Social construction of reality. The tobacco issue.

Informed by the theory of the social construction of reality, this paper examines media framing of the tobacco issue in the United States over time. A comparative analysis reveals that both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal defined the situation in the same manner-that smoking was associated with cancer and other illnesses, and that smokers should assume responsibility for smoking. However, although the New York Times coverage became less supportive of the tobacco industry over time, the Wall Street Journal supported the tobacco industry both over the 1964 Surgeon General's report and during the 1998 Minnesota trial. This suggests that ideology may play a role in the framing of reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]