Using entertainment television to build a context for prevention news stories.
OBJECTIVE. A nationally syndicated television news series called "Following ER" was developed to educate viewers about the health issues dramatized on "ER," NBC's award-winning medical drama. This study investigated the impact of this prime-time link on viewer attention, satisfaction, information recall, and perceptions about the uses and gratifications delivered by a news story.


METHODS
A total of 458 municipal jurors participated in a randomized 2 ("ER" tie-in vs no tie-in) x 2 (familiar vs novel story topic) experiment. The four experimental news stories required by this design were developed using footage of previously aired local newscasts.


RESULTS
In the case of the familiar topic story, the "ER" tie-in enhanced the attention and satisfaction of viewers. Participants reported that the prime-time link added value by elevating the importance and relevance of the commonplace topic. However, the "ER" tie-in did not generate any beneficial effects when paired with the novel topic story.


CONCLUSIONS
Framing news stories about familiar health concerns in the context of television drama represents a viable strategy for legitimizing them as important and timely topics for public consumption and debate.
Cooper
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Communication Health Sciences, Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. cpc@u.arizona.edu
Roter
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Langlieb
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013690:Television