Framing of nutrition policy issues in the Australian news media, 2008-2018

The use of food processing terminology in Australian news media: a content analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to determine whether ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are being discussed in news media in Australia and whether this terminology, as described in the NOVA system, is being applied accurately.

DESIGN

Interpretive content analysis of online and print media articles that mentioned UPFs from 2009 to 2023 in Australia.

SETTING

Australia.

PARTICIPANTS

Online and print media articles.

RESULTS

A total of two hundred ninety-eight Australian media articles were captured. A substantial increase in the number of UPF articles was observed between 2017-2019 and 2021-2023. The UPF concept was inaccurately explained or defined in 32 % of the articles and was frequently used interchangeably with other descriptors, such as 'highly or heavily processed food', 'junk food', 'unhealthy food', 'packaged food' and 'discretionary food'. Most of the articles had a health focus; however, sustainability interest increased, particularly in the past 18 months.

CONCLUSIONS

UPFs are increasingly being discussed in news media in Australia; however, the concept is still incorrectly presented in over a third of articles. This highlights the importance of improving the literacy about UPFs to ensure that messages are communicated in a way that is salient, accessible and accurate.

Media coverage of commercial industry activities impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, 2018-2022

This study aimed to examine the extent and nature of Australian news media coverage of commercial industry activities that explicitly speak to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts. We undertook content and framing analysis of Australian newspaper and online media articles published between January 2018 and March 2022 that included terms related to 'Indigenous', 'commercial' and 'health'. Analysis focused on the nature of coverage, framing of responsibility, patterns over time and stakeholder representation. Forty-six media articles were included in the analysis. Half of these articles related to the actions of three companies (Woolworths, WAM Clothing and Rio Tinto). Most articles described negative health and well-being impacts of commercial activity, while four described positive impacts. The most common voice represented in media articles was from industry (n = 25). Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander voices were represented in 21 articles. This analysis highlights how commercial activities in Australia are reported to negatively influence Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and well-being, and that industry voices are more commonly represented in the media related to these issues.

Framing a New Nutrition Policy: Changes on Key Stakeholder's Discourses throughout the Implementation of the Chilean Food Labelling Law

The global implementation of structural policies to tackle obesity has been slow, likely because of the competing interests of governments and the food industry. We used the discussion of the Chilean Food Labeling Law to identify influential stakeholders in the media and their frames during different periods of the law's implementation. This involved a content analysis of the food regulation media coverage in five key periods from 2007, when the food bill was first introduced in Congress, to 2018, when the second phase of the law was implemented (N = 1295). We found that most of the law coverage was through elite press. Half of the sources were from the food industry (26.7%) and government (26.2%), while other stakeholders, were less prevalent. Frames were mostly competing, except for cooperation with the law. The main food industry frame used during the discussion of the law was the "economic threat" (41.9%), whose prevalence decreased at the post-implementation period (13%, p < 0.01). No other relevant stakeholders changed their framing. Our results highlight that there are several aspects of public health communication, such as the type of media used, the involvement of scholars and civil society, and the framing, that could be improved to advance food environment policies.

Are Perceptions of Government Intervention Related to Support for Prevention? An Australian Survey Study

BACKGROUND

In Australia, despite the success of tobacco control policy interventions, policymakers remain resistant to policy-based approaches to diet, alcohol, physical inactivity and obesity, concerned about community perceptions of such interventions as "nanny-statist". We examined how people's general positions on government intervention related to their positions on different preventive policy options.

METHODS

Data were from a 2018 nationally representative cross-sectional telephone survey of 2601 Australian adults. Survey questions related to endorsement of different conceptualisations of government intervention (nanny state, paternalistic, shared responsibility and communitarian) and support for specific health interventions, using forced-choice questions about preferences for individual/treatment measures versus population/preventive health measures. We analysed associations between scores on different conceptualisations of government intervention and support of different policy options for tobacco and diet, and preferences for prevention over treatment.

RESULTS

The Nanny State Scale showed an inverse relationship with support for tobacco- and diet-related interventions, and alternative conceptualisations (paternalistic, shared responsibility and communitarian) showed a positive relationship. Effect sizes in all cases were small. Those aged 55+ demonstrated greater support for policy action on tobacco and diet, and greater preference for systemic rather than individual-level interventions.

CONCLUSION

General disposition towards government intervention, although correlated with support for specific policy actions, is not deterministic.

The relationship between volume of newspaper coverage and policy action for nutrition issues in Australia: a content analysis

OBJECTIVES

Unhealthy diets are a leading risk factor for the global burden of disease. Research suggests that comprehensive, population-level solutions are required to attenuate this problem, though such policies have not been adopted. Increased media attention may lead to government-led policy action through issue definition and agenda setting. The aim of this study was to analyse which nutrition policy issues are covered in print media, and whether media attention correlated with relevant policy actions in Australia.

STUDY DESIGN/METHODS

A content analysis was conducted on newspaper articles published between 1999 and 2019 from 11 major Australian metropolitan newspapers.

RESULTS

Of the policy issues identified, few received meaningful media attention. Of those with peaks in media attention, only fortification and labelling issues coincided with government-led policy actions, while regulating junk-food advertising to children, sugar-sweetened beverage taxation, and the formulation of a National Nutrition Policy did not result in policy outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the limited coverage of nutrition policy issues, the relationship between media attention and policy actions for the captured issues may not be determinable. In addition, factors including social, political, and historical contexts may be stronger influences on policymaking than media attention. Although this study did not demonstrate a relationship between media attention and policy action because of low coverage of nutrition issues, it did identify the media are generally reporting nutrition policy issues with a positive public health framing. Promoting favourable coverage of nutrition policy issues is still an important tool for advocacy globally. Moving forward, increasing the volume of coverage of nutrition issues should be an advocacy priority.