Wang Zheng, Gantz Walter
School of Communication, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
Health Commun. 2007;21(3):213-21. doi: 10.1080/10410230701307527.
Local television news is an important source of health information for the public. Yet little is known about coverage of health issues on local television newscasts. This study examined 1,863 news stories that aired on 4 English-language channels and 1 Spanish channel in 7 U.S. markets during a composite week in 2000. About 10% of news stories focused on health topics. Specific illnesses/diseases and healthy living issues received the most frequent coverage. Health news stories generally were less than 1 min long. Most health news stories were neutral in tone. Few offered contrasting viewpoints or follow-up information. Many stories were likely to require a 10th grade education to be understood. Implications for health professionals, policy makers, and health communication researchers are discussed.
地方电视新闻是公众获取健康信息的重要来源。然而，对于地方电视新闻节目中健康问题的报道情况，人们却知之甚少。本研究调查了2000年某综合周期间在美国7个市场的4个英语频道和1个西班牙语频道播出的1863则新闻报道。约10%的新闻报道聚焦于健康话题。特定疾病和健康生活问题的报道最为频繁。健康新闻报道通常时长不到1分钟。大多数健康新闻报道的语气较为中立。很少有报道提供不同观点或后续信息。许多报道可能需要具备十年级的教育水平才能理解。文中还讨论了该研究对健康专业人员、政策制定者和健康传播研究人员的启示。
