Program > Saturday > 14:00 > Session symposium. Symposium: Asbestos

Paper: Occupational asbestos exposure in the news: An historical content analysis of French- and English-language newspapers
Author(s) and Affiliation(s):
Kristin Hodgins, CAREX Canada, School of Environmental Health, University of British Columbia
Christie Hurrell, CAREX Canada, School of Environmental Health, University of British Columbia
Anne-Marie Nicol, CAREX Canada, School of Environmental Health, University of British Columbia
Session : symposium. Symposium: Asbestos
Day/Time: Saturday at 14:00
Room: Armoury Suite, 2nd Floor
Objectives:

This study examines French and English language print media coverage of health effects of occupational asbestos exposure during the period 1975-1985 and compares the coverage to a timeline of the epidemiological research and regulations on asbestos during the same period. This study also explores how the news coverage, and particularly the health implications varied by geographical region.

Methods:

A content analysis of newspaper articles about the health effects of occupational asbestos exposure was conducted. A random sample of 250 articles was retrieved from two English-language and three French-language newspapers during an 11-year period (Jan 1975- Dec 1985). News articles, opinion pieces and letters to the editor were included. Articles were coded for prominence (placement, story length), type of article, health effects reported, news trigger, and key message(s). Frame analysis was used to examine how the various newspapers portrayed asbestos exposure as a public policy issue. A timeline of important events in the history of Canadian asbestos production and regulation between 1880 and 2009 was constructed through searches of journal articles, legislation, government reports, books and other sources. The selected news stories were compared to the timeline to examine how the story about the health effects of asbestos unfolded for the public versus how it emerged in scientific and regulatory realms.

Results:

The timeline of important Canadian events showed that the majority of seminal events pertaining to asbestos legislation occurred during the study period. (A visual representation of the timeline will be shown). Coverage differed between the regional papers based in Quebec (where asbestos mining was occurring) and the Canadian and US national papers. The regional newspapers were less likely to report on international events or scientific research. Regional papers also presented asbestos in a more positive frame than the national papers.

Conclusions:

The differences in framing of the stories between regional and national papers may be reflect the “reassurance” function of local media, whereby local media function to reassure readers to avoid contributing to anxiety and negative impacts on local businesses (Nicol, 2008; Ungar 1998). Sovereignty issues between Quebec (where the regional coverage was concentrated) and the rest of Canada that occurred during the study period may also have contribute to this phenomena. The timeline comparison determined that the national papers covered major events with a very short time lag whereas the regional papers where less timely and less likely to consistently cover major events.

References:

Nicol, A., Hurrell, C., McDowall, W., Bartlett, K., & Elmieh, N. (2008). Communicating the Risks of a New, Emerging Pathogen: The Case of Cryptococcus gattii. Risk Analysis, 28(2), 373-386.

Ungar, S. (1998). Hot crises and media reassurance: A comparison of emerging diseases and Ebola Zaire. British Journal of Sociology, 49(1), 36-56.