, a large proportion also exhibited a critical attitude toward the government and the "AIDS establishment" about their commitment to saving the lives of minorities. Articles often conveyed the message that fighting HIV/AIDS first requires substantial action regarding the larger contextual issues-economic, political, and social-that cause health inequities. Alternative theories of cause and treatment, such as the possibility that AIDS was created as an extermination plot against African Americans, or that the drug Kemron, endorsed by the Nation of Islam, was the most promising treatment for HIV, generally were discussed as legitimate even though much evidence exists to refute these theories. These frames reflect distrust and rational concerns rooted in the historical context of American race relations, including the legacy of the Tuskegee study. Increased understanding of the frames presented in the African American press may contribute to the ability of researchers, health practitioners, and health journalists to constructively respond to the concerns of the African American community.     

Alcohol coverage in California newspapers: frequency,prominence, and framing

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature and extent of alcohol coverage in California newspapers by examining the frequency, positioning, and framing of alcohol-related articles. A content analysis assessed the frequency and nature of alcohol references in news content drawn from a random sample of nine California newspaper issues from September 1997 to June 1998. The study findings indicate that alcohol is mentioned at least once a day in daily newspapers with more frequent mention in smaller newspapers. Alcohol is most often discussed in relation to trauma or in the context of promoting alcohol consumption. Articles on trauma and driving while intoxicated receive more prominence than other stories mentioning alcohol. Despite the relative frequency of alcohol content in trauma news, these stories are rarely framed with any sort of health context. Public health advocates should work toward increasing the frequency and improving the framing of alcohol in newspaper coverage.     

A content analysis of news coverage of skin cancer in China newspapers

China has the largest population in the world today. Recent epidemiology investigation showed a significant increase in the incidence of skin cancer in China. However, little is known about the content of skin cancer articles in Chinese newspaper coverage. To analyze the skin cancer issues in the newspaper media over an eight-year period from 2000 through 2007 in China, we performed a preliminary search of articles titled by "skin cancer" in Chinese important newspapers database. There were 134 articles about skin cancer in the total 7,643 articles related to cancer in China important newspapers database. The number of reports about skin cancers increased in the main, especially in 2006. The main focus of the articles tended to be about melanoma, accounting for 38.1% of all the articles. The treatment was the overriding subject of the 134 articles, with nearly 41.8%.     

Cancer news coverage and information seeking

The shift toward viewing patients as active consumers of health information raises questions about whether individuals respond to health news by seeking additional information. This study examines the relationship between cancer news coverage and information seeking using a national survey of adults aged 18 years and older. A Lexis-Nexis database search term was used to identify Associated Press (AP) news articles about cancer released between October 21, 2002, and April 13, 2003. We merged these data to the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a telephone survey of 6,369 adults, by date of interview. Logistic regression models assessed the relationship between cancer news coverage and information seeking. Overall, we observed a marginally significant positive relationship between cancer news coverage and information seeking (p < 0.07). Interaction terms revealed that the relationship was apparent only among respondents who paid close attention to health news (p < 0.01) and among those with a family history of cancer (p < 0.05). Results suggest that a notable segment of the population actively responds to periods of elevated cancer news coverage by seeking additional information, but they raise concerns about the potential for widened gaps in cancer knowledge and behavior between large segments of the population in the future.     

Cancer coverage in mass-circulating Canadian women's magazines

Mass media can inform health beliefs and shape cancer control behaviours. This study surveyed cancer coverage in 309 issues of Canadian women's magazines for the period 1991-1997. Magazines were selected if 1996 revenue > $10 million and circulation > 500,000; Canadian Living, Chatelaine, Flare and Homemaker's met these criteria. The volume of cancer coverage varied significantly by year and by magazine. However, coverage of specific cancers did not reflect their contribution as a cause of cancer death in Canadian women. The percentage of articles on lung cancer was lower and on breast cancer was higher than the percentage of deaths due to these cancers. All magazines had decreased coverage of lung cancer in 1997 compared to 1991. National cancer resource agencies and research initiatives on breast cancer were infrequently mentioned. These results argue for greater partnerships between the media and health educators to enhance balanced dissemination of cancer control information to Canadian women.     

The news on health behavior: coverage of diet, activity, and tobacco in local newspapers.

News media are an important and influential part of the social environment, calling attention to certain issues by the amount and nature of their coverage. To better understand how health behaviors are covered, we examined more than 80,000 stories in 1,354 newspaper issues from four midsize Missouri communities. Health behavior stories were rare. Of 1,373 stories (1.7%) that addressed diet, physical activity, or tobacco, few were prominently located in the paper, and only half had a primary prevention focus. A large majority had no local angle, local quotes, or call to action for individuals or the community, and only 10% were generated by local reporters. Because the local newspaper can be especially influential in smaller communities, strategies are needed to help reporters and editors in these settings provide more and better coverage of health behavior-related stories.     

Cancer Coverage in General-Audience and Black Newspapers

This article presents findings from the first study of cancer news coverage in a national sample of Black and general-audience newspapers. We compared 2,439 health news stories from 23 weekly Black newspapers to 2,767 health news stories from a constructed week sample of 12 daily general-audience newspapers, both collected between April 1, 2004, and March 31, 2005. Analyses examined differences in the amount and nature of cancer coverage, specifically cancer sites, disparities, localization, and personally mobilizing health information for readers. Cancer was the main topic in a higher proportion of health stories in Black newspapers than in general-audience newspapers (13.6% vs. 9.6%; p = .001). Among cancer stories, those in Black newspapers had more localization (p = .004), disparity information (p = .001), and personal mobilization information (p = .001) than those in general-audience newspapers. In neither type of newspaper did the distribution of stories by cancer site accurately reflect the impact of different cancers on population mortality.     

