An Analysis On Times Of India's Rabies News Report

Being regarded as a highly lethal infectious disease,rabies still threatens many developing countries at present.Specifically,India and China are the hardest rabies-hit areas around the world.Herein,the precaution and treatment of rabies are considered as arduous tasks for the two countries.For most individuals,media is their main source of health information.The clear and correct transmission of health information from media can improve the audience's awareness of disease prevention,enhance health literacy and indirectly guide individual behaviors.So,improving the quality of media's report on health issues contributes to promote public health.In this study,the rabies related reports of Times of India's from 2014 to 2018 were selected and classified according to quantity,theme,tone,length,source and other criteria.Then an overall analysis was performed using the method of content analysis.Secondly,from the title,lead,quotation and other dimensions,the sampling report was analyzed to explore its reporting strategy.Meanwhile,EPPM model based on fear appeal theory was used to further analyze the application of fear appeal strategy in the report.The study found that,in terms of rabies report,Times of India was characterized by concentrated focus on rabies coverage.And the application of multiple sources including authoritative officials and experts could convey objective and accurate health knowledge.As for its report strategy,Times of India features short and diverse titles,direct leads,which shows the writer's stand in no time.The massive use of direct quotes further strengthens the writer's attitude.It also brings abundant arguments and in-depth discussion,thus conducive to transparent policy disseminating and sound decision making.At the same time,the fear appeal strategy is often used in the report,which is successful in triggering the fear of the audience and transmitting health information.This will help reduce the number of rabies deaths.