Lay summary
Cancer is an important issue for Pacific health, with some evidence that Pacific peoples in NZ experience higher incidence and mortality of some forms of cancer. It is a government goal that, by 2018, more people will be aware of cancer risks and doing something about them. The news media plays an important role in shaping awareness and understanding of health risk behaviours. This study involves a content analysis of news reporting related to cancer over a five month period. Patterns in media presentation of information about cancer control will be contrasted with the findings of a national study of public perceptions of cancer and used to discuss alignment and misalignment with evidence-based recommendations about health behaviour.