Why media representations of corporations matter for public health policy: a scoping review

Abstract

BackgroundMedia representations play a crucial role in informing public and policy opinions about the causes of, and solutions to, ill-health. This paper reviews studies analysing media coverage of non-communicable disease (NCD) debates, focusing on how the industries marketing commodities that increase NCD risk are represented.MethodsA scoping review identified 61 studies providing information on media representations of NCD risks, NCD policies and tobacco, alcohol, processed food and soft drinks industries. The data were narratively synthesized to describe the sample, media depictions of industries, and corporate and public health attempts to frame the media debates.ResultsThe findings indicate that: (i) the limited research that has been undertaken is dominated by a focus on tobacco; (ii) comparative research across industries/risk-factors is particularly lacking; and (iii) coverage tends to be dominated by two contrasting frames and focuses either on individual responsibilities (‘market justice’ frames, often promoted by commercial stakeholders) or on the need for population-level interventions (‘social justice’ frames, frequently advanced by public health advocates).ConclusionsEstablishing the underlying frameworks is crucial for the analysis of media representation of corporations, as they reflect the strategies that respective actors use to influence public health debates and decision making. The potential utility of media research lies in the insights that it can provide for public health policy advocates about successful framing of public health messages and strategies to counter frames that undermine public health goals. A better understanding of current media debates is of paramount importance to improving global health.

Regulating the Fast-Food Landscape: Canadian News Media Representation of the Healthy Menu Choices Act

“…The social issues journalists decide to report on, and how they do so, can either bring issues to the spotlight or leave them out of public conversations and the consideration of policymakers [37]. For example, an analysis of media discourse on non-communicable disease (NCD) risks and policies found that, while corporations place a greater focus on individual responsibility and draw on market justice frames when discussing NCDs, public health advocates who contribute to news media were more inclined to frame their debates around social justice issues and promoted population-level interventions and structural change [29]. Market justice frames are oriented towards low obligation to the collective good, values of self-determination, and limited government intervention [38].…”

“…Similar to the tobacco and alcohol industries, corporations representing fast food tend to have a uniform view on consumption of these products and related policies-which influence arguments made in the press to focus on unhealthy lifestyles, individual responsibility, consumer choice and economic arguments, leading consumption to be seen as a personal choice, an individual level responsibility and a moral issue [29]. Taken together, problematic consumption is typically blamed on the individual having a behavioural problem, rather than framing the issue as a structural societal problem.…”

“…For example, news outlets that relied heavily on advertising income were more likely to have views similar to these corporations [39,40]. In addition, when examining media analyses of processed food and soft drink debates, it was found that they were less likely to expose industry misconduct and its detrimental impact when compared to tobacco-centered debates [29]. This influence can also impact food policies designed to tackle increasing obesity rates.…”

“…The impact of this media representation is so strong that attention to the policy can rise and fall in response to shifts in media coverage, without any change in the actual size of the problem [28]. In addition, the media greatly influences both policymakers' perceptions of policy issues and their acceptance by the public [29]. For most of the general public, which includes businesses and households, the main source of information on public policy comes from the media [27].…”

Examining the News Media Reaction to a National Sugary Beverage Tax in South Africa: A Quantitative Content Analysis.

“…The HPL not only affects potential SSB consumers by causing price increases, but news media coverage of the tax can inform consumers as to the tax's existence and purpose. News media can assist a public health intervention, through its ability to reach a wide public audience and second, through agenda setting, whereby news organizations control topic salience for the public and urgency for policy action through the frequency of news coverage (11)(12)(13)(14). By controlling the public's frequency of exposure to the topic, news media affect how important the topic is perceived to be by the public.…”