Hear All About It: Nightly Television News Coverage of Cervical Cancer Vaccination in the United States

Objective. To examine the content of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related vaccination information presented during nightly national television news broadcasts in the United States. Materials and Methods. A retrospective content analysis of HPV vaccination coverage on 5 major nightly US television networks from 2002 to 2007. The Vanderbilt Television News Archive was searched for keywords Gardasil, cervical cancer vaccination, human papillomavirus vaccine, and HPV vaccination. Each television news broadcast was categorized as follows: segment length (in seconds), network (American Broadcasting Company, Columbia Broadcasting Company, National Broadcasting Company, Cable News Network, or Fox Broadcasting Company), year of broadcast (2002-2007), and (4) presentation type. Air dates were plotted on a timeline to depict trends and linkages to 5 seminal events surrounding the development, efficacy, and controversy regarding HPV vaccination. Results. During the 6-year period, a total of 27 HPV-related vaccination news broadcasts aired. News broadcasts ranged from 10 to 250 seconds, lasting an average of close to 2 minutes (mean SD, 127.0 +/- 66.1 seconds). Most broadcasts presented information pertaining to HPV and cervical cancer, information on vaccine labeling, impact of the vaccine, and raised issues or concerns about the vaccine. More than half (66.7%) of news broadcasts were directly related to 5 seminal events surrounding the development, efficacy, and controversy regarding HPV vaccination. Conclusion. All 5 networks included within the Vanderbilt Television News Archive aired HPV vaccination content, with National Broadcasting Company and Columbia Broadcasting Company broadcasting most of the news stories during this time period. As compared with other medical-related information presented on national nightly television news during this time period, HPV vaccination received a modest amount of coverage.