Reporting on Health to Ethnic Populations: A Content Analysis of Local Health News in Ethnic Versus Mainstream Newspapers

Abstract

Ethnic newspapers seek to provide local news not provided by other media, yet few studies have compared local health news in ethnic versus mainstream newspapers. Local health news in ethnic newspapers could decrease health disparities among ethnic communities who are at higher risk for certain chronic illnesses and diseases. Localized story elements could inform ethnic audiences and broaden the discussion about local health issues, shedding light on priorities of ethnic media in providing relevant health information to their communities. This research compares local health news in ethnic (Black/Hispanic) versus mainstream (large/daily) newspapers and examines 3 localized story elements: local sources, localized statistics, and localized information. Results from the content analysis showed no differences in localized health news coverage for ethnic versus mainstream newspapers except the number of local health news stories and health stories with localized health information were higher in Hispanic and lower in Black as compared to mainstream newspapers. Findings suggest that ethnicBoth authors contributed equally to the manuscript even though Dr. Ye Wang is listed first. The data from this grant were made possible by a grant from The California Endowment. We thank the Center for Advanced Social Research for running the content analysis. We also thank the Health Communication Research Center for staff support throughout the project. The authors are indebted to the reviewers for their insightful comments.

Mapping the Health Information Landscape in a Rural, Culturally Diverse Region: Implications for Interventions to Reduce Information Inequality

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Prevalence and Framing of Health Disparities in Local Print News: Implications for Multilevel Interventions to Address Cancer Inequalities

“…They also recorded information about the story author and geographical area discussed (see Table 4 for examples). Although these quantitative data allow us to gauge whether the story was local, they do not necessarily reflect localization, which has been defined as the process of including local story elements, such as local sources or statistics (24, 28). …”

“…Similar to mainstream local media, ethnic media perform a social-control function by reinforcing community norms and downplaying community conflict to promote stability; they also perform an informational function by surveilling and disseminating relevant content to communities (30). Perhaps more importantly, ethnic media are particularly trusted and influential sources of health information, primarily because they are able to achieve both personal and community relevance through localization and other targeting strategies (24, 31, 32). Although some have questioned whether they have yet to fully realize their potential as a critical health information source (24, 33), it is important to examine disparities/SDH coverage in these sources, given their centrality to communities.…”

“…Perhaps more importantly, ethnic media are particularly trusted and influential sources of health information, primarily because they are able to achieve both personal and community relevance through localization and other targeting strategies (24, 31, 32). Although some have questioned whether they have yet to fully realize their potential as a critical health information source (24, 33), it is important to examine disparities/SDH coverage in these sources, given their centrality to communities. To date, few studies have done so.…”

Ethnic newspapers and low-income Spanish-speaking adults: influence of news consumption and health motivation on cancer prevention behaviors

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