D. "Local TV news is the
single greatest source of information for the majority of Americans -- whether
it be politics or health -- and understanding what sorts of health information
people are being exposed to demands that we analyze the content of this most
prevalent source.edu/newslab .A. Winners of Oxygen Network's Reality Show 'Mr. Randy will grace the cover of
The Long Hot Summer by Rochelle Alers (Dec 2005) as well as an upcoming title
from Harlequin's soon-to-be-launched African-American line in July of 2006.

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In fact, stories about West Nile
made up more than half of all stories about infectious diseases carried by
local newscasts in the study period.

"

** For additional photos from the MR. HARLEQUIN ENTERPRISES LIMITED is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation.oxygen.

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Local TV News Covers Health a Lot But Not Always Well

For more information on Newslab, visit
http://www.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:
http://www.oxygen.

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"The key here is the focus on local news," says co-author Ken Goldstein,
Ph.com. Romance judge and Harlequin Creative Art Director, Deb Peterson.

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But the first-ever national study of that coverage
finds many problems with it, and sees room for improvement by both TV stations
and the health experts whose work fills the news. Items about specific diseases
tended not to contain recommendations for viewers , or information about how
common the disease was -- which could help put the news into perspective with
other health issues.
Each story was viewed by two trained study staff, who noted the story's
subject matter, length and other characteristics, and wrote descriptive
summaries. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an occasion
that many TV stations use to focus on breast health issues.
Oxygen airs more original programming and delivers the youngest audience of
all the women 's networks.

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They offered a goldmine of health stories. At the same time, 82 percent of the West
Nile stories failed to tell viewers how to prevent the mosquito bites that
transmit the virus, or what to do if bitten.D. Noel, M. Its books are published worldwide in 25 languages and sold
in 94 international markets.eharlequin.

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Greenberg, M. Throughout the series, romancers-in-
training entered a veritable "romance boot camp" and competed in front of a
panel of celebrity judges/guests and romance professionals , including Fabio,
Gene Simmons, Fred Willard and TV personality Tina Malave.

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"The fact that one of the most-covered stories in the study was about the
removal of warts using duct tape, a topic which has questionable public health
value, and that the story originated in a press release from a renowned
medical journal, shows that we in the health community have work to do," says
Pribble ."
Goldstein hopes that further studies using the Newslab's digital
recordings of local TV news will help both broadcasters and health experts
understand how to improve the health information that reaches the public.

Multimedia News Release - Harlequin Puts Most Romantic Men in America on the Covers of Its Books

com/mnr/harlequin/22020/
Randy Ritchwood, a truck driver from East Orange , NJ known for his street
smarts and big heart, out-charmed the other contests and emerged as Mr.

The company releases 100 titles monthly and
publishes more than 1000 authors from around the world .

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Even more alarming, one of the
stations misinterpreted the study altogether and stated that lemon juice may
be a substitute for "costly" HIV medications.
"Egregious errors such as these can actually harm the public," says lead
author James Pribble, M.D.prnewswire.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. The
researchers also looked for patterns in the stories carried on different
stations, for example items about a single new research study that appeared on
multiple newscasts. But those stories often
contained conflicting messages with introductory statements such as "breast
self-exams are a waste of time" followed by recommendations at the conclusion
of the story that encouraged women to continue performing breast self-exams.
Meanwhile, most of the West Nile stories didn't put the disease into
perspective by comparing its prevalence and severity with that of other, much
more common and deadly, infectious diseases. UW-Madison is currently pursuing funding for
further data collection and studies in 2006. In addition to
Pribble and Goldstein, the new study's authors are: senior author and RWJ
Clinical Scholars Program co-director Joel Howell, M. Fowler, M., a devoted outdoorsman
and Alaskan Charter Boat Captain, won the Oxygen Viewers' Choice contest, with
over 45,000 fans voting on Oxygen. Last year, Harlequin
sold approximately 5 books a second.

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Pribble and Goldstein don't blame just the newscast producers and
reporters for these problems.polisci.wisc. Romance' Win Harlequin Cover
Shoot

NEW YORK, Harlequin has found the next Mr.
Both winners were photographed by professional book cover photographer,
Michael Alberstat for future Harlequin covers.

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Then, a physician or other health professional viewed each story
and categorized it according to the medical condition discussed. Romance".
Andrew will be featured on the cover of a historical romance Midnight Marriage
by Victoria Bylin (Jan 2006).

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In all , health and medical stories comprised 11 percent of the news
portion of late-evening newscasts in the one-month period studied, with 1,799
such stories carried on 2,795 broadcasts captured from the representative
sample of 122 stations in the nation's top 50 media markets. And many areas of
the country were experiencing an ongoing outbreak of West Nile Virus
infections at the time. At the same time, the authors say, they should help reporters put
individual news items into perspective, and help them understand what health
and medical topics have the most bearing on the public's health .

