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Australian Letters to the Editor on Tobacco: Triggers, Rhetoric, and Claims of Legitimate Voice
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 21:55 authored by Clegg Smith, K, Kim McLeodKim McLeod, Wakefield, MNews coverage of tobacco issues influences both individual behavior change and policy progression. Thus, media advocacy is increasingly recognized as important for promoting public health. Letters to the editor (LTE) are a basic form of media advocacy, serving to demonstrate community sentiment on a given issue. Such letters are yet to receive systematic analytic consideration. The authors conducted an ethnographic content analysis of LTE on tobacco issues from a sample of 11 Australian daily newspapers over a 3-year period (2001 to 2003, N = 361). They argue that letters are artifacts of active engagement in a public debate and note that various stakeholders adopt similar strategies to pursue their objectives. They illustrate how identifying personal and collective identities is crucial in the assertion of legitimacy of voice in LTEs. Better understanding is needed of both the particular issues that spark public engagement, and the salient rhetoric employed by advocates of disparate positions.
History
Publication title
Qualitative Health ResearchVolume
15Issue
9Pagination
1180-1198ISSN
1049-7323Department/School
School of Social SciencesPublisher
Sage Publications IncPlace of publication
2455 Teller Rd, Thousand Oaks, USA, Ca, 91320Rights statement
Copyright 2005 SageRepository Status
- Restricted