Media coverage of managed care: is there a negative bias?

We conducted content analysis of media coverage (both print and broadcast) of managed care over the period 1 January 1990 to 30 June 1997, examining in detail more than 2,100 randomly selected stories. Coverage changed noticeably over the seven and a half-year period, with early years focused on managed care as a business story, and later years focused more on patient care and concerns about backlash. Coverage differed substantially depending on media source. The large majority of all media coverage of managed care was neutral in tone. However, the tone of coverage has become more critical over time and differs dramatically by source of media. The most visible media sources--television and newspaper special series--conveyed negative stories in more than half of their coverage and most often used anecdotes in telling their stories.