Health on the Web: An examination of health content and mobilising information on local television Websites

The Internet plays a crucial role in the communication of health news and information. This study is the first to examine the volume and scope of health coverage on local television news Websites. Mobilising information (MI), information found in news that can cue people to act on pre-existing attitudes, was also explored. Specifically, this study analysed the content of 278 health stories on 79 local television news Websites during September and October 2007. Data revealed that health stories were present on 64% of the sites examined. Only 30%, however, took advantage of the interactive nature of the Internet by linking the reader to other health sites or giving an e-mail address to obtain additional information. Thirty-two percent of the stories contained MI. Of those stories, locational MI (24%) was significantly more likely to be present than tactical (17%) or identificational (14%) (p < 0.05). There were also significant differences between large and small media markets regarding specific health content. Television news Websites produced by large market stations (designated market size (DMA) 1-50) were significantly more likely than very small market stations (DMA 151+) to contain health stories and have a separate health-related Web page.