Media coverage of F&N - EFR 6-25

The results from survey cited below seems to indicate that the media is reporting on food and nutrition issues but may need assistance in providing more detail to help consumers make informed decisions about their individual food choices.

Excerpted from FOOD CHEMICAL NEWS, April 15, 1996, pages 33-34.

The International Food Information Council(IFIC) Foundation surveyed three-months worth of information from 53 separate news media sources to determine the major topics, sources, themes and opinions about food and diet that were being covered. Their conclusion was that American consumers are getting an earful these days on issues such as food safety, nutrition and food labeling.

As reported in Food Insight, an IFIC Foundation publication, the survey covered almost 1,000 food and nutrition reports, filling over 10,000 column inches of text and 11 hours of air time. The organizations which were surveyed included national and local newspapers and TV news programs, two wire services, syndicated TV talk shows and national magazines.

The Food Insight article reported that Tufts University Associate Professor Jeanne Goldberg, Ph.D., R.D., said that reporters are doing a better job of reporting on the issues. "But this research shows us the media still tend to focus too much on the benefits and harms of individual foods. In reality, consumers need to know how to put together a variety of foods to build a healthful diet," she said.

Lehigh University's Sharon Friedman told Food Insight, "It's useful that media are covering good and bad aspects of food in fairly equal proportions. It's a good sign also that a variety of sources, including industry, are getting quoted in these stories."

Some of the findings of the survey were:

*The context needed to understand overall nutrition recommendations about individual foods was often not provided. The Food Insight article considered this lact of context the greatest overall failing by media. Goldberg told Food Insight, "There's a limit on how much new 'news' any of us can absorb. Putting the latest advice into context and making a story more personally relevant reassures people that it's been worth the effort to change their behavior and that they'll continue to reap the rewards of dietary change."

*Reducing dietary fat received twice the coverage of any other nutrition topic and pushed other dietary recommendations out of view. Some aspect of the need to reduce dietary fat intake was mentioned in almost half of the media reports. Many of these reports were longer, lasting more than 20 seconds on air or two paragraphs in print. The "fat gene" also received heavy coverage. Disease prevention through proper diet was the second leading media topic, according to the survey. It was noted that many reports related to disease prevention focused on individual foods rather than food intake over time.

*While local newspapers and news broadcasts reported more on food safety and nutrition than national news outlets, they were less likely to accent positive messages. The survey indicated that local newspapers and evening news gave twice the attention to food issues as did their national counterparts with food news more likely to appear on morning news programs than on evening broadcasts, and with women's publications presenting more coverage than general magazines.

*Details that would help consumers to judge a study's relevance to their own diets were lacking in media reports on scientific research. Questions of statistical significance and possible cause-effect relationships were almost never addressed, Food Insight reported. Delia Hammock, R.D., director and editor of nutrition at Good Housekeeping, told Food Insight that "Many scientific studies are simply not for public consumption. They represent scientists talking to scientists." Friedman told Food Insight that, "It's important for information sources to orient the reporter to the larger perspective. Even if the information doesn't get into the story, help the reporter understand the information." She added, "The only way to have any credibility as an information resource is to serve as an educator to the reporter and provide the full perspective on the issues."