title: How informative is the print media coverage of colorectal cancer?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To date there has been no assessment of the educational content of colorectal newspaper articles. We aimed to analyse articles in the print media concerning colorectal cancer for their public health content.
  
  
  METHODS
  Articles mentioning colorectal cancer in the top 10 UK newspapers were analysed over a 1-year period for their educational content. The number of articles mentioning 'red flag' symptoms, celebrity connections or specific cancer charities was recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 349 articles identified, 146 were not relevant. Of the remaining 203 articles, 62 (30%) were concerned with celebrities with colon cancer, 13 (6.4%) made reference to red flag symptoms and 14 (6.9%) mentioned cancer charities by name.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  About 13% of newspaper articles have any educational content. If this increased, the general public might benefit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The Great Western Hospital, Swindon, UK. ian@doctor-jones.co.uk
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: J M L
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Hocken
mesh_terms: D002608:Charities; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D054626:Consumer Health Information; D005197:Famous Persons; D006801:Humans; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D006113:United Kingdom