Setting the agenda for a healthy retail environment: content analysis of US newspaper coverage of tobacco control policies affecting the point of sale, 2007–2014 (original) (raw)

Background-Tobacco control policies affecting the point of sale (POS) are an emerging intervention, yet POS-related news media content has not been studied. Purpose-We describe news coverage of POS tobacco control efforts and assess relationships between article characteristics, including policy domains, frames, sources, localization and evidence present, and slant towards tobacco control efforts. Methods-High circulation state (n=268) and national (n=5) newspapers comprised the sampling frame. We retrieved 917 relevant POS-focused articles in newspapers from 01/01/2007 to 12/31/2014. Five raters screened and coded articles, 10% of articles were double-coded, and mean inter-rater reliability (IRR) was 0.74. Results-POS coverage emphasized tobacco retailer licensing (49.1% of articles) and the most common frame present was regulation (71.3%). Government officials (52.3%), followed by tobacco retailers (39.6%), were the most frequent sources. Half of articles (51.3%) had a mixed, neutral, or anti-tobacco control slant. Articles presenting a health frame, a greater number of protobacco control sources, and statistical evidence were significantly more likely to also have a protobacco control slant. Articles presenting a political/rights or regulation frame, a greater number of anti-tobacco control sources, or government, tobacco industry, tobacco retailers, or tobacco users as sources were significantly less likely to also have a pro-tobacco control slant. Conclusions-Stories that feature pro-control sources, research evidence, and a health frame also tend to support tobacco control objectives. Future research should investigate how to use data,