'Radical blueprint for social change'? Media representations of New Labour's policies on public health.

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 8205036 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0141-9889 (Print) Linking ISSN: 01419889 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Sociol Health Illn Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: <2003->: Oxford ; Malden, MA : Blackwell Publishing
Original Publication: Henley-on-Thames ; Boston, Mass. : Routledge & Kegan Paul,

Bibliometrics* ; Health Care Reform* ; Mass Media* ; Socioeconomic Factors*; State Medicine/*organization & administration; Attitude to Health ; Health Services Accessibility ; Humans ; Politics ; Public Health ; Social Change ; Social Justice ; Sociology, Medical ; State Medicine/standards ; United Kingdom

For almost two decades prior to the election of the New Labour government in 1997, inequalities in health were largely absent from the political debate in Britain. New Labour sought to bring inequalities, and the role of poverty as a 'root cause' of ill-health, back on to the public agenda. This paper analyses four key documents (Green and White Papers) laying out their proposals for public health. We explore the shifting emphasis on health inequalities between the four official documents, and between the documents and their associated press release. The paper also analyses how this translated into media coverage. It identifies common themes across the press coverage - such as criticisms about lack of targets - but also shows how coverage varied (e.g. between UK 'national' and 'Scottish' press). Finally, the study highlights the crucial issue of political context and news timing, illustrating how the English White Paper was overshadowed by other health stories which formed the basis for attacks on the Labour government in general and the Health Minister in particular.

Date Created: 20030816 Date Completed: 20031210 Latest Revision: 20191107

20231215

10.1111/1467-9566.00357

12919444