Article

March 21, 2020

PAPER OF THE WEEK: By 2006, TV Was the Top Source of Medical News

Author(s):

As coronavirus dominates the airwaves and the internet, it’s worth knowing that in 2006, a study found that local television news had become the number one source of medical information for most Americans.

Welcome to Paper of the Week, which looks back at research and commentary of the past 25 years in The American Journal of Managed Care^® and why it matters today.

As coronavirus dominates the airwaves and the internet, it’s worth knowing that back in 2006, authors in The American Journal of Managed Care^® found that local television news had become the number one source of medical information for most Americans.

The study, “Medical News for the Public to Use? What’s on Local TV News?” found that 76% of all stories in a representative sample of the top 50 markets involved a medical condition. However, the stories were short: only about 33 seconds.

The most popular topics? Breast cancer, and the West Nile Virus.

For the full paper, visit ajmc.com.

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