The evidence of compelling arguments in agenda building

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyejoon Rim ◽  
Jin Hong Ha ◽  
Spiro Kiousis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Agenda Building ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Information Subsidies

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the links among health authorities’ public relations efforts, news media coverage, and public perceptions of risk during the H1N1 pandemic outbreak. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a triangulation of research methods by comparing public relations materials, media coverage, and public opinion. The data were collected from a federal government web site, national newspapers, and national polls. Findings – The data revealed a positive relationship between information subsidy attention and media attention to the H1N1 disease as well as the severity attribute. The salience of the severity attribute in information subsidies was linked with increased H1N1 salience in media coverage, extending the testing of the compelling-arguments hypothesis to an agenda-building context. However, there was no association between salience of the severity attribute and public risk perceptions. Research limitations/implications – The study provides evidence for public relations effectiveness. However, the limited influence of the severity frame on the public's risk perception suggests a gap between news coverage and the public's view. Framing that effectively empowers the public to engage in desired behavior should be further studied for the success of a public health campaign. The study is limited to examining the severity attribute. A future study should pay more attention to different issue attributes or other frames. The media sample was limited to newspapers and thus lacks generalizability. Originality/value – The study contributes to public relations scholarship by demonstrating how information subsidies influence media agendas and public opinion in a health communication context. The public health authorities’ role in influencing media agenda should be stressed.

scholarly journals Blurred Shots: Investigating the Information Crisis Around Vaccination in Italy

2020 ◽  
pp. 000276422091024
Author(s):  
Alessandro Lovari ◽  
Valentina Martino ◽  
Nicola Righetti
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Combining Data ◽  
Italian Context

This article aims at exploring a case of information crisis in Italy through the lens of vaccination-related topics. Such a controversial issue, dividing public opinion and political agendas, has received diverse information coverage and public policies over time in the Italian context, whose situation appears quite unique compared with other countries because of a strong media spectacularization and politicization of the topic. In particular, approval of the “Lorenzin Decree,” increasing the number of mandatory vaccinations from 4 to 10, generated a nationwide debate that divided public opinion and political parties, triggering a complex informative crisis and fostering the perception of a social emergency on social media. This resulted in negative stress on lay publics and on the public health system. The study adopted an interdisciplinary framework, including political science, public relations, and health communication studies, as well as a mixed-method approach, combining data mining techniques related to news media coverage and social media engagement, with in-depth interviews to key experts, selected among researchers, journalists, and communication managers. The article investigates reasons for the information crisis and identifies possible solutions and interventions to improve the effectiveness of public health communication and mitigate the social consequences of misinformation around vaccination.

Counterfeit vaccines in Indonesia: managing the issue through media

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 510-520
Author(s):  
N. Nurlaela Arief ◽  
Siti Karlinah ◽  
Yanti Setianti ◽  
Sri Susilawati
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Emergency Situation ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
National Agency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how media plays a role in the issue of counterfeit vaccines. Specifically, to describe how the government communicators manage issues of counterfeit vaccines in Indonesia. Even though a public health emergency situation is very hard to predict, monitoring issues in media is crucial before communicating with the public. This will help improve public trust on the importance of vaccines. Design/methodology/approach The study collected data from June until December 2016. The research method employed quantitative content analysis of data obtained from media monitoring and interviews. Findings The results show that the issue of fake vaccines received great attention from the media with a total of 1,724 news headlines on the topic. The government communicators were responsive in handling this issue by providing sources of information for key influencers when it arose. Since the majority of media sentiment was positive, the research also proposes a model for the future managing of issues on counterfeit vaccines. Research limitations/implications Limited to managing issues on media about counterfeit vaccines and how government communicators and stakeholders communicated during the crisis. It is suggested that future research should focus on the emotional perspective of parents whose children were affected by counterfeit vaccines. Practical implications This research is worthwhile for Public Relations Practitioners in government health institutions, such as the Ministry of Health, the National Agency for Food and Drugs Control and PR practitioners in Hospitals and Pharmacies to overcome another communication crisis in a public health emergency. Social implications To increase awareness in Indonesia about the importance of vaccines and to educate the public about using government vaccines without fear. Originality/value This research is new as the topic about counterfeit vaccines has not been brought up before. This has the potential to have a considerable impact to local communities, as well as a wider impact on global health systems.

