Defining Obesity: Second-Level Agenda Setting Attributes in Black Newspapers and General Audience Newspapers

Abstract

This content analysis study examines how obesity is depicted in general-audience and Black newspaper stories (N=391) through the lens of second-level agenda setting theory. The results reveal that both Black newspapers and general-audience newspapers generally ascribe individual causes for obesity. While both types of newspapers largely neglected to mention solutions for the problem, Black newspapers were more likely than general-audience newspapers to suggest both individual and societal solutions for treating obesity. For Black newspapers, these solutions more often included community interventions. In addition, Black newspapers more often used a negative tone in stories and more frequently mentioned ethnic and racial minorities as at-risk groups.

Notes

¹Cities were eligible if they had a total population greater than 200,000, a total Black population greater than 100,000, and a local Black newspaper. For standard metropolitan areas, there had to be no geographic overlap with any city in the sampling frame for U.S. cities, a total population greater than 600,000, and a local Black newspaper. Qualified cities and standard metropolitan areas were rank-ordered by circulation of the local Black newspaper, and the top 12 cities and 12 standard metropolitan areas were selected. When cities had more than one Black newspaper, the one with the largest circulation was selected. For general-audience newspapers, the largest general-audience newspaper from 12 of the 24 cities was also included. These 12 cities were randomly selected and included 6 large cities and 6 standard metropolitan areas. A total of 23 Black newspapers and 12 general-audience newspapers from 23 cities were included in the final content analysis. In all cases, paper copies of newspapers were retrieved directly from the newspaper publisher.

²Individual variable reliabilities were as follows: newspaper audience=1.0; location=1.0; length=1.0; news scope=.90; story type=.85; newspaper region=1.0; tone=.74; source of news story=.84; definition of obesity=.70; causal responsibility of obesity=.70; individual cause=.73; societal cause=.88; solution method=.70; individual solution=.77; societal solution=.83; health risk=.80; at-risk group=.89; and dominant topic=.72.

³After the causal responsibility was determined, the subcategory of the causal responsibility was coded for personal causes (medical term, generic condition, result of lifestyle, and unhealthful diet), and societal causes (food industry, policies and education, socioeconomic, and burden for equal opportunity). Those that could not be categorized were coded as “other.” For solution responsibility, personal solutions methods (healthy diet, physical activity, medical treatment, faith, counseling for personal solution methods) and societal solution methods (change in food industry, change in school policies and education, socioeconomic changes, community interventions, and health policy changes) were also coded.