Health News
Though studies suggest that newspapers can influence people's decisions about their health and can even lead to public-policy changes, for the most part Kentucky's rural newspaper editors are publishing very few health-related stories, a report compiled at the University of Kentucky concluded.
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Health News
Rural newspapers have power to influence people's health, but few health articles are being published in Kentucky, study finds
By Tara Kaprowy
Kentucky Health News
The six-month study found more than 1,200 articles primarily about health were published in 131 rural Kentucky newspapers, including opinion pieces, reprints, press releases, briefs and letters to the editor. That averaged to nine stories per newspaper in six months, though daily papers tended to run far more articles than non-dailies (52 percent of dailies ran health articles 1 to 2 times per week while 68 percent of non-dailies ran health articles less than once a month).
Speaking at the third-annual Kentucky Health Literacy Summit, study co-author Al Cross said he wasn't surprised by the findings, sensing "there wasn't a great deal of coverage out there to help people live healthier lives." But Cross said his goal as director of UK's Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues "is to help rural newspapers help define the public agenda."
"In Kentucky," he said, "that needs to be about health."
The topic of health-care funding and policy accounted for 35 percent of the articles published, though co-author Sarah Vos said that number is likely skewed because the time period analyzed included a legislative session during which there was extensive discussion about Medicaid.
Stories on drugs and alcohol accounted for 12 percent of the total, followed by tobacco/smoking (9.5 percent) and exercise, food, diet or obesity (8.6 percent). Vos also found stories that did run were often incomplete, with 40 percent failing to contextualize the problem for the reader. Only 20 percent mentioned health disparities, the differences in health between geographic areas and demographic sectors.
Stories on drugs and alcohol accounted for 12 percent of the total, followed by tobacco/smoking (9.5 percent) and exercise, food, diet or obesity (8.6 percent). Vos also found stories that did run were often incomplete, with 40 percent failing to contextualize the problem for the reader. Only 20 percent mentioned health disparities, the differences in health between geographic areas and demographic sectors.
While there is a dearth of health reporting in rural newspapers ? all newspapers but those that serve the Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati areas were included in the study ? they could have considerable pull in the health decisions people make. Vos cited one study showing media coverage can influence individual health decisions and preventive behaviors, and one that showed coverage of health issues can lead to both changes in public policy and public perception.
Rural newspapers are well read by their readership, with the average reader spending about 39 minutes reading their local paper. Sixty percent of adults say their rural paper is their main source of news, Vos said. "Rural newspapers have a special relationship with readers," she said. "It's intimate. One researcher even called them an extended member of the family."
For a copy of the paper, click here.
For a copy of the paper, click here.
- Adair Paper's Health Section Is Latest To Appear In Edition Sent To All Postal Patrons; Most Stories Are From Kentucky Health News
Kentucky newspapers appear to be publishing more special sections on health, supported by advertising from health-care providers. They often putting the sections into sample-copy editions that are mailed to all postal patrons in the paper's home county,...
- Appalachian Kentucky Newspapers Improved Their Obamacare Coverage After Rollout, But It Remained Heavily Political
Appalachian Kentucky newspapers gave their readers limited information about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the two months before the Oct. 1 rollout of the law, and their coverage of it was dominated by opinions of public officials,...
- Newspapers Large And Small Inform Readers (and Even Non-subscribers) About The Complexities Of Health-care Reform
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues In about two months, states and the federal government will open online marketplaces for health insurance, which will also offer subsidies based on income and the opportunity...
- Ky. Rural Health Association Seeks Entries In Reporting Contest
The Kentucky Rural Health Association invites nominations for its annual rural health reporting awards, which aim to encourage more and better coverage of Kentucky?s rural health-related issues by the state?s newspapers. The contest has daily and non-daily...
- Weekly Newspaper In Adair County Does A Special Section On Health And Sends It To Everyone In The County
Special sections on health are good for community newspapers and their readers. Health-care providers have money for advertising in such sections, and a section focused on health can have more impact on readers than individual, occasional stories. Based...