Applying the health belief model to examine news coverage regarding steroids in sports by ABC, CBS, and NBC between March 1990 and May 2008

The investigation described here examined ABC, CBS, and NBC news coverage of steroids in sports between March 1990 and May 2008. Employing a framing analysis guided by the health belief model (HBM), coverage of the barriers and benefits of using steroids is reported. Overall, the trend by these three news affiliates was to emphasize the illegality of using steroids, whereas considerably less coverage was devoted to the health costs, in terms of both severity and susceptibility, of using steroids. Furthermore, of the health costs reported, the specific consequences of steroid use varied considerably. The results are reported across four timeframes: 1990-2008, 1990-1996, 1997-2002, and 2003-2008.