Alcohol coverage in California newspapers: frequency, prominence, and framing

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature and extent of alcohol coverage in California newspapers by examining the frequency, positioning, and framing of alcohol-related articles. A content analysis assessed the frequency and nature of alcohol references in news content drawn from a random sample of nine California newspaper issues from September 1997 to June 1998. The study findings indicate that alcohol is mentioned at least once a day in daily newspapers with more frequent mention in smaller newspapers. Alcohol is most often discussed in relation to trauma or in the context of promoting alcohol consumption. Articles on trauma and driving while intoxicated receive more prominence than other stories mentioning alcohol. Despite the relative frequency of alcohol content in trauma news, these stories are rarely framed with any sort of health context. Public health advocates should work toward increasing the frequency and improving the framing of alcohol in newspaper coverage.