Specialty matters. Analysis of health journalists’ coverage about vaccines

  1. Daniel Catalán-Matamoros 2
  2. Carmen Peñafiel-Saiz 1
  1. 1 Universidad del País Vasco. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y de la Comunicación
  2. 2 Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Dpto. Periodismo y Comunicación Audiovisual)
Revista:
El profesional de la información

ISSN: 1386-6710,  1699-2407

Año de publicación: 2019

Título del ejemplar: Información y comunicación biomédica

Volumen: 28

Número: 2

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.3145/EPI.2019.MAR.01 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: El profesional de la información

Resumen

This study examines specific professional patterns among health journalists, and assesses whether these differ from those among generalists in the case of vaccines. 131 articles were analysed from national newspapers in Spain, of which 52% (n=68) were written by specialised health journalists. Content analysis was undertaken to examine the differences in terms of journalistic genre, frames, tone, sources and length of the article. Results revealed key journalistic patterns and confirmed that health journalists perform significantly differently than other authors in terms of journalistic genre, tone, sources and length of the article. Health journalists wrote more features and less opinion articles, from a more neutral perspective, using a wider number of scientific sources, especially those from professional associations and scientific journals. These findings provide insights into the process of health journalism, and identify potential aspects to further develop the profession for the broad dissemination of health news to the public.

