Tobacco in the news: An analysis of newspaper coverage of tobacco issues in Australia, 2001

Abstract

Objective: To assess the extent and nature of newspaper coverage of tobacco related issues in Australia in 2001. Design: Content analysis of newspaper articles. Subjects: All articles (n=1188) at least seven lines long and containing at least one paragraph focused on tobacco in all major Australian national and State capital city newspapers (n=12) in 2001. Main outcome measures: Number of articles, month of publication, State in which newspaper published, prominence of article, type of article, article theme, and slant of article relative to tobacco control objectives. Results: The number of tobacco articles varied considerably in different months over the course of the year, from a low of 5..