Berkeley's soda tax: What can we learn from the news coverage?

Introduction

In 2014, voters in Berkeley, California passed the nation’s first tax on sugary drinks. The tax inspired vigorous public debate and drew widespread media attention, in part due to the beverage industry’s aggressive anti-tax campaigning. We wanted to better understand the debate over this precedent-setting policy, and its implications both for future campaigns, and for stakeholders from different sectors.

Methods

We analyzed local and national news coverage of the Berkeley soda tax during the campaign and in the months following the election. Using ethnographic content analysis, we explored how the debate was framed in the news, and how pro- and anti-tax arguments evolved. We compared these findings to coverage of earlier, unsuccessful soda tax campaigns in California and Colorado.

Results

Our quantitative and qualitative analysis describes the frequency of news articles about the soda tax, and how they were framed. We explore the key arguments that appeared in the coverage, and assess how different sectors affected by the tax appeared in the news, including the beverage industry, local businesses and policy makers, and health practitioners.

Discussion

As policies to limit sugary drink consumption are debated across the country, public health practitioners and policy makers can draw on lessons learned from the successful soda tax campaign in Berkeley. Our findings will help stakeholders from different sectors anticipate how soda tax policy debates might look in their own communities, and to identify messages and media advocacy strategies that could support their efforts.