AIR BAG SAFETY Media Coverage, Popular Conceptions, and Public Policy

Federal regulation of air bags has followed an uncertain course in recent years; air bags have been perceived as a panacea but are now considered potential killers. The authors examine the interplay of media coverage, lay perceptions of risk, and public policy in the context of air bag regulation. They review communications research on media presentations of health and safety risks and the relationship of these findings to social psychological research on the determinants of perceived risk. Two original studies provide corroborating evidence that national print media depict air bags as riskier than warranted by objective data (Study 1) and that measurable indicators of this bias, when systematically manipulated, influence readers' attitudes toward disconnection of air bags as well as damage awards in a hypothetical tort suit against a car manufacturer (Study 2). Implications of media risk communication for safety regulation are discussed.