ACCI Conference 2017

This study examines the relationship between the media framing about a sugary drink tax bill introduced in a northeast state and the support/opposition of citizens regarding the tax. Framing is the process of emphasizing or including certain points, while excluding others. A sample of newspaper, television, and radio media stories were frame coded using content analysis.  Neutral frames were identified 40 percent of the time. These grouped data were combined with individual data obtained from a representative sample of adult citizens in each of the three years. The prevalence of pro- and anti-tax frames for a three year period (2013-2015) were included in model to estimate the log-odds of favoring/opposing a sugary drink tax, controlling for several demographic characteristics. Ceteris Paribus, increases in the number of positive frames increased support for the tax, while increases in negative frames decreased support. Media matters.