Expert quotes and exaggeration in health news: a retrospective quantitative content analysis

Bossema, Francien G.; Burger, Peter; Bratton, Luke; Challenger, Aimée; Adams, Rachel C.; Sumner, Petroc; Schat, Joop; Numans, Mattijs E.; Smeets, Ionica

doi:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15147.2

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…There also is some evidence that health news stories which include external comments tend to feature less hyperbole. Bossema et al found: "the relative odds that an article without an external expert quote contains an exaggeration of causality is 2.6" [29]. While observational in nature, this study still suggests an argument to give reporters more time to find a diversity of opinions.…”

Section: How Good (Or Bad) Is Today's Health Care Journalism?mentioning

confidence: 55%

Will improvements in health journalism improve health literacy?

Oransky

2020

ISU

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Today’s health care journalists work in a very different environment than those of yesterday. The demand for stories and broadcasts has grown exponentially, and the resources available have shrunk dramatically. While it may therefore be difficult to see how improvements in health care journalism are possible, let alone a way to improve health care literacy, there is an important connection that, if illuminated, could help both fields. To understand the literature on the quality of health care journalism, it is critical to understand the backgrounds of today’s health care journalists and the challenges they face. That literature also goes hand in hand with studies of the effects that news coverage has on the public’s understanding of health care issues. There are training and educational programs designed to help health care journalists do their jobs better, and this chapter concludes with a discussion of how cooperation between health journalists, physicians, and other stakeholders can lift all boats.

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Section: How Good (Or Bad) Is Today's Health Care Journalism?mentioning

confidence: 55%

Will improvements in health journalism improve health literacy?

Oransky

2020

ISU

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“…A large majority of UK and Dutch news articles discussing peer-reviewed health-related research included quotes from the original study authors but only 7.5 and 7.0% respectively contained a 'new quote' from an expert source not included in press release. 82 Our study had far larger representation from the Deputy and Chief CMOs (32%) and HIQA researchers (37%) in the media coverage. The inclusion of the external 'expert quotes' may have been a contributing factor into why the reporting of key messages were largely accurate and generally did not exaggerate the causality of findings.…”

Section: International Journal Of Health Policy and Management (Ijhpm)mentioning

confidence: 79%

“…The inclusion of the external ‘expert quotes’ may have been a contributing factor into why the reporting of key messages were largely accurate and generally did not exaggerate the causality of findings. 82 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The inclusion of the external 'expert quotes' may have been a contributing factor into why the reporting of key messages were largely accurate and generally did not exaggerate the causality of findings. 82 The four press releases that we included also demonstrate several different public health messaging concerns that should be taken into consideration for public bodies who communicate the results of evidence syntheses. Firstly, all important evidence should be available in the press release, reducing any additional steps or barriers to access the information or interpret scientific outputs.…”

Section: International Journal Of Health Policy and Management (Ijhpm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Irish Media Coverage of COVID-19 Evidence-Based Research Reports From One National Agency

Sharp

Forde

McGeown

et al. 2021

Int J Health Policy Manag

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Background: How research findings are presented through domestic news can influence behaviour and risk perceptions, particularly during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Monitoring media communications to track misinformation and find information gaps is an important component of emergency risk communication. Therefore, this study investigated the traditional media coverage of nine selected COVID-19 evidence-based research reports and associated press releases published during the initial phases of the pandemic (April to July 2020) by one national agency. Methods: NVivo was used for summative content analysis. ‘Key messages’ from each research report were proposed and 488 broadcast, print, and online media sources were coded at the phrase level. Manifest content was coded and counted to locate patterns in the data (what and how many) while latent content was analysed to further investigate these patterns (why and how). This included the coding of the presence of political and public health actors in coverage. Results: Coverage largely did not misrepresent the results of the reports, however, selective reporting and the variability in the use of quotes from governmental and public health stakeholders changed and contextualised results in different manners than perhaps originally intended in the press release. Reports received varying levels of media attention. Coverage focused on more ‘human-interest’ stories (e.g., spread of COVID-19 by children and excess mortality) as opposed to more technical reports (e.g., focusing on viral load, antibodies, testing, etc.). Conclusion: Our findings provide a case-study of European media coverage of evidence reports produced by a national agency. Results highlighted several strengths and weaknesses of current communication efforts.

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“…But they may also be used to discuss topics unrelated to their fields of expertise” (Merkley, 2020, p. 531). Adding expert sources to a news story can help journalists evoke a rhetoric of authority and add a critical perspective to the narrative (Bossema et al, 2019). The pressure of the deadline also affects the choice of expert sources, leaving journalists with a preference for sources who can promptly and reliably answer interview requests (Peters, 2008).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do different market-oriented news organizations portray news coverage about the CARES act?

Rossi

2023

Newspaper Research Journal

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Drawing from CARES Act news coverage, this study investigated how different market-oriented news organizations modulated the debate on the most expansive stimulus bill in modern U.S. history, released in 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. A comparative approach was used, between news articles produced by a strongly market-oriented and a weakly market-oriented news outlet, both national news outlets, based in the United States. Using market theory as a guide to explore published news content, this study focuses on showing the range of debate, news sources and journalistic role performances employed in coverage of the same topic, coming from differently funded newsrooms. Some of the findings of this research demonstrate differences in the assessment of objectivity as a journalistic norm, and similarities as the indirect use of government official sources. To conclude, some implications for the field of journalism are discussed, including a revision of objectivity as a journalistic norm.

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Expert quotes and exaggeration in health news: a retrospective quantitative content analysis

Cited by 6 publications

References 32 publications

Will improvements in health journalism improve health literacy?

Will improvements in health journalism improve health literacy?

Irish Media Coverage of COVID-19 Evidence-Based Research Reports From One National Agency

How do different market-oriented news organizations portray news coverage about the CARES act?

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