Nationwide newspaper coverage of physician-assisted suicide: a community structure approach

Journal of Health Communication
John C Pollock, Spiro G Yulis

Abstract

Using a community structure approach linking city characteristics and variations in media coverage, the authors examined newspaper coverage of physician-assisted suicide. A nationwide sample of 15 city newspapers yielded 288 articles in a four year period. Content analysis of article "prominence" (placement, headline size, story length, presence of photos) and overall article direction (favorable, unfavorable, or balanced/neutral) yielded a combined and widely varied single score "Media Vector" or measure of issue "projection" for each newspaper. Correlation and factor analysis yielded two significant city characteristic factors: a "stakeholder" factor, age (percent over 75) associated with unfavorable coverage of physician-assisted suicide (r = -.491; p = 000); and an "access" factor--combining media access (newspaper circulation, cable stations, FM or AM stations) and health care access (health care facilities, physicians)--linked to favorable coverage (r = .472; p = .000), combining to account for 46.3 percent of the variance. Western US newspapers and public opinion are most favorable to physician-assisted suicide.

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Citations

Nov 26, 2010·Journal of Health Communication·Wei Peng, Lu Tang
Feb 19, 2005·Health Communication·William Evans
May 3, 2018·Politics and the Life Sciences : the Journal of the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences·Eulàlia P Abril
Jan 13, 2009·The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care·Ira R ByockMartha E Goodrich
Jul 8, 2017·Journal of Community Health·Patricia A McDanielRuth E Malone
Jun 5, 2021·BMC Palliative Care·Baldwin Van GorpJelle van Gurp

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