1998 – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is a philanthropic organization whose mission is to improve the health and health care of all Americans. One way it does this is by providing support and assistance to those in the “public health” arena (federal, state and local public health agencies), as they disseminate news and information about relevant “public health” issues — through the media — to key constituent groups, including legislators, government policymakers, medical groups and health insurance providers.
As part of its mission to better educate and inform Americans about relevant “public health” issues, RWJF asked the Ketchum Research and Measurement Department to design and carry out an in-depth evaluative research study to determine, as precisely as possible, what “public health” issues the print media cover … how these issues get covered … who are the spokespersons quoted … what language is used … and how deep and extensive is media coverage of relevant health issues.