Monitoring of Food and Nutrition Information in the Articles of Four Major Daily Newspapers

This study was done to analyze the contents of food and nutrition information in daily newspapers. Articles in four newspapers(Chosun, Donga, Hankook, Joongang Ilbo) published during November 2003 to April 2004 were monitored. In analysis, 216 articles were used. Classifying the articles by topics, cuisine/cooking $(19.4\%)$ and food/ nutrition related to diseases $(18.1\%)$ were most common. Articles regarding food sanitation or safety, obesity and diet accounted for $12.5\%$, respectively. Other topics in articles included food culture$(11.1\%)$, balanced meals/eating habits $(10.6\%)$ and functional foods $(7.9\%)$. About $77\%$ of articles were written for unspecified persons. Regarding the types of articles, news articles made up $44\%$ of monitored articles, followed by feature articles $(14.8\%)$, advertisement by articles $(12.9\%)$, serials by professionals $(11.6\%)$, and information of daily life $(8.8\%)$. Nineteen percent of articles did not have specific sources, while $20.8\%$ were based on interviews with professionals. Other sources of articles included research reports $(14.8\%)$, field reports $(12.1\%)$ and literature $(8.8\%)$. Contents analysis showed that four-fifth of articles were evaluated as 'contents and titles are consistent', 'not difficult to understand', 'contents are not exaggerated', and 'information is not overgeneralized'. Seventy-one percent of articles were evaluated positively on increasing awareness regarding food/nutrition, while $56.5\%$ were evaluated as providing practical information. The major problems in articles were 'intentional or indirect advertisements of specific items/companies' ($74.6\%$ of articles applicable), 'lacking in scientific basis/explanation' $(65.3\%)$, 'presenting unbalanced information due to focusing on specific area' $(46.7\%)$, 'unclearness of contents' $(38.4\%)$, and 'lacking in explanation of technical terms' $(35.2\%)$. To provide reliable information, stating the sources of articles clearly and supplementing the articles with scientific basis and balanced information on specific topics are needed. It is also necessary to explain the contents and technical terms clearly and to reduce the contents of intentional, indirect advertisement in nutrition-related articles.