Gender, Magazine Type, Affect Health News Reporting

Newswise — A new study by a faculty member at North Dakota State University, Fargo, and an NDSU alumnus, found health magazines are more likely than general popular culture magazines to use powerless language, or language that lacks certainty or directness, when reporting new health information.

The research was conducted by Stephenson Beck, assistant professor of communication at NDSU, and by alumnus Ashley Fandrich.

Results of the study appear in, “Powerless Language in Health Media: The Influence of Biological Sex and Magazine Type on Health Language,” published in the January-March 2012 Communication Studies.

While uncertain language is considered less credible in many contexts, past research on written communication indicates it is important in science and health reporting because it improves accuracy by acknowledging the limitations of new data, Beck and Fandrich wrote.

According to the research study, media is the most popular source of new health information, but people are sometimes skeptical of news reports because they hear contradictory messages. “News reports focus on the exciting aspect of the news story, but neglect the details that properly frame it,” Beck said. “We found that magazines devoted to health issues are more willing to include the necessary qualifiers to make the report accurate, whereas more popular magazines do not provide this information.”

In their research, Beck and Fandrich reviewed 141 health articles from health or general popular culture magazines, published between October 2008 and September 2009, that specifically targeted a male or female audience. Each article was broken into thought units or statements that could stand alone as a complete thought. Words and phrases that moderated a statement, phrases or punctuation that caused pauses and tag questions were identified as powerless language.

Frequency of Powerless Language Based on Author Sex and Topic FocusFemale authorHealth focus=13.3%General focus=7.7%

Male authorHealth focus=6.8%General focus=3.4%

Frequency of Powerless Language Based on Audience Sex and Topic FocusFemale audienceHealth focus=12%General focus=8.4%

Male audienceHealth focus=8.9%General focus=3.9%

Other findings in the study related to the gender of the writer and the target audience. The researchers found female authors are more likely to use powerless language. “Past research suggested that females used more powerless language when talking to females, and more powerful language when talking to males,” Beck said. “We did not find this to be the case, at least in terms of written media. Female authors used the same frequency of powerless language for both male and female audiences.” The study also found that female-targeted magazines tend to use more powerless language than male-targeted magazines.

Frequency of Powerless Language Based on Author and Audience SexFemale authorFemale audience=10.3%Male audience=10.4%

Male authorFemale audience=6.3%Male audience=5.6%

The researchers noted that 91 percent of the content they reviewed included powerful language or language that is direct and conveys certainty. “Even though powerless language made up a small portion of the data, this should not be interpreted to mean that it was less influential than powerful language,” the researchers wrote. “In fact, quite the opposite might be true. Communication that is rare may be influential, since it deviates from the norm.”

Overall, the research by Fandrich and Beck found that female authors and health-focused magazines used more powerless language than male authors and general magazines, and also found that powerless language was directed toward female audiences more often than male audiences.