title: National newspaper portrayal of U.S. nursing homes: periodic treatment of topic and tone.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although observers have long highlighted the relationship of public distrust, government regulation, and media depictions of nursing-home scandals, no study has systematically analyzed the way in which nursing homes have been portrayed in the national media. This study examines how nursing homes were depicted in four leading national newspapers-the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times-from 1999 to 2008.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used keyword searches of the LexisNexis database to identify 1,704 articles pertaining to nursing homes. We then analyzed the content of each article and assessed its tone, themes, prominence, and central actor. We used basic frequencies and descriptive statistics to examine the articles' content, both cross-sectionally and over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately one-third of the articles were published in 1999/2000, and a comparatively high percentage (12.4%) appeared in 2005. Most were news stories (89.8%), and about one-quarter were on the front page of the newspaper or section. Most focused on government (42.3%) or industry (39.2%) interests, with very few on residents/family (13.3%) and community (5.3%) concerns. Most were negative (45.1%) or neutral (37.0%) in tone, and very few were positive (9.6%) or mixed (8.3%). Common themes were quality (57.0%), financing (33.4%), and negligence/fraud (28.1%). Both tone and themes varied across newspapers and years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, our findings highlight the longitudinal variation in the four widely read newspapers' framing of nursing-home coverage, regarding not only tone but also shifts in media attention from one aspect of this complex policy area to another. The predominantly negative media reports contribute to the poor public opinion of nursing homes and, in turn, of the people who live and work in them. These reports also place nursing homes at a competitive disadvantage and may pose challenges to health delivery reform, including care integration across settings.
authors.affiliation: Gerontology Institute, McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02125, USA. edward.miller@umb.edu
authors.forename: Edward Alan
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Denise A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Tyler
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rozanova
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mor
mesh_terms: D015706:Bibliometrics; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D020452:Journalism / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D008402:Mass Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009524:Newspapers as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011639:Public Opinion; D014481:United States