![Sample our Communication Studies journals, sign in here to start your access, 2013 & 2014 volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5927/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Information-Science2.jpg"})
Abstract
The topics and framing of news stories relevant to skin cancer prevention have shifted over time. This study examined agenda-setting effects of such news stories on public attitudes and beliefs about tanning and skin cancer. Content analysis data on 516 articles published in two major daily newspapers in Melbourne, Australia, from 1994 to 2007 were combined with circulation data to generate indices of potential news exposure. Associations between these indices and cross-sectional telephone survey data from the same period on 6,244 adults’ tanning attitudes and perceived susceptibility to skin cancer were examined using logistic regression models, accounting for the temporal precedence of news content. Pro-sun protection stories on attitudes and behavior were associated with older adults not thinking a tan looks healthy. Pro-sun protection stories on solaria were associated with less preference for a deep tan among young adults who like to suntan. Stories on vitamin D that were unsupportive of or ambiguous about sun protection were associated with a number of pro-tan attitudes among younger adults. Results indicate news coverage during 1994–2007 served an important agenda-setting role in explaining the public's attitudes and beliefs about tanning and skin cancer. Vitamin D stories appeared most influential, particularly among young adults.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the work of the researchers who have contributed to the population-based sun-protection surveys across the years, from which data on the population's tan-related attitudes, perceived susceptibility to skin cancer, and exposure to TV advertising were sourced for the current analyses. We thank David Hill for his conception and development of the study; Ron Borland, Robin Marks, Victoria White, and Suzanne Dobbinson for their contributions to survey development; Victoria White and Suzanne Dobbinson for data acquisition; and Suzanne Dobbinson, Kate Francis, Kris Jamsen, Natalie Herd, and Matthew Spittal for their contributions to weighting, data reduction, and analysis of lags for the TV advertising exposure variables. This work was funded by several organizations over a number of years, including Cancer Councils of Australia, Cancer Australia, Cancer Council Victoria, and VicHealth. The authors are employees of Cancer Council Victoria, which runs the SunSmart skin cancer prevention program.
Notes
1Reliability is only reported for those variables from the Scully et al. content analysis that are used in the agenda-setting analyses for the present study.