Textual analysis of tobacco editorials: How are key media gatekeepers framing the issues?

Abstract

Purpose. The news media's potential to promote awareness of health issues is established, and media advocacy is now an important tool in combating tobacco use. This study examines newspaper editors' perspectives of tobacco-related issues. Design. This study presents a textual analysis of tobacco-related editorials. The data consist of editorials on tobacco from a sample of 310 U.S. daily newspapers over the course of 1 year (2001). Data were sampled from a random one-third of the days per month, yielding 162 editorials for analysis. A qualitative textual analysis was conducted. Each editorial was coded for theme, position, and frame. We analyzed the topics gaining editorial attention and the..