Reporting Medical Information: Effects of Press Releases and Newsworthiness on Medical Journal Articles’ Visibility in the News Media 1 Jo Ellen Stryker, Ph.D. 2 The Harvard School of Public Health and The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 Background. Characteristics defining newsworthi- ness of journal articles appearing in JAMA and NEJM were examined to determine if they affect visibility in the news media. It was also hypothesized that press releases affected the amount of news coverage of a journal article due to the fact that the most newswor- thy journal articles are selected for press releases. Methods. Journal articles (N  95) were coded for characteristics believed to describe the “newsworthi- ness” of journal articles. Quantity of news coverage of the journal articles was estimated using the LEXIS- NEXIS database. Bivariate associations were exam- ined using one-way analysis of variance, and multivar- iate analyses utilized OLS regression. Results. Characteristics of the newsworthiness of medical journal articles predicted their visibility in newspapers. The issuing of press releases also pre- dicted newspaper coverage. However, press releases predicted newspaper coverage largely because more newsworthy journal articles had accompanying press releases rather than because the press release itself was influential. Conclusion. Journalists report on medical informa- tion that is topical, stratifies risk based on demo- graphic and lifestyle variables, and has lifestyle rather than medical implications. Medical journals issue press releases for articles that possess the character- istics journalists are looking for, thereby further high- lighting their importance. © 2002 American Health Foundation and Elsevier Science (USA) Key Words: journalism, medical; information dissem- ination; mass media; United States. INTRODUCTION The news media are a primary source for health information in our society [1,2]. Physicians are a more credible and persuasive source for health-related infor- mation and subsequent action, but medical interac- tions are infrequent and/or of limited duration, while mass mediated health messages are pervasive [3]. The impact of health news messages is also far-reaching. These messages can prompt individuals, particularly those without routine access to physicians, to seek health care [4,5]. They can affect the extent to which research is disseminated within the scientific and med- ical community [6]. They can prompt legislators to pass laws promoting health [7]. They can influence funding decisions for medical research [8]. Health news mes- sages also help define cultural attitudes toward health, which ultimately affect health-related behaviors [9,10]. Given the profound web of influence, it is vital that we understand what types and sources of medical infor- mation are utilized by the news media. This study assesses the extent to which certain attributes of med- ical journal articles appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association and The New England Journal of Medicine affect their subsequent visibility in the mainstream news media. Journalistic norms, values, and practices facilitate the routine construction of news and affect how news is presented [11,12]. For example, journalists tend to fa- vor established sources (i.e., “legitimated” individuals and organizations) whose credibility can easily be con- firmed, and who subsequently have the power to define an issue [11,13]. A reliance on short narrative struc- tures and “newsworthiness” criteria (that include time- liness and the need for novelty and drama) also govern the ultimate selection and framing of news stories [11,12,14 –16]. The factors affecting story selection and format often hinder optimal presentations of science and medicine in the news media [17–19]. In particular, journalists 1 The author thanks the National Cancer Institute, whose R25T fellowship made it possible to complete this article. Thanks also go to Benjamin A. Solky, M.D., who contributed to the conceptualization of this article and provided interrater reliability. 2 To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be ad- dressed at The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney Street, Smith 262, Boston, MA 02115. Preventive Medicine 35, 519 –530 (2002) doi:10.1006/pmed.2002.1102 519 0091-7435/02 $35.00 © 2002 American Health Foundation and Elsevier Science (USA) All rights reserved.