The press speaks by what it does not say, as well as by what it says. In so doing it influences what is placed on the public agenda and how the issues are framed. This agenda-setting process includes health policy issues, how they are defined and how they might be dealt with. This perspective is demonstrated in a content analysis of the Australian press as it covered the initiation and development of community health policy from 1973–1985. The coverage is viewed within the context of political and social changes and the organization and operation of the mass media as revealed in documents and through semi-structured interviews. A broader understanding of the media and its impact is important to health educators who want to communicate with the public but who tend to use the media mainly for advertising and promotion.
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