The News Media as a Key Social Factor: How Does Coverage Serve to Promote or Endanger the Public’s Health? The news media is a significant social institution, with considerable influence on societal discourse pertaining to health. Understanding how, when and where health topics appear in the news is an important component of effective public health communication and policy promotion. News media are a principal source of health information, and coverage also serves to inform policy debates. The news contributes to what events and issues are seen as ‘risky’ as well as the determination of where and with whom risk lies. This presentation will review the theoretical foundations for analyses of news coverage of public health issues. The process by which the ‘newsworthiness’ of an issue is established, and how such determinations change over time and across media will be outlined. Questions of how scientific evidence is incorporated into health news, and the implications of portrayals of scientific uncertainty in terms of public engagement with public health messaging will also be considered. A series of studies of news coverage of topics such tobacco, diet, injury, and emerging infectious diseases will serve to illustrate the public health relevance of empirical examinations of the presentation of ‘risk’ and ‘benefit’ messages. MS1C Conference Room, February 1, 2012 12:10 - 1:15PM

Carolyn Martin, MA Chair for the California Tobacco Control Alliance Location: 1043 Valley Hall, 12:10-1:30pm

Monday, Feb. 6, 2012,“Advances in Immunoassays for Pesticide Detection” WCAHS Monthly Seminar presented by Shirley J. Gee, MS. 4:00-5:00 PM, in the C.H.E. Conference Room, Old Davis Road, south of Campus. Free, refreshments provided.

Albina S. Gogo, MD Pediatric Director, Communities & Health Professionals Together, UC Davis Children’s Hospital Location: 1043 Valley Hall, 12:10-1:30pm

Peter Baldridge, Assistant Chief Counsel Office of Legal Services, CA Dept. of Public Health (CDPH) Location: 1043 Valley Hall, 12:10-1:30pm