Referencias bibliográficas

  • AIMC (2017). Estudio general de los medios en España 2017. Madrid: Asociación para la investigación de medios de comunicación.
  • Amend, Elyse; Secko, David M. (2012). “In the face of critique: A metasynthesis of the experiences of journalists covering health and science”. Science communication, v. 34, n. 2, pp. 241-282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547011409952
  • Barrera-Páez, Lucía (2016). “El periodismo especializado en salud: una reseña histórica”. Revista española de comunicación en salud, v. 7, Sup. 1, pp. 15-22. https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2016.3118
  • Bristol, Nellie; Donnelly, John (2011). Taking the temperature: The future of global health journalism. USA: The Kaiser Family Foundation. https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/report/taking-the-temperature-the-future-of-global-health-journalism
  • Brumfiel, Geoff (2009). “Science journalism: Supplanting the old media?”. Nature, v. 458, n. 7236, pp. 274-277. https://doi.org/10.1038/458274a
  • Cacciatore, Michael A.; Anderson, Ashley A.; Choi, Doo-Hun; Brossard, Dominique; Scheufele, Dietram A.; Liang, Xuan; Ladwig, Peter J.; Xenos, Michael; Dudo, Anthony (2012). “Coverage of emerging technologies: A comparison between print and online media”. New media & society, v. 14, n. 6, pp. 1039-1059. https://bit.ly/2TqBWa7 https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444812439061
  • Carrillo-Santisteve, Paloma; Lopalco, Pier L. (2012). “Measles still spreads in Europe: who is responsible for the failure to vaccinate?”. Clinical microbiology and infection, v. 18, pp. 50-56. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2012.03982.x
  • Casciotti, Dana M.; Smith, Katherine C. ; Klassen, Ann-Carroll (2014a). “Topics associated with conflict in print news coverage of the HPV vaccine during 2005 to 2009”. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, v. 10, n. 12, pp. 3466-3474. https://doi.org/10.4161/21645515.2014.979622
  • Casciotti, Dana M.; Smith, Katherine C.; Tsui, Amy; Klassen, Ann C. (2014b). “Discussions of adolescent sexuality in news media coverage of the HPV vaccine”. Journal of adolescence, v. 37, n. 2, pp. 133-143. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5473422 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.11.004
  • Catalán-Matamoros, Daniel (2017). “El gran avance del ámbito científico y académico de la comunicación en salud”. Revista española de comunicación en salud, v. 8, n. 2, pp. 114-117. https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2017.3995
  • Catalán-Matamoros, Daniel; Peñafiel-Saiz, Carmen ( 2017). “The u se o f traditional me dia fo r pu blic communication about medicines: A systematic review of characteristics and outcomes”. Health communication, 17 December. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1405485
  • Catalán-Matamoros, Daniel; Peñafiel-Saiz, Carmen (2018). “How is communication of vaccines in traditional media: A systematic review”. Perspectives in public health, v. 139, n. 1, pp. 34-43. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913918780142
  • Cebrián, Cristina (2016). “La falta de especialización lastra el periodismo sanitario”. Redacción médica, 26 septiembre. https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/sanidad-hoy/la-falta-de-especializacion-lastra-el-periodismo-sanitario-9975
  • Chan, Margaret (2011). WHO director-general calls for change. Geneva: World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2011/eb_20110117/en
  • Clarke, Christopher E. (2008). “A question of balance: The autism-vaccine controversy in the British and American elite press”. Science communication, v. 30, n. 1, pp. 77-107. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547008320262
  • Davis, Aeron (2002). Public relations democracy: Public relations, politics, and the mass media in Britain. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN: 978 0 719060694
  • Dentzer, Susan (2009). “Communicating medical news — Pitfalls of health care journalism”. New England journal of medicine, v. 360, n. 1, pp. 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp0805753
  • Deprez, Annelore; Van-Leuven, Sarah (2018). “About pseudo quarrels and trustworthiness: A multi-method study of health journalism, sourcing practices and Twitter”. Journalism studies, v. 19, n. 9, pp. 1257-1274. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2016.1266910
  • Dubé, Eve; Laberge, Caroline; Guay, Maryse; Bramadat, Paul; Roy, Réal; Bettinger, Julie A. (2013). “Vaccine hesitancy: An overview”. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, v. 9, n. 8, pp. 1763-1773. https://doi.org/10.4161/hv.24657
  • Fedler, Fred; Counts, Tim; Carey, Arlen; Santana, Maria C. (1998). “Faculty’s degrees, experience and research vary with specialty”. Journalism & mass communication educator, v. 53, n. 1, S. pp. 4-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769589805300102
  • Garrison, Bruce (2010). Professional feature writing, 5th ed. New York: Routledge. ISBN: 978 0 415998970
  • Guenther, Lars; Bischoff, Jenny; Löwe, Anna; Marzinkowski, Hanna; Voigt, Marcus (2017). “Scientific evidence and science journalism: Analysing the representation of (un)certainty in German print and online media”. Journalism studies, pp. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1353432
  • Hilton, Shona; Hunt, Kate; Langan, Mairi; Bedford, Helen; Petticrew, Mark (2010). “Newsprint media representations of the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme for cervical cancer prevention in the UK (2005-2008)”. Social science & medicine, v. 70, n. 6, pp. 942-950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.11.027
  • Hinnant, Amanda; Len-Ríos, María E.; Oh, Hyun-Jee (2012). “Are health journalists’ practices tied to their perceptions of audience? An attribution and expectancy-value approach”. Health communication, v. 27, n. 3, pp. 234-243. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2011.578331
