News media as a commercial determinant of health

Commercial determinants of health frameworks aim to identify the features and actions of corporate entities that can influence health. This Viewpoint conceptualises the work of the news media as a set of commercial forces and provides a framework that can help researchers better understand how features and actions of the news media shape health and health equity. We discuss four key features of news media action that can shape health: agenda setting, framing, priming, and tactics of persuasion. Beyond the direct role of the media in shaping health, we also explore pathways (ie, public relation activities, advertising, and economic pressures) in which the media is used by other commercial actors to affect health. A better understanding of how news media operates can help inform efforts to improve media actions to aid in improving population health outcomes.