Editorial Patterns in Bicyclist and Pedestrian Crash Reporting

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (2) ◽  
pp. 663-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelcie Ralph ◽  
Evan Iacobucci ◽  
Calvin G. Thigpen ◽  
Tara Goddard
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Local News ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
The Public ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization characterizes traffic deaths as a preventable health epidemic. Despite the scale of the problem, this issue has not led to a concerted call to action. Why not? The field of media studies offers potential insight. Not only does media coverage help determine which issues merit attention, coverage also shapes how issues are framed. The aim of this paper is to examine local news coverage of vehicle crashes involving someone walking or biking. To that end, this paper used content analysis of 200 local news articles to answer the research questions: (1) How do articles apportion blame between vulnerable road users (VRUs) and drivers?; (2) To what extent do articles frame crashes as a public health issue? The results reveal that local news coverage tends to shift blame toward VRUs and away from drivers. Coverage almost always treats crashes as isolated incidents, obscuring the public health nature of the problem. This pattern of coverage likely contributes to the limited public outcry about pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities. Journalists can counteract these patterns by subtly altering their coverage. Planners can assist these efforts by making their expertise readily available to journalists. These simple changes would help the public identify links between seemingly isolated events and increase public pressure to reduce road deaths.

Media coverage of the unfolding crisis of domestic terrorism in the United States, 1990–2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 2046147X2199601
Author(s):  
Diana Zulli ◽  
Kevin Coe ◽  
Zachary Isaacs ◽  
Ian Summers
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Television News ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Domestic Terrorism ◽  
Definitional Uncertainty

Public relations research has paid considerable attention to foreign terrorist crises but relatively little attention to domestic ones—despite the growing salience of domestic terrorism in the United States. This study content analyzes 30 years of network television news coverage of domestic terrorism to gain insight into four theoretical issues of enduring interest within the literature on news framing and crisis management: sourcing, contextualization, ideological labeling, and definitional uncertainty. Results indicate that the sources called upon to contextualize domestic terrorism have shifted over time, that ideological labels are more often applied on the right than the left, and that definitional uncertainty has increased markedly in recent years. Implications for the theory and practice of public relations and crisis management are discussed.

Stakeholder responses toward fast food chains’ CSR

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeonsoo Kim ◽  
Mari Luz Zapata Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Issue ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Corporate Image ◽  
Food Chains ◽  
Supportive Communication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how stakeholders perceive the motives behind fast food companies’ public health-related corporate social responsibility (CSR) and general social issue-related CSR initiatives, and their responses toward CSR in terms of supportive communication intent, investment intent, and purchase intent. The authors further examine the impact of perceived CSR motives on intent and whether a healthier chain image has an effect on stakeholder responses. Design/methodology/approach An online experiment was conducted. This study employed a randomized 2 (CSR type: health-related CSR vs generic social issue-related CSR)×2 (chain image: healthier chain vs general fast-food chain) full factorial design using general stakeholder samples. Findings For an ordinary fast food restaurant, generic social issue-related CSR programs elicited significantly more positive perceptions of CSR motives, supportive communication intent and investment intent, than public-health related CSR. When a company has a healthier image, stakeholders do not distinguish between CSR types. Stakeholders perceive both CSR types as stemming from mutually beneficial motives and show neutral to slightly positive reactions to both CSR. A positively perceived CSR motive plays a determinant role in anticipating communication, investment, and purchase intents. Originality/value This is the first study that examines stakeholder perception of motives behind and responses toward fast food chains’ health-related vs generic social issue-related CSR initiatives, in light of corporate image. The study findings help public relations practitioners, public health professionals, parent groups, and legislators understand stakeholders’ reactions toward CSR initiatives in the fast food industry and help them monitor practices for improvements.

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