Media Content: Magazines

Research has repeatedly provided evidence that individuals use the mass media, and magazines in particular, as a major source for health information. Over the past two decades, magazines have [Page 811]increased their coverage of health issues in editorial/news content. In addition to discussions of health issues in journalistic content, many advertising messages have health-related matter. Studies looking at health information in magazines tend to focus on what type of health information is being addressed, whether there is a predominant audience to which information is being addressed, and what themes or frames may be present in the advertising or editorial content.

When reviewing the research on magazine advertising and health-related topics, the three most researched areas appear to be cigarette advertising, alcohol advertising, and food advertising. For ...