Problem/Objective: It is often hard to track the effectiveness of a campaign and how often campaign messages are picked up in local media. In 2006, an educational campaign was conducted in Missouri to inform residents of the negative consequences of tobacco use to help build support for a proposed tobacco tax. The campaign included seven main messages that were incorporated into campaign media materials. To analyze the depth of the media's coverage of the campaign, we conducted a content analysis of local print media.

Methods: A clipping service identified tobacco-related articles, editorials and letters to the editor printed between September 2005 and December 2006 from over 440 local newspapers. This included articles about the educational campaign, the proposed tobacco tax, smoking bans, and tobacco industry news and litigation. Using methodology from previous media analysis studies, a 24-item codebook was developed. Variables included newspaper characteristics, tobacco control position, the presence of the core educational messages, and arguments about the tobacco tax. Three coders were trained to perform the content analysis and kappa scores were calculated for a sample of articles to ensure reliability.

Results: Over 1200 tobacco-related articles were identified and coded. Analysis looked at the presence of the core media messages, reach of the educational campaign, and voting patterns across the state compared to media coverage.

Conclusions: Results will be used to improve the process of developing and disseminating educational efforts to decrease tobacco use in Missouri. Results will also address the unique challenges of developing an educational campaign.