News Representation of Academic Research

Newspaper Article: 40 Per Cent of Australian Mothers Drink While Pregnant: Study
Author: Bianca Hall
Published: The Sydney Morning Herald, July 9 2015

Original Research Article: Prevalence and Predictors of Alcohol Use During Pregnancy:
Findings from International Multicenter Cohort Studies.
Authors: Linda M O’Keeffe, Patricia M Kearney, Fergus P McCarthy, Ali S Khashan,
Richard A Greene, Robyn A North, Lucilla Poston, Lesley M E McCowen, Philip N Baker,
Gus A Dekker, James J Walker, Rennae Taylor, Louise C Kenny.

In a society where media has great power in shaping the way individuals think, it’s essential
that articles produced remain both accurate and factual. An example of this is research
conducted by O’Keefe et al, 2014 titled “Prevalence and Predictors of Alcohol Use During
Pregnancy: Findings from International Multicenter Cohort Studies” and a newspaper article
by Hall, 2015. The newspaper article, “40 Per Cent of Australian Mothers Drink While
Pregnant: Study” is intended to act as a fair representation of the research methods and results
found while also appealing to the interests of the wider public – thus conflicts of interest arise
in regards to adjusting to the potential hegemony, ideologies and discourse of the time.

The externally peer-reviewed research article aimed to compare the predictors of alcohol use
in multiple cohorts. Conducting a longitudinal study in order to track the effects over a period
of time, researchers used face-to-face interviews at the participant’s home as well as postal
surveys and questionnaires. The study was of a quantitative nature; formulating measurable
data by asking mothers to report how much on average they drank per week in each trimester.
In order for the study to be considered a qualitative study it would have needed to be less
structured and attempt to gain an understanding of underlying reasons for the alcohol usage.
When conducting the study it was important for the researchers to address the different
variables, this was achieved by standardizing the classification of alcohol use to ensure that
results were comparable and by categorizing the different stages of pregnancy. Beyond using
the results from the face-to-face interviews and questionnaires, researchers also examined the
association between low birth weight and preterm birth and common confounders of these
associations and alcohol use during pregnancy.
The findings from the study determined a high prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy
after measuring a sample size of almost 18,000 women. A variation in reporting was
considered to include a “variation in professional and patient attitudes to the acceptability of
alcohol consumption during pregnancy”. It is also noted that cultural attitudes to alcohol and
social desirability may have an impact, exemplifying that when conducting studies of this
nature there is a need for objectivity.
Following this idea of objectivity, Boudana, 2011 believes that it has been dismissed not only
as an unattainable standard but also as an undesirable norm, and this is specifically seen in
the newspaper articles representation of this study.

In order for a newspaper article to appear relevant to its audiences it must, to an extent
conform to the most commonly held ideologies and discourses of the time. Schirato,
Buettner, Jutel and Stahl, 2010 consider the ways in which the media mediates and represents
the world acknowledging the great influence and power media has. In Halls article it becomes
evident after simply reading the newspaper headline that the article which aims to be
representative of the research study has already tried to address its intended audience with the
title; “40 Per Cent of Australian Mothers Drink While Pregnant”. Without further reading the
assumption may be made that this is an issue that solely affects Australian mothers.
Continuing on from the headline to the first sentence, a degree of news framing can already
be recognized with the use of “almost half Australian women drink”. News framing is
considered as “A way of framing or presenting an item of news in such a way that some kind
of explanatory order is imposed upon the information within”(Oxford Reference 2014).
Tewksbury and Scheufele, 2009 analyzed the news framing theory and consider that
journalists and media makers choose images and words that have the power to influence how
audiences interpret and evaluate issues.
By using the word “almost” the impression is given that this is a growing issue, to avoid
framing the article from this perspective it would have been better to start with the term “less
than half”. The article itself can be seen as an example of episodic news framing in that it
focuses on the single issue without placing it in any form of context.

News framing is not the only issue, but so too is fact that the article does not question the
research results or compare it with other studies conducted. Through this, hegemony becomes
formed. Hegemony being the concept of “concealed domination of all the positions of
institutional power and influence by member of just one class” (Oxford Reference 2014). The
idea that because this article falls under the category of research and appears to have no
counteracting argument, its results and conclusions should become widely held beliefs of the
public, that a drinking mother is a mother harming the development of her child. At no point
in either the research study or the newspaper article are underlying issues such as mental
health and the state of the mother considered.
Balnaves, 2009 discusses the issue of media and its power and the significant effects it has. In
a case study conducted by Bazzo et al, 2012 researchers evaluated the impact of an image
used in a communication campaign to raise awareness about effects of alcohol use during
pregnancy. The results found that the campaign gained a high level of visibility and while it
was effective in spreading the health message conveyed by the campaign, it also found that
38% of women identified as being distressed by the image.

At present these kinds of ‘scare’ tactics are considered to be working and newspapers such as
Halls are imbedding current notions and playing along with sociological beliefs. While the
article relatively remains accurate with the findings of the research, it lacks objectivity. At no
point does the article include the limitations of the study as the research article does itself.
Issues relating to results of the study are noted with recognition that due to the method of data
collection (surveys/questionnaires), reporting and recall bias may have taken place and the
study only included live born babies, therefore potentially excluding the heaviest drinking
patterns. Without that objectivity the newspaper article lacks balance.

Reference List:

Bazzo, S. et al. (2012). Evaluation of the Impact of the Image Used in a Communication
Campaign to Raise Awareness about the Effects of Alcohol Use During Pregnancy. Alcohol
and Alcoholism (pp. 657-662)

Balnaves, M. (2009). Classics in Media and Effects. Media Theories and Approaches: A
Global Perspective (pp. 57-83). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Boudana, S. . (2011). A Definition of Journalistic Objectivity as a Performance. Media,

Culture and Society, 33(3), 385-398.

Canberraeduau. (2014). Oxford Reference. Retrieved 30 September, 2015, from

http://www.oxfordreference.com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/view/10.1093/acref/978019964624
1.001.0001/acref-9780199646241-e-907?rskey=2ubt3J

Hall, B. (2015, 9th July). 40 per cent of Australian mothers drink while pregnant: study. The
Sydney Morning Herald.

O'Keeffe L, M. et al. (2014). Prevalence and Predictors of Alcohol Use During Pregnancy:
Findings from International Multicentre Cohort Studies. BMJ Open Journal, 5(006323).

Schirato, T., Buettner, A., Jutel, T., & Stahl, G. (2010). Analysing the Media: Theories,
Concepts and Techniques. Understanding Media Studies (pp. 27-49). Melbourne, Australia:
Oxford University Press.

Tewksbury , D. & Scheulefe D. A. (2009). News Framing Theory and Research. In Bryant, J
& Oliver, M. .B (Eds), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (pp. 17-33).
Routledge.