The impact of media sensationalism and crisis framing on stigma and negative attitudes towards methamphetamine users

Methamphetamine use is a current focus point round the world, with the media labelling it as an epidemic or crisis that will have a lasting negative impact on our communities (Chalmers, Lancaster, & Hughes, 2016). In recent years however, the media has been challenged in regard to what has been termed crisis framing, or where the media seeks to sensationalize an issue such as the potential impact and use of methamphetamines (Usher, Clough, Woods, & Robertson, 2015). The media has been criticized for their sensationalism of methamphetamine use for a number of reasons including the sources they use to make their claims, including over-reliance on law enforcement officials that has the potential to reduce substance use to a narrow range of topics and interpretive frameworks rather than adopting a solution-focused approach (Taylor, 2008). Regardless of the sources they use, the media is a pervasive persuader of public opinion and attitudes and frequent referencing of a particular drug alongside harmful acts can cause a reader to associate the two (Roach, 2012).