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Abstract
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OBJECTIVES: to describe how journalists report events such as fatal accidents work through the newspapers.
DESIGN: analysis of the textual content of titles and texts, using qualitative and quantitative techniques. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 184 articles related to 180 work-related fatalities occurred in Tuscany Region (Central Italy) in the period 2008-2009 were examined. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: frequency of citation of significant adjectives relating to the use of frames in titles was measured; frequency of citation of the laquo;subjects attended the venue for office tasksraquo; and laquo;subjects whose statements are reported in relation to the eventraquo; in relation to the circumstances of the event and some available demographic features was also evaluated.
RESULTS: compared to texts, titles of the articles are characterized by higher frequency of adjectives that describe the emotional intensity. Articles describing tractors or road accidents and articles that describe sudden deaths are shorter than the others. Among the subgroups of subjects quoted in the text of the articles, health authorities are less mentioned in the articles dealing with road accidents, while they are more common in those due to falls from a height, where also social forces which issue statements to the press are more frequently mentioned. The analysis of co-occurrences visually shows which activities are carried out by these subgroups of subjects in the texts of the selected articles.
CONCLUSION: the study shows the message that is conveyed to the public by the mass medium newspaper. Hopefully, in the future, following results of similar studies, it will be easier focusing awareness and transmission of information, which are essential for prioritization process of public health initiatives to be taken. This study was preliminary in nature, opening a field of interest so far little practised in our Country.
Language: it |