Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1993

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Communication

Major Professor

Susan Lucarelli

Committee Members

Mark Littmann, Edward Caudill

Abstract

This research examined media coverage of Prozac, a popular but controversial anti-depressant. The first part of this study was a thematic analysis of reports in health and science journals. The second part of this study was a thematic analysis of how the media used the information reported in health and science journals to inform the public about Prozac. This study found coverage of the Prozac controversy began after the first lawsuits were filed, rather than with the first scientific publication of a possible Prozac link to suicide. The media was found to focus primarily on Prozac's possible link to suicide rather than other issues discussed in the scientific literature. The media did not see physicians or researchers as the key people in the Prozac debate. The media was found to have a high reliance on government agencies. The Prozac controversy was primarily created by the Church of Scientology and was not the product of debate within the medical community.

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