Table 2

Percentages and SEs for main tobacco themes by individual television network, all years*

CNNFox NewsMSNBCABCCBSNBC
Main Theme I
 Cessation/addiction28.4 (1.4)20.4 (2.0)17.3 (2.4)32.8 (3.0)30.8 (3.3)36.4 (3.5)
 Secondhand smoke19.4 (1.2)23.7 (2.1)26.2 (2.7)21.0 (2.6)17.2 (2.7)16.9 (2.7)
 Initiation/prevention8.4 (0.9)5.3 (1.1)10.8 (1.9)7.6 (1.7)8.1 (1.9)6.7 (1.8)
 None of these43.9 (1.6)50.6 (2.5)45.8 (3.1)38.7 (3.2)43.9 (3.5)40.0 (3.5)
 p Value:p<0.0001
Main Theme II
 Health effects/statistics26.8 (1.1)17.5 (1.5)17.9 (1.8)21.6 (2.0)22.5 (2.2)26.4 (2.3)
 Policy/regulation15.4 (0.9)15.9 (1.4)15.6 (1.7)12.9 (1.6)13.2 (1.8)11.4 (1.7)
 Legal/lawsuits4.3 (0.5)8.0 (1.0)10.7 (1.5)5.2 (1.1)4.8 (1.1)3.5 (1.0)
 Taxes/price of products3.3 (0.4)4.2 (0.8)2.2 (0.7)2.1 (0.7)1.4 (0.6)0.6 (0.4)
 Tobacco economics/business2.5 (0.4)1.3 (0.4)1.3 (0.5)2.8 (0.8)5.1 (1.2)3.5 (1.0)
 None of these47.7 (1.2)53.0 (1.9)52.2 (2.4)55.5 (2.4)53.0 (2.7)54.4 (2.6)
 p Value:p<0.0001
  • Numbers in parentheses indicate SEs, and columns may not total 100% because of rounding.

  • *p Values based on χ2 tests of the differences in the distribution of tobacco themes among individual news media outlets.