Violence and public health in the written press of Guadalajara, Mexico

This study seeks to describe how violence and its link to public health is represented in the written press of Guadalajara, Mexico. To this end, we carried out a mixed-content analysis of news pieces on violence published in the local sections of the four newspapers with greatest circulation in Guadalajara from the period of September 1 to 15, 2013. A total of 1,465 local news stories were reviewed, of which 399 were identified as being about violence. Of these, only 103 included healthcare aspects in their contents, generally making reference to medical services. The contents of these press articles did not identify violence as a critical public health issue, but rather as a safety issue affecting the community.