Newspapers are a primary source of information about a variety of topics, including mental illnesses. A study of 1999 newspapers revealed that dangerousness is the most common theme of stories about mental illnesses. In contrast, stories of recovery or accomplishment were found to be rare. The ratio of negative to positive stories involving mental illness decreased between 1989 and 1999, but negative stories continued to far outnumber positive ones. The potential influence of these patterns of news coverage on public attitudes and public policy are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Callahan, L., Mayer, C., & Steadman, H. J. (1987). Insanity defense reform in the United States— Post-Hinckley. Mental and Physical Disability Law Reporter, 11, 54-59.
2.
Day, D. M., & Page, S. (1986). Portrayal of mental illness in Canadian newspapers. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 31, 813-816.
3.
DYG, Inc. (1990). Public attitudes toward people with chronic mental illness. Boston: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
4.
New Zealand Mental Health Commission. (2000, August). Media plays a role in mental health. The Discrimination Times: A report on an investigation into news media (re)presentation of people with mental illness. Wellington: Author.
5.
Pescosolido, B., Monahan, J., Link, B. G., Stueve, A., & Kikuzawa, S. (1999). The public's view of the competence, dangerousness, and need for legal coercion among persons with mental health problems. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 1339-1345.
6.
Philo, G., Secker, J., Platt, S.Henderson, L., McLaughlin, G., & Burnside, J. (1994). The impact of the mass media on public images of mental illness: Media content and audience belief. Health Education Journal, 53, 271-281.
7.
Thornton, J. A., & Wahl, O. F. (1996). Impact of a newspaper article on attitudes toward mental illness. Journal of Community Psychology, 24, 17-25.
8.
Wahl, O. F. (1993). Community impact of group homes for mentally ill adults. Community Mental Health Journal, 29, 247-259.
9.
Wahl, O. F., & Kaye, A. L. (1991). The impact of John Hinckley's insanity plea on public and professional publication. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 9, 31-39.
10.
Wahl, O. F., Wood, A., & Richards, R. (2002). Newspaper coverage of mental illness: Is it changing? Psychiatric Rehabilitation Skills, 6, 9-31.
