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Abstract
Scholars have examined how news media frame events, including responsibility for causing and fixing problems, and how these frames inform public judgment. This study analyzed 281 newspaper articles about a controversial medical study linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination with autism. Given criticism of the study and its potential negative impact on vaccination rates across multiple countries, the current study examined actors to whom news media attributed blame for the MMR–vaccine association, sources used to support those attributions, and what solutions (e.g., mobilizing information), if any, were offered. This study provides unique insight by examining the evolution of these attributions over the lifetime of the controversy. Findings emphasize how news media may attribute blame in health risk communication and how that ascription plays a potentially vital role in shaping public behavior. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Notes
1The complete coding scheme is available upon request.
2Two graduate students were recruited to analyze the sample. In order to improve intercoder reliability as well as variable measures, both coders underwent two training sessions in which they received variable definitions and coding instructions. Using articles discarded during the sampling procedure, the coders pretested the initial codebook. To determine intercoder reliability, Krippendorff's alpha was used. It is a robust measure of reliability that can be used regardless of the number of coders, levels of measurement, sample size, and presence of missing data (CitationHayes & Krippendorff, 2007). Scores above .8 represent strong reliability. Intercoder reliability scores on the initial pretest ranged from .59 to 1.0. After minor revisions to the codebook to improve reliability, the coders pretested another sample of discarded articles, resulting in more appropriate intercoder reliability scores ranging from .84 to 1.0.
3Intercoder reliability scores using Krippendorff's alpha: Article source, 1.0; Date, 1.0; Wave, 1.0; Combined Peripheral Attribution, .95; Dominant Attribution, .84; Combined Sources (presence), .95; Combined Sources (count), .89; Fact/Opinion, .87; Mobilizing Information (presence), .98; Combined Mobilizing Information (presence), .97.