How did policy actors use mass media to influence the Scottish alcohol minimum unit pricing debate? Comparative analysis of newspapers, evidence submissions and interviews

Abstract

Aims: To explore how policy actors attempted to deliberately frame public debate around alcohol minimum unit pricing (MUP) in the UK by comparing and contrasting their constructions of the policy in public (newspapers), semi-public (evidence submissions) and private (interviews). Methods: Content analysis was conducted on articles published in ten national newspapers between 1 January 2005 and 30 June 2012. Newsprint data were contrasted with alcohol policy documents, evidence submissions to the Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport Committee and 36 confidential interviews with policy stakeholders (academics, advocates, industry representatives, politicians and civil servants). Findings: A range of policy actors exerted influence both directly (through Parliamentary institutions and political representatives) and indirectly through the mass media. Policy actors were acutely aware of mass media's importance in shaping public opinion and used it tactically to influence policy. They often framed messages in subtly different ways, depending on target audiences. In general, newspapers presented the policy debate in a “balanced” way, but this arguably over-represented hostile perspective and suggested greater disagreement around the evidence base than is the case. Conclusions: The roles of policy actors vary between public and policy spheres, and how messages are communicated in policy debates depends on perceived strategic advantage.

Between a rock and a hard place: Economic expansion and social responsibility in UK media discourses on the global alcohol industry

“…This article builds on existing studies of the media in the development of UK alcohol policy, 8,24,27-30 and further underlines the importance of media framing as a key component of corporate political strategy. The analytical approach used here allowed for detailed investigation into four influential producer organisations, during a time of heightened debate surrounding the UK government’s alcohol strategy.…”

“…It supports previous studies which founds that policy actors tailor their messaging to particular audiences in an effort to influence policy debates. 30 The media offer a powerful means to shape policy debates and marshal public opinion, and have played a key role in recent developments in UK alcohol policy. 8,24,26 The analysis presented here suggest that the alcohol industry is acutely aware of the importance of media framing in furthering their business objectives and promote differentiated framing targeted at different actors to pursue their political and financial strategies.…”

“…26,27 Further studies of policy debates throughout the UK demonstrate that policy actors are acutely aware of the importance of media debates in shaping public opinion, framing messages in subtly different ways to target different audiences in order to influence policy. 30 This has implications for public health actors seeking to tailor policy massages in ways likely to influence policy debates. 27 The present study aims to build on these insights by identifying ways in which alcohol industry actors frame their massaging to target different audiences in order to meet their policy and wider commercial objectives.…”

“…Previous studies have indicated the crucial role which media framing has played in the development of alcohol policy in the UK and beyond. 8,13,23,24,26-30 …”

Media Coverage of Alcohol Issues: A Critical Political Economy Framework—A Case Study from Ireland

“…The point is that even if fewer than 50% of stories accept a pro-alcohol industry view for which there is no or little scientific evidence, this still denotes a media biased toward the drinks industry, as stated by Katikireddi and Hilton [6]. In other words, even a modest amount of coverage for pro-industry views that have little basis in fact should be interpreted as bias.…”