To the Editor: The enormous influence of the news media on health issues is widely acknowledged,1 and health and medicine rank among the most frequent topics covered.2,3 This influence extends from the setting of personal health agendas to shaping public health policy. Health and medical agencies have an obvious interest in how their areas of concern are depicted, and health interest groups can use the news media as a means of influencing government policy and legislation.

Much of the existing research into the portrayal of health topics in the news has been based on newspapers and other print media, yet television is the most popular mass communication medium for Australians.4 A study underway at the School of Public Health, University of Sydney, is investigating how television frames health stories, and how this influences personal, institutional and political priorities.

Since May 2005, all news, current affairs and “infotainment” programs concerned with health or medicine on five free-to-air Sydney television channels have been digitally recorded. Recordings are then indexed by category (date, program, broad topic, specific issue, and sources quoted) and stored in a large digital archive that will be used by researchers to undertake critical studies of media content, audience response and deconstruction, and studies of the journalistic framing process.

Early returns of the project include a study of media narratives in coverage of Kylie Minogue’s recent breast cancer diagnosis, and an assessment of the impact of this reporting on bookings for breast cancer screenings by mammography in four states.5 Other studies include media depiction of obesity and notions of personal responsibility and a recently commenced analysis of news discourse on prostate cancer screening.

Currently, the nearly 9000 news items collected address a broad range of topics including cancer, cardiovascular disease, environmental health, mental health, nutrition, obesity and medical technology.

We are keen to collaborate with agencies and researchers who wish to draw on this unique resource for research purposes.