Reference: American Journal of Managed Care, March 2006, pp 170-176

The study was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation., of the U-M
Department of Emergency Medicine.
"Harlequin has pushed the boundaries of women's fiction and now provides books
for all moods including mystery, fantasy, chic-lit, Christian lines and a new
line coming this summer for the women in the next stage of their lives.

About Oxygen Media
Oxygen Media is a 24 -hour cable television network that puts a fresh spin
on television for women.oxygen.com/MrRomance /

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Despite the
fact that the study was done in a research lab, nearly all the stories failed
to mention that it had not involved humans.

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The study focused on broadcasts from October 2002, which had been stored
in Newslab's servers for analysis pertaining to elections held that November . "The onus is on health care providers, organizations and agencies to
provide information in a helpful way that will help local TV reporters cover
health and medicine better., of the
Newslab; and Matthew J. For more
information, visit http://www.newswise.

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, a lecturer in the Department of Emergency Medicine
at the U-M Medical School who began the study as a U-M Robert Wood Johnson
Clinical Scholar., a UW-Madison professor of political science. "I'm
certain that being on the cover of a Harlequin romance will change both my
professional and love life. Oxygen is also the home base for Ellen DeGeneres with the
acquisition of her hit talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show and sitcom Ellen.bm.

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In the March issue of the American Journal of Managed Care, researchers
from the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin-Madison report
results from an in-depth analysis of health coverage on local TV newscasts
from across the country."
Thousands of hours of local news broadcasts were recorded and compiled by
Newslab, a unique UW-Madison facility directed by Goldstein that was
originally developed to study TV coverage of political campaigns. The new
study is the first time Newslab has been used to study a non-political topic,
and the first exhaustive study of health coverage on local TV. For example, breast cancer got far more
coverage than lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death in the
United States; only five stories focused on lung cancer. Such
analysis can be important for improving communications in a public health
crisis, as well as the day-to-day flow of information from newly published
health studies, new government recommendations, and innovations in medical
care made available by doctors and hospitals.D., a professor at the U-
M Medical School and School of Public Health; Erika F.
Romance.

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But the coverage of these two topics highlights some of the problems found
throughout the study, Pribble says.
Goldstein and Pribble are currently studying how local news covered health
in 2004, and are also looking at the coverage of health issues on local
Spanish-language television., and Stacey K. (R) and (TM) are trademarks owned and
used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee.

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Founded in 1998, the network is independently owned
and now available in more than 54 million cable households.

Contact Info
Farah Mehta
Burson-Marsteller
(212) 614-4970
Farah_Mehta@nyc.com
http://www.

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But most disturbing, the study's authors say, were the egregious errors
contained in a small minority of studies -- errors that could have led to
serious consequences.
For instance, a story that aired on several stations reported on lemon
juice's effect on sperm and speculated about, or presented as fact, the use of
lemon juice as an effective contraceptive, and its potential effect on
preventing sexual transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.D. Oxygen airs a diverse array of original series
including the spontaneous, unscripted, daily Oprah After the Show, the hidden
camera prank show , Girls Behaving Badly, and the live call-in show, Talk Sex
with Sue Johanson.eharlequin.

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, Local television newscasts,
where most Americans get most of their news, are packed with medical stories
and health information.

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM).com /
http://www.

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The average story was 33 seconds long, and most did not give specifics
about the source of the information presented. Most studies of
health and medical coverage have focused on newspapers and national network
television shows.
The two most common specific health topics for stories were breast cancer
and West Nile Virus. Romance
to grace the covers of its books.

Oxygen Media also
owns and operates http://www.com

Related Links
http://www.

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And 40 of the breast
cancer stories focused on one study about the effectiveness of teaching women
to examine their breasts for signs of cancer.com . Harlequin, a leading publisher of women's
fiction , teamed up with Oxygen to find the most romantic man in America on the
popular reality show, "Mr . Andrew Larson, originally from Portland, Ore."
"Harlequin covers have evolved considerably and today's covers reflect
what our readers want -- a more realistic, edgy and modern image of romance ,"
said Mr.com .com
http://press.

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They emphasize that public health authorities,
clinical experts and researchers must give reporters information, interviews
and pre-taped video that meet the demands of TV newscasts, which must tell
stories quickly, visually and in language that's understandable to non-
experts.
Newslab's original funding was from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
"I'm honored to be the modern face of romance," said Randy Ritchwood. ROMANCE Harlequin cover shoot,
please contact Farah Mehta 212 614 4970 **

About HARLEQUIN
HARLEQUIN ENTERPRISES LIMITED is the one of the world's leading publishers
of women's fiction.