TY - JOUR
T1 - News Media Coverage of Trans Fat
T2 - Health Risks and Policy Responses
AU - Jarlenski, Marian
AU - Barry, Colleen L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Eating Research Program (number 68051). The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Nancy Kwon. They also thank Mark Schlesinger for helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.
PY - 2013/4
Y1 - 2013/4
N2 - Prior research indicates that the news media play a critical role in transmitting information to the public about the most pressing public health problems, and framing attributions about who in society is responsible for solving these problems. In this article, we use content analysis methods to study the agenda-setting and framing functions of the news media in shaping perceptions about the health risks posed by trans fat in the U.S. diet. A census of news stories focusing on trans fat was collected from the two largest circulation U.S. newspapers and three major television networks from 1998 to 2008 (N = 156). The content of news coverage was analyzed using a 23-item instrument. Findings indicated that the news media served an important agenda-setting role in educating the public about the presence of trans fat in the U.S. diet and describing the health risks these foods pose. In addition, results indicate that news media coverage framed attributions of responsibility for solving the problem of trans fat in the food supply. News stories noting the heart disease risks of trans fat were significantly more likely to mention governmental responses aimed at curbing consumption than news coverage that did not note these health risks.
AB - Prior research indicates that the news media play a critical role in transmitting information to the public about the most pressing public health problems, and framing attributions about who in society is responsible for solving these problems. In this article, we use content analysis methods to study the agenda-setting and framing functions of the news media in shaping perceptions about the health risks posed by trans fat in the U.S. diet. A census of news stories focusing on trans fat was collected from the two largest circulation U.S. newspapers and three major television networks from 1998 to 2008 (N = 156). The content of news coverage was analyzed using a 23-item instrument. Findings indicated that the news media served an important agenda-setting role in educating the public about the presence of trans fat in the U.S. diet and describing the health risks these foods pose. In addition, results indicate that news media coverage framed attributions of responsibility for solving the problem of trans fat in the food supply. News stories noting the heart disease risks of trans fat were significantly more likely to mention governmental responses aimed at curbing consumption than news coverage that did not note these health risks.
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U2 - 10.1080/10410236.2012.669670
DO - 10.1080/10410236.2012.669670
M3 - Article
C2 - 22574857
AN - SCOPUS:84876225017
SN - 1041-0236
VL - 28
SP - 209
EP - 216
JO - Health communication
JF - Health communication
IS - 3
ER -