Abstract
This study examined the possible influence on newspaper coverage of tobacco-related issues by the importance of tobacco in the sample newspapers' economy, the public relations activities of the Tobacco Institute and the importance that journalists place on providing an objective balance of points of views in stories. Modest differences in “support” of tobacco were found in headline slant and in use of tobacco industry sources in major smoking-related stories when newspapers of different regions were compared. Stories show how the tobacco industry attempts to take advantage of reporters' desire to balance stories, but with only limited regional differences.
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