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Abstract
The Internet is one of the fastest growing news sources for many worldwide (Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2011), and cancer news is one frequently consumed form of online health information (Google, Inc., 2007). This content analysis of online cancer news (n = 862) retrieved from the four most frequented news websites describes trends regarding specific cancers, stages in the cancer continuum, and types of news articles. In general, treatment information received the most attention in online cancer news. Breast cancer received the most attention of each specific cancer, followed by digestive and genitourinary cancers. Research reports and profiles of people (more than 60% of which were about celebrities) were the most common article types. Risk, uncertainty, and clinical trials were also present across several types of cancer news articles. Implications of content trends are discussed as relevant to consumers, producers, health campaign designers, and researchers alike.
Notes
1No alpha adjustments were made in this analysis. For information on the pros and cons of alpha adjustments when conducting multiple significance tests (e.g., t-tests) see CitationO'Keefe (2003) and CitationHewes (2003).