Aurora Comms Blog

Aurora top 20 - September 2009

Posted on 02. Oct, 2009 by phaedrus in Health, News

As we experience a very welcome final blast of summer sunshine, the end of September marks the shift into Autumn and, with the start of new school and university terms and the onset of colder weather and darker nights, a season of new and different health issues for everyone, including the media, to deal with.

Movers and Shakers

The September top six includes all of the August top five with the addition of heart attack, which makes an appropriate accomplice for obesity, alcohol abuse and nutrition. In fact, there are only six entries in this month’s top 20 that were not there last month. Some of these are explained further below. Of the staple regulars, a plethora of angles were taken on common public health interest stories, proving how much detail and variety the public enjoy when reading about the issues that affect them most closely and frequently.

There were some positive stories about nutrition this month with news that tea reduces cancer, diabetes and heart disease risks, broccoli cuts dangers of heart attack and stroke, blueberry smoothies combat dementia and vegetables help the skin. A good mix of alcohol-related troubles have received coverage this month, as pensioners, women in their forties and youths were all identified by the media as high risk groups. News of drink-related incidents rising was also reported but was balanced by the surprising finding that teetotallers are more susceptible to depression and anxiety than moderate drinkers, who fend off dementia with each responsible beverage. Regarding obesity and weight loss, there has been a growth in numbers of young people resorting to pills to lose weight. Government plans favour sending overweight children to ‘fat camps’ and banning school canteen junk food over diet pills.

Swine flu still tops the bill, enjoying its fifth consecutive month in pole position since bursting onto the scene as a new entry on the Aurora chart in May. Trotting straight in at number one, the media dominance of swine flu has been astonishing, penetrating all areas and types of health news, in particular this month being linked to other conditions such as obesity, pregnancy, heart disease, heart attacks and diabetes. Swine flu coverage has, however, been waning in volume in the last two months; having peaked in July, August saw a large decline which has continued in the last 30 days to leave swine flu with a modest lead at the top of the Aurora chart. Although another surge is suspected to hitch a piggy-back ride on school and university pupils who return to education and create perfect flu breeding communities, for the purposes of this month’s analysis, we can enjoy some more varied health news and place swine flu, in relative terms, on the back burner.

Should the NHS get better coverage?

What is most striking about NHS news coverage is the excess of negative stories and the lack of positive reporting. I think it is about time we heard some more success stories as they certainly do occur. Let us know your thoughts on this topic in the comments box below.

If you would like to read September’s full version, please click here.

Tags: aurora top 20, Media relations