Doctors in the news media: lay and medical audiences' responses

Abstract

Doctors and medical practice attract a high level of coverage in the popular media. This article explores how lay and medical audiences respond to the representation of doctors in one media genre: the news media. The analysis draws on empirical findings from a multi-phase study that included a systematic analysis of media coverage of the medical profession as well as in-depth interviews with 60 lay people and 20 medical doctors living in Sydney. The interviews from both groups demonstrated the impor tance of acknowledging the complex aspects of audiences' responses to media portrayals, including the role played by personal experiences, emotional investments and professional interests. The doctor participants, for example, tended to remember and be concerned about negative media coverage of their profession far more than did the lay participants. Media coverage itself is heterogeneous, allowing the space for alternative readings on the part of audiences.

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