258028 Local Television News Portrayal of School Violence Incidents: A Content Analysis

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 4:30 PM - 4:50 PM

Marissa Hall , Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carrboro, NC
Thomas Simon, PhD , Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Erica Mizelle, MS , Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
     
Background: After an incident of school violence, the public seeks timely information and reassurance. The most commonly accessed source of news in the U.S. is local television (TV) news; however, few studies have examined local TV news reporting characteristics of school violence.

Purpose: The study's objectives are to (1) describe school violence events reported on local TV news stations, (2) identify the commonly-interviewed spokespeople in school violence news stories, and (3) characterize the descriptive information and prevention messages conveyed by spokespeople and reporters.

Significance: Understanding how local TV news stations report on school-related violence can inform efforts to increase awareness about youth violence prevention strategies.

Methodology: School violence news stories broadcasted on late-night local TV stations were selected from a random sample of dates and 23 media markets between February 1, 2010 and January 31, 2011. All relevant news stories were coded for characteristics of the incident and spokespeople, risk and protective factors for violence, and prevention messages.

Findings: Of the 225 relevant school violence news stories, sixty featured at least one spokesperson (e.g., primarily school and legal representatives). Prevention strategies were mentioned in just 17% of stories. Spokespeople were twice as likely as reporters to describe a prevention strategy (OR=2.08 and 95% CI=1.04, 4.17). Risk factors and protective factors were rarely discussed (24% and 5% of stories, respectively).

Conclusions: Outreach to commonly-interviewed spokespeople about the importance of school violence prevention may be a promising strategy to convey public health-oriented messages in local TV news reporting of school violence incidents.

Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the reporting of school violence stories on local TV news stations. Identify the most commonly-interviewed spokespeople in school violence news stories. Analyze descriptive information and prevention messages conveyed by spokespeople and reporters in school violence news stories.

Keywords: Violence Prevention, Media

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Before starting graduate school, I worked in public health research for over two years. I have coordinated and managed multiple federally funded projects on topics related to violence prevention, HIV/AIDS prevention, breast cancer, and colon cancer. This year, I am working as a research assistant with a technical assistance and training intervention with community-based organizations in North Carolina. My scientific interests include mixed-methods research, violence prevention, and HIV/AIDS prevention and surveillance.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4425.1: School Violence and Safety