The Cinderella of public health news: physical activity coverage in Australian newspapers, 1986-2006

Objective: This research examined trends in physical activity reporting by Australian newspapers, and described these trends compared to coverage of obesity and tobacco.
Method: The Factiva database was searched for articles published in major Australian metropolitan newspapers (1986-2006) that mentioned physical activity, obesity or tobacco smoking. Standardised frequencies compared the three health issues, and trends in reporting were estimated by using standard multiple regression models to fit linear splines with fixed knots at years 1991, 1996 and 2001 to the standardised data.
Results: Physical activity received the least coverage 1986-2006, appearing in 4,988 articles, compared with 15,410 and 63,738 articles for obesity and tobacco respectively. Between 1996 and 2000, there were significant increases in the rate of coverage of physical activity (β=0.21; p<0.01), obesity (β=0.13; p<0.01) and tobacco (β=0.24; p<0.0001). From 2001 to 2006 the rate of physical activity coverage was relatively steady, while the obesity coverage rate increased dramatically (β=0.34; p<0.0001), and tobacco coverage rate slowed (β=-0.33; p<0.0001).
Conclusions: This study demonstrates that physical activity reporting in the media has increased, but received less attention than obesity and tobacco.
Implications: Physical activity advocates face the challenge of highlighting the newsworthiness of physical activity and raising the issue higher on the public agenda.     

News coverage of cancer in the United States: a national sample of newspapers, television, and magazines

A content analysis of cancer news coverage in a sample of local and national newspapers, television, and magazines was conducted for the years 2002 and 2003. Analyses compared proportions of mentions of cancer sites with proportional contribution to cancer incidence and mortality based on available epidemiological estimates. Analyses also examined relative attention provided to prevention, detection, treatment, causes, and outcomes of various cancers. Results indicated that coverage reflected incidence rates more closely than they did mortality rates, but in both cases coverage under-represented the contribution of lung cancer to morbidity and mortality and over-represented the contribution of breast cancer. Of greater public health concern was the limited coverage of prevention and detection even for highly preventable or relatively easily detected cancers. Implications of findings are discussed.     

Differences in Black and White Adolescents'' Perceptions About Cancer

This study determined if black and white adolescents differed significantly in cancer knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. Using the Health Belief Model, a 97-item questionnaire was developed by the researchers and completed by 573 black and 297 white junior and senior high school students from a large, midwest school district. Chi-square analyses yielded nine significant differences (p less than .01) between blacks and whites on cancer knowledge (etiology, warning signs, and prevention techniques). Further significant differences were found when items comprising the separate Health Belief Model subscales were analyzed. Blacks and whites differed significantly on cues to action (one item), perceived susceptibility (two items), perceived severity (one item), perceived barriers (two items), perceived benefits (three items), and interpersonal relationships (three items). Blacks and whites received cancer information from the same sources, with the exception of books, which was reported more by blacks.     

Mobile phones and health: Media coverage study of German newspapers on possible adverse health effects of mobile phone use

The scientific debate about potential risks from the radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) of mobile telecommunication is ongoing, accompanied by considerable media discussion about whether electromagnetic fields from mobile phones cause adverse health effects. Since most people do not make use of scientific databases, the print media are key actors in informing the public about scientific developments concerning potential health risks from mobile telecommunication. In order to analyse the kind of information German print media provide to the public, a media analysis of a sample of German newspapers during the years 2002–2007 was performed: 17 regional and national daily newspapers were analysed along with weekly journals. The results indicate that, besides ambiguous media coverage, there are remarkable differences among the various newspapers in their approach to the topic. Most newspapers highlight unspecified, potentially adverse effects and link mobile phone use to the development of cancer, which is not supported by current scientific knowledge. However, in recent years, a slight shift in the foci of reporting can be observed. As these results show, newspapers increasingly acknowledge the existence of scientific uncertainty and provide more detailed information on the topic.     

福建省报纸刊载健康信息及医药保健广告信息的内容分析

目的通过对福建省17种报纸的内容分析,了解福建省主要报纸对健康信息以及医疗、医药、保健食品广告信息的报道情况。方法选择福建省出版及发行量较大的17种报纸,采用整群抽样的方法抽取2011年1月1—28日连续4周的报纸,对刊载的健康信息等进行编码分析。结果非党报的医药保健广告篇数与健康信息篇数的比例是党报的10.3倍（χ2=454.40,P〈0.01）,医药保健广告信息面积占报纸面积的比例是党报的6.54倍。平均每篇广告信息有2.4个误导类型,在保证治愈或隐含保证治愈、利用国内外先进的技术、研究、设备等证明的误导大众类型上,非党报明显多于党报,差异有统计学意义（P〈0.01）。全部健康信息中引用卫生研究结果的只占9.1%。结论党报与非党报在广告信息报道上区别较大,非党报的医疗、医药、保健食品的广告信息误导大众现象严重,健康信息对卫生研究结果的引用率较低。     

Health content in Chinese newspapers

Newspapers are one of the most important sources of health information for the public in China, yet little is known about the coverage of health issues in Chinese newspapers. Using the theories of agenda setting and framing, we explored research questions such as what health-related topics were covered and how they were covered in Chinese newspapers. This study used a sample of two constructed weeks in 2007 of one national and five leading local newspapers of the five most populated cities in China: 558 health-related articles were identified. It was found that certain diseases and risk factors were underreported as compared with their actual morbidity and mortality rates in China. Most of the health reporting was framed in a non-negative frame. It was also found that causes and preventions of diseases were more likely to be attributed to the individual than to the society. As one of the first comprehensive content analyses on the coverage of health-related issues in China, this study provides health care professionals and policymakers a broad picture of health information available to the public in Chinese newspapers.