A Content Analysis of News Coverage of Skin Cancer Prevention and Detection,1979 to 2003

Trends in news coverage about skin cancer prevention, 1993‐2006: increasingly mixed messages for the public

“…An example of this approach is the SunSmart UV Alert. 31 Whereas previous content analysis studies conducted in this area focused largely on skin cancer and treatment, 21,22 the emphasis here was on sun protection issues pertaining to skin cancer prevention, with all treatment-related articles excluded. This method provided us with the opportunity to explore a greater range of themes that either directly or indirectly impact on skin cancer, including controversial topics such as vitamin D and fake tanning.…”

Immunization Safety in US Print Media, 1995–2005

“…ing on events instead of themes or issues. 37 Although we did not assess the impact of newspaper articles on public perceptions or the behavior of parents with respect to vaccination, the association between parents' self-reports of receiving information from the media and school exemptions 11 suggests the potential for the media to influence parents' opinions about the safety of vaccines and contribute to increasing parents' uncertainty about the safety of vaccines. Future research should focus on determining how parents interpret media messages about immunization and if vaccine-safety reporting from the news media affects parental vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.…”

Skin cancer coverage in a national newspaper: A teachable moment

“…Given this, the news media is not accurately representing skin cancer issues. In fact, in a similar study by Stryker et al, 30 a content analysis of skin cancer articles released by the Associated Press from 1979 to 2003 revealed that media attention to skin cancer has not increased since 1986, the media pays little attention to skin cancer, and stories often lack important educational information. 30 The New York Times is a media outlet extending to 4,928,200 readers during the week and 6,871,700 readers on Sundays, 28 and exposing millions of readers to more frequent skin cancer issues might be important to further public awareness and knowledge.…”

“…34 This, in addition to competing with other health news, presents a challenge to skin cancer prevention advocates who seek to permanently be on the media's agenda. 30 Research on advertising efforts has indicated that frequency of exposure is important in terms of educating and informing the public 35 ; the greater consistency and more frequent exposure the news media provides, the more successful media advocacy will be in disseminating skin cancer information. Several of the peaks in skin cancer related articles can be attributed to the announcement of a skin cancer diagnosis in a public figure, particularly in politicians.…”