Newspaper and wire service coverage of tobacco farmers

This study examined print media coverage of tobacco farmers from the perspective of agenda setting, or the extent to which information is available to the public and perceived as important. A content analysis of 743 articles published between January 1, 1995 and June 30, 1997 was completed. The number of articles increased from 1995 to 1997. Of the topics analyzed, articles on tobacco settlement (7.1% of total) and diversification (15.6% of total) were the least prevalent. Because the settlement discussions did not occur until 1997 (when it comprised 26.4% of the total in the first 6 months), diversification was consistently the least covered topic. The two most frequent topics covered were tobacco companies (36.2%) and the tobacco price support program (32.3%). Except for one 6 month interval, there were substantially more articles in local/regional publications than in national publications. Public health professionals have called for tobacco farmers to diversify to non-tobacco enterprises. Yet, there is little discussion of diversification in print media. Without more attention to diversification, the public and policy makers will be ill-informed about opportunities and obstacles in this regard.