US media representation of post-traumatic stress disorder: a comparative study of regional newspapers and national newspapers

Abstract

Background: News media play an important role in introducing and defining PTSD-related issues to the general public as well as framing their social importance and analyzing solutions for policymakers.

Aims: Compare how coverage of PTSD by larger papers serving general audiences differed from smaller papers catering to communities likely to be affected by the issue.

Method: A content analysis of frames and subtopics about PTSD in all newspaper articles published by selected national newspapers and regional newspapers between the year of 2003 and 2014 (N = 426).

Results: National newspapers engaged in higher-level policy discussion with greater frequency than regional newspapers, while regional newspapers were more likely to publish stories highlighting the impact of PTSD on individuals and local communities. Furthermore, coverage by regional newspapers used significantly more episodic frames than thematic frames.

Conclusion: Both national and regional newspapers increased the amount of coverage on PTSD significantly after the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003. National newspapers and regional newspapers shared similarities in recognizing dominant issues with PTSD but varied in the way of presenting the topics to the public.

Keywords: PTSD; framing; military; newspapers.