Agenda Building, Source Selection, and Health News at Local Television Stations

Abstract

This nationwide study of local television news health reporters examined health and medical newsgathering from the reporters’perspective. Data from this study revealed significant insight into how these health reporters receive ideas for their health stories and what motivates a health reporter to cover a particular topic. The findings suggest a link between agenda building and health reporting, suggesting that a health reporter’s reliance on sources is exacerbated by the technical nature of health and medical news. For example, more than half of respondents received ideas for their health reports directly from a health source who personally contacted them. Sixty percent said that they must frequently find a health expert to explain technical information and agreed that health sources often affect the health content making air.