News Coverage of Science and Health Policy: Impacts on Public Opinion and Policy Outcomes

Research on the impacts of science and health reporting traditionally has focused on how journalists’ coverage of key science and health topics influences individual knowledge, beliefs and behaviours related to those topics. However, a growing body of research also suggests that science and health journalism can influence government policymakers’ decisions, which are likely to have a much greater impact on population-level outcomes than are changes in individual behaviour. This chapter reviews the research on journalists’ coverage of science and health policy and its impacts, focusing on policies related to healthcare costs and access, prevention and management of chronic and communicable diseases, climate change, genetically modified organisms and nanotechnology.