The social group influences of US health journalists and their impact on the newsmaking process

Abstract

The news media play a vital role in disseminating health information, yet little is known about the social characteristics of health journalists or the impact they have on the newsmaking process. This study examines how the social group influences of US health journalists impact two important aspects of news production--'media agenda-setting' and 'framing'. Using data from a national survey of health and medical science journalists, the authors conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses to study the links between the gender, age and race/ethnicity of respondents, and the ways in which they utilized news sources, other resources, news priorities and story angles. Female respondents were more likely than males to say that educating people to make informed decisions and disseminating new, accurate information are important priorities. Female and minority journalists were more likely than white males to use a variety of sources, and to say it is important to develop the health and scientific literacy of audiences and influence public health behaviors. The gender and race/ethnicity of journalists play an important role in the production of health news. Health educators can foster improved coverage by learning more about the life experiences of health journalists and developing better working relationships with them.

Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Food Security through a Disability Studies Lens

“…It is well known that newspapers are influenced by their environment including ownership, funding, need for circulation, advertisement revenue and the readers preference for reading like-minded news (Abbring & Van Ours, 1994;Allport & Faden, 1940;Anderson, 2009;Bulkow, Urban, & Schweiger, 2013;Carragee & Roefs, 2004;Gentzkow & Shapiro, 2010;George, 2007;Gilens & Hertzman, 2000;Illia, Lurati, & Casalaz, 2013;McCauley, Blake, Meissner, & Viswanath, 2013;Price, 2003;Reddaway, 1963;Reese, 2001;Roberts & McCombs, 1994;Schudson, 2002;Shoemaker, Vos, & Reese, 2009;Sill, Metzgar, & Rouse, 2013;Weaver & Elliott, 1985;White, 2013;Winseck, 2002).…”

Putting a Face on It

“…The gender imbalance in our sample indicates that most specialized health reporters in Norway are women, a pattern found in most international studies of health journalists (see among others Tanner et al (2015) and Viswanath et al (2008)). In light of the gender imbalance, it should be noted that female health reporters are found to be more likely than their male colleagues to use human interest framing, controversial new information and the need to change behavior as story angles (McCauley et al, 2013).…”

“…Scientists in particular are perceived as trustworthy sources, secured by credible processes (peer review), institutions (universities) and experts (independent academic researchers) (Forsyth et al, 2012). Reflecting this authoritative position, journalists often foreground biomedical stories and templates as a core issue in the coverage (Hallin et al, 2013;Hodgetts et al, 2007;McCauley, Blake, Meissner & Viswanath, 2013), whereas the costs and failures of medical interventions are largely ignored (Schwitzer, 2013).…”

The Portrayal of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science in Canadian Newspapers: A Content Analysis

“…Newspapers are influenced by their environment including ownership, funding, need for circulation, advertisement revenue and the readers' preference for reading like-minded news [39,44,[124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138][139][140][141][142][143]. Ownership, funding, need for circulation and advertisement revenue may be the factors that keep the focus on the medical angles of occupational therapy versus issues such as occupational justice and occupational rights.…”