Product Description

The controversy surrounding the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism has raised unprecedented questions about the communication of health and science. Health, Risk and News: The MMR Vaccine and the Media examines how this story came to be so influential and asks if the media are to blame for unduly panicking the public. Drawing on comprehensive research—on media coverage, interviews with a range of journalists and sources, and analysis of audience opinion—this book explores how medical controversies are covered, with attention to issues of balance and objectivity, expertise, news values, risk and media effects. It will be of interest to students and scholars of media studies, journalists and health professionals.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2853842 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 228 pages

From the Back Cover
"A masterly analysis of the MMR vaccine scare…also a gripping read." Vivienne Parry, writer and broadcaster "This book uses the most rigorous and comprehensive methods for investigating mass media currently available to present a convincing explanation for media-generated fears about MMR. It is a welcome contribution toward re-establishing public support for a rational approach to vaccination." Clive Seale, Brunel University, United Kingdom "Health controversies are constructed domains, and Health, Risk and News offers readers a vivid picture of the process by which speculation about a vaccine/autism link was fanned into a major controversy in the United Kingdom. The mass media were important players, and this case study lays bare the challenge for journalists of making evidence-based judgments about truth claims. The book will be compelling reading for scholars and practitioners alike."

Sharon Dunwoody, University of Wisconsin-Madison

About the Author
Tammy Boyceis a Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Risk, Science, Health and the Media group at Cardiff University. She received her Ph.D. from Cardiff University and continues to research media coverage of risk, science and health issues and the production and reception of these stories.