  • Holtzman, Neil A.; Bernhardt, Barbara A.; Mountcastle-Shah, Eliza; Rodgers, Joann E.; Tambor, Ellen; Geller, Gail (2005). “The quality of media reports on discoveries related to human genetic diseases”. Public health genomics, v. 8, n. 3, pp. 133-144. https://doi.org/10.1159/000086756
  • Johnston, Jane; Forde, Susan (2017). “Churnalism: Revised and revisited”. Digital journalism, v. 5, n. 8, pp. 943-946. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2017.1355026
  • Kennedy, Allison; LaVail, Katehrine; Nowak, Glen; Basket, Michelle; Landry, Sarah (2011). “Confidence about vaccines in the United States: Understanding parents’ perceptions”. Health affairs, v. 30, n. 6, pp. 1151-1159. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0396
  • Kennedy, Donald; Overholser, Geneva (2010). Science and the media. Cambridge, MA: American Academy of Arts and Sciences. ISBN: 0 87724 087 6 https://www.amacad.org/publication/science-and-media
  • Krakow, Melinda; Rogers, Brian (2016). “Collateral damage and critical turning points: Public health implications of HPV vaccine news coverage for boys and men in 2011”. Health communication, v. 31, n. 9, pp. 1081-1088. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2015.1038773
  • Len-Ríos, María E.; Hinnant, Amanda; Park, Sun A.; Cameron, Glen T.; Frisby, Cynthia M.; Lee, Youngha (2009). “Health news agenda building: Journalists’ perceptions of the role of public relations”. Journalism & mass communication quarterly, v. 86, n. 2, pp. 315-331. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900908600204
  • MacDonald, Paul L.; Gardner, Robert C. (2000). “Type I error rate comparisons of post hoc procedures for I j chi-square tables”. Educational and psychological measurement, v. 60, n. 5, pp. 735-754. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131640021970871
  • Meyer, Samantha B.; Lu, Stephanie K.; Hoffman-Goetz, Laurie; Smale, Bryan; MacDougall, Heather; Pearce, Alex R. (2016). “A content analysis of newspaper coverage of the seasonal flu vaccine in Ontario, Canada, October 2001 to March 2011”. Journal of health communication, v. 21, n. 10, pp. 1088-1097. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2016.1222038
  • Miles, Matthew B.; Huberman, A. Michael (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage. ISBN: 0 8039 5540 5
  • Molyneux, Logan; Holton, Avery (2015). “Branding (health) journalism: Perceptions, practices, and emerging norms”. Digital journalism, v. 3, n. 2, pp. 225-242. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.906927
  • Pérez, Samara; Fedoruk, Claire; Shapiro, Gilla K.; Rosberger, Zeev (2016). “Giving boys a shot: The HPV vaccine’s portrayal in Canadian newspapers”. Health communication, v. 31, n. 12, pp. 1527-1538. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2015.1089466
  • Quintero-Johnson, Jessie; Sionean, Catlainn; Scott, Allison M. (2011). “Exploring the presentation of news information about the HPV vaccine: A content analysis of a representative sample of U.S. newspaper articles”. Health communication, v. 26, n. 6, pp. 491-501. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2011.556080
  • Rappuoli, Rino; Mandl, Christian W.; Black, Steven; De-Gregorio, Ennio (2011). “Vaccines for the twenty-first century society”. Nature reviews immunology, v. 11, n. 12, pp. 865-872. https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3085
  • Riobó, Pilar (2016). “Citas y referencias bibliográficas en publicaciones de salud”. Revista española de comunicación en salud, v. 7, Sup1, pp. 133-138. https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2016.3132
  • Schneider, Barbara (2012). “Sourcing homelessness: How journalists use sources to frame homelessness”. Journalism: theory, practice & criticism, v. 13, n. 1, pp. 71-86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884911421573
  • Semetko, Holli A.; Valkenburg, Patti M. (2000). “Framing European politics: A content analysis of press and television news”. Journal of communication, v. 50, n. 2, pp. 93-109. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02843.x
  • Tiffen, Rodney; Jones, Paul K.; Rowe, David; Aalberg, Toril; Coen, Sharon; Curran, James; Hayashi, Kaori; Iyengar, Shanto; Mazzoleni, Gianpietro; Papathanassopoulos, Stylianos; Rojas, Hernando; Soroka, Stuart (2014). “Sources in the news: A comparative study”. Journalism studies, v. 15, n. 4, pp. 374-391. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2013.831239
  • Tsuda, Kenji; Yamamoto, Kana; Leppold, Claire; Tanimoto, Tetsuya; Kusumi, Eiji; Komatsu, Tsunehiko; Kami, Masahiro (2016). “Trends of media coverage on human papillomavirus vaccination in Japanese newspapers”. Clinical infectious diseases, v. 63, n. 12, pp. 1634-1638. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciw647
  • Viswanath, Kasisomayajula; Blake, Kelly D.; Meissner, Helen I.; Gottlieb-Saiontz, Nicole; Mull, Corey; Freeman, Carol S.; Hesse, Bradford; Croyle, Robert T. (2008). “Occupational practices and the making of health news: A national survey of U.S. health and medical science journalists”. Journal of health communication, v. 13, n. 8, pp. 759-777. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730802487430
  • Voss, Melinda (2002). “Checking the pulse: Midwestern reporters’ opinions on their ability to report health care news”. American journal of public health, v. 92, n. 7, pp. 1158-1160. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447207
  • WHO (2017). Substantial decline in global measles deaths, but disease still kills 90000 per year. Geneva: World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/news-room/detail/26-10-2017-substantial-decline-in-global-measles-deaths-but-disease-still-kills90-000-per-year
  • Yanovitzky, Itzhak; Blitz, Cynthia L. (2000). “Effect of media coverage and physician advice on utilization of breast cancer screening by women 40 years and older”. Journal of health communication, v. 5, n. 2, pp. 117-134. https://doi.org/10.1080/108107300406857
Fuente de los datos: Dialnet