D.R. Leff

Media and Agenda Setting: Effects on the Public, Interest Group Leaders, Policy Makers, and Policy

Using an experimental design built around a single media event, the authors explored the impact of the media upon the general public, policy makers, interest group leaders, and public policy. The results suggested that the media influenced views about issue importance among the general public and government policy makers. The study suggests, however, that it was not this change in public opinion which led to subsequent policy changes. Instead, policy change resulted from collaboration between journalists and government staff members.

THE IMPACT OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING ON PUBLIC OPINION AND POLICYMAKING TARGETING TOXIC WASTE

This article reports the fourth in a continuing series of case studies that explore the impact of news media investigative journalism on the general public, policymakers, and public pol- icy. The media disclosures in this field experiment had limited effects on the general public but were influential in changing the attitudes of policymakers. The study describes how changes in public policymaking resulted from collaboration between journal- ists and government officials. The authors develop a model that is a beginning step toward specifying the conditions under which media investigations influence public attitudes and agendas. This article reports the fourth in a series of field experiments that test the agenda-setting hypothesis (McCombs and Shaw, 1972) for news

Tuberculosis Control Practices in Major Metropolitan Health Departments in the United States: 3. Standard of Practice in 1984

Twenty-eight metropolitan health departments in the United States reporting more than 200 cases annually were surveyed to determine the standard of practice in the control of pulmonary tuberculosis. The results were compared to previous surveys done in 1978 and 1980 to determine the impact of policy changes recommended by the American Thoracic Society, American College of Chest Physicians, and Centers for Disease Control and recent reports of innovative chemotherapeutic methods. A high degree of uniformity in chemoprophylaxis practices again was demonstrated. In contrast to our previous survey of 1980, most programs now use rifampin-containing regimens with short (less than 12 month) course chemotherapy as the primary initial treatment regimen for tuberculosis. Mean duration of treatment for tuberculosis decreased from 20.2 +/- 2.1 months in 1980 to 11.7 +/- 1.0 months in 1984. Intermittent chemotherapeutic regimens also were used more frequently in 1984. However, substantial variance from other recommended guidelines still is prevalent among the major metropolitan programs in the United States.

The Role of Popular Media in Oncofertility Communication

Popular media coverage of fertility issues in cancer patients has been sporadic and uneven. We found deeper coverage beginning in 2008, but even then, the term oncofertility was used infrequently. This chapter reviews the coverage in national media including Time, Newsweek, CNN, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post and National Public Radio and their Web sites, and some local media, both print and broadcast, as well as media-related blogs. In addition, we discuss some entertainment media coverage, including a network drama series, a soap opera, and a popular movie. Most stories were identified through Google searches. A review of popular media coverage of infertility shows some common threads, notably the personal stories of patients, especially success stories, capture media attention, as do studies in peer-reviewed journals, especially if they lend themselves to narrative journalism. The findings suggest that if providers want to use popular media to communicate information about oncofertility to young cancer patients and their families they should tell stories as often as they can.