Coverage of motor vehicle crashes with injuries in U.S. newspapers, 1999-2002

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Abstract

Problem

The aims of the study were to evaluate information on motor-vehicle crashes with injuries provided in newspaper reports and to assess the frequency of thematic and episodic reporting of motor-vehicle crashes.

Method

The study used Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) derived variables to code a nationally representative sample of U.S. newspaper reports of motor-vehicle crashes from 1999-2002. A total of 473 newspaper reports of motor-vehicle crashes with injuries were included. Information on the crash event, people involved, and vehicles was extracted. The reports were coded for episodic and thematic news framing.

Results

A majority of newspaper reports used episodic framing. The majority of reports included information on the type of crash, but characteristics about people and vehicles were rarely reported.

Discussion

Lack of information in newspapers makes them an incomplete source from which to influence public perceptions and attitudes.

Impact on industry

This provides an opportunity for news print media to improve public health content.

Impact on industry

Newspapers represent an important source of public information; they are, however, an incomplete source [Voight, B., Lapidus, G., Zavoski, R., & Banco, L. (1998). Injury reporting in Connecticut newspapers. Injury Prevention, 4, 292-294.; Baullinger, J., Quan, L., Bennett, E., Cummings, P., & Williams, K. (2001). Use of Washington state newspaper for submersion injury surveillance. Injury Prevention, 7, 339-342]. To increase the accuracy of information provided to the public through media sources, there is a need for increased communication between public health professionals and reporters.

The results of this study raise concerns about the contents of motor-vehicle crash information provided in newspapers and suggest that newspapers do not provide information to allow public perception to be in accord with the importance of motor-vehicle crash injuries and health promoting actions to reduce risk of injury. More balanced and detailed information in newspapers would provide an opportunity for news print media to improve public health programs and public perception about the impact of motor-vehicle crashes on safety for all.

Introduction

The role of newspapers in expanding injury surveillance (Fine et al., 1998, Rainey and Runyan, 1992) and in presenting health risk information (Frost, Frank, & Maibach, 1997) has been assessed. In addition, the reporting of injury prevention measures in newspapers has been discussed (Voight, Lapidus, Zavoski, & Banco, 1998). One study conducted in two counties in Colorado reported the relationship between newspaper reported and hospital discharge related injury rates, indicating motor-vehicle injury reports in newspapers underrepresented the number of hospitalized injuries resulting from motor-vehicle crashes (Rosales, Smith, & Stallones, 2006). In a study conducted in four Midwestern cities in the United States, newspaper reports were compared with data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) to evaluate the crash risks, causes, and reported consequences in newspapers (Connor & Wesolowksi, 2004). The newspaper reports did not accurately reflect real risk because crashes were reported as drama with victims and villains, and factors associated with reducing injurious consequences such as seatbelt use were under reported (Connor & Wesolowski).

Newspapers have the power to inform and educate the public (Voight et al., 1998). Prevention information and sufficient details that may be helpful for the public to evaluate their own risk often are not included in reports, which influences risk perceptions about public health issues (Slater, Long, & Ford, 2006). By providing information about injury risk and the benefit of taking preventive measures, newspapers could make use of their power to produce social change. Media coverage can assist in defining health problems as public policy problems rather than as individual problems (Long, Slater, & Lysengren, 2006). Therefore, it is important to understand the nature of media reports to understand that media content may influence public concern and public policy (Slater & Rasinski, 2005).

Media coverage can increase the perceived importance of issues as well as alter attitudes toward issues (Long et al., 2006). Risk perception about relative severity and prevalence are affected by news reports on crime, crashes, and injuries (Slater & Rasinski, 2005). Views regarding issues like terrorism and poverty were found to depend on the point of view presented in the media (Iyengar, 1987). Therefore, the importance of documenting the extent to which particular media frames are more or less prevailing in news coverage has been suggested (Iyengar, 1987). Iyengar (1996) focuses on two specific types of framing, episodic and thematic. Episodic news framing refers to presentation of issues in terms of specific instances as isolated events (Iyengar, 1996). Thematic framing represents the presentation of issues in a broader societal context by placing issues in an appropriate context (e.g., temporal, geographical; Iyengar, 1996).

The purposes of this study were to use FARS derived variables to code a nationally representative sample of newspaper reports in order to determine the extent to which information often used to design motor-vehicle injury prevention programs was included, and to assess the frequency of thematic and episodic reporting of motor-vehicle crashes.

Section snippets

Method

Detailed descriptions of the sampling frame have been published (Long et al., 2005, Slater et al., 2006). Briefly, U.S. newspapers were sampled approximately proportional to their circulation or reach. Using Designated Marketing Areas (DMA) allows the selection of a sample based on media market size and is one of the most widely used approaches to defining media markets (Long et al., 2005). A DMA is a U.S. geographic division used to measure television audience size by Nielsen Media Research

Results

A total of 473 newspaper reports of motor-vehicle crashes were included in this study. The majority of the reports represented episodic reporting (459; 97%). Table 1 contains the distribution of type of crash reported. The majority of newspaper reports provided information on the type of crash, with the most frequently reported type of crash being single car events followed by two car collisions. Details about other characteristics related to the crashes were not often reported in the newspaper

Discussion

While newspapers have been reported to be a potential source for injury surveillance data (Baullinger et al., 2001, Rainey and Runyan, 1992), they may not accurately represent motor-vehicle crashes with injuries. In this study, newspaper reports contained limited information about factors that may contribute to motor-vehicle crash injuries and virtually no information about factors that predispose to crash risk, such as weather conditions and speed (Marmor & Marmor, 2006). Connor and Wesolowksi

Acknowledgement

This project was partially supported by a grant from NIH/NIAAA (Principal Investigator: Dr. Michael Slater. Grant Number AA10377) and also partially supported by a grant from CDC/NCIPC (Principal Investigator: Dr. Lorann Stallones. Grant Number R49/CCR811509). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Rosales completed her PhD in Applied Social Psychology at Colorado State University. Her research interests are in health psychology working primarily with Latino populations. She is a post doctoral fellow at the Center of Community Alliance for Research and Education (CCARE) Division of Population Sciences City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles California.

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    Dr. Rosales completed her PhD in Applied Social Psychology at Colorado State University. Her research interests are in health psychology working primarily with Latino populations. She is a post doctoral fellow at the Center of Community Alliance for Research and Education (CCARE) Division of Population Sciences City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles California.

    Dr. Stallones is a Professor of Epidemiology and is the Director of the Colorado Injury Control Research Center. Her research interests include injury prevention and control among rural and underserved populations.

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