Healthcare Advertising/Editorial Increases in Gay Press
Gay publications continue to outpace mainstream publications in ad revenue growth and healthcare advertisers are major contributors. Ad revenue in gay publications rose 20 percent to $120.4 million in 1998 from 1997, according to the Gay Press Report published by Mulryan/Nash, a communications consulting firm in New York. By comparison, the year-to-date ad revenue growth for mainstream newspapers is 5.6 percent, according to the Newspaper Association of America, and 9 percent for mainstream magazines, according to American Demographics magazine.
The pharmaceutical industry continues an upward trend of significant ad spending increases - up to 2.5 percent from 1.6 percent of the total ad space in 1997 in gay publications.
Most of the pharmaceutical advertising is for HIV therapy options. As AIDS-related deaths decline among the gay and lesbian community, however, there are exciting opportunities for other pharmaceutical drug manufacturers.
These publications are ideal vehicles for pitching story ideas. Healthcare-oriented editorial themes will focus on more upbeat topics like parenting and preventive healthcare tips and advice, says Scott Matter of Mulryan/Nash.
The Gay Press Report is based on a survey of 152 gay publications. It is available online at http://www.mulryan-nash.com.
(Mulryan/Nash, Scott Matter, 212/633-6139)
2000 Condom Use Goals In Jeopardy
Levels of national condom use are not making the grade established by the federal government's Healthy People 2000 objectives, particularly among high-risk communities.
One of the objectives is to insure that by 2000, 50 percent of sexually active, unmarried people are using condoms during sexual relations. But in 1996, only 40 percent of unmarried adults did so, according to a research team for Family Planning Perspectives, a journal published by the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Another national objective in jeopardy is to get 60 percent of injecting drug users to use a condom during intercourse. In 1996, the most recent data available, only 40 percent used a condom during their most recent sexual encounter.
If the goals are to be met, safe-sex campaigns that highlight the importance of condoms will have to become more aggressive and targeted to at-risk populations.
Other study highlights include:
- Only 22 percent of high-risk individuals used a condom during their last intercourse within an ongoing relationship.
- Those at increased risk for HIV were defined as men who had sex with other men in the past year, men and women who have had six or more partners, those who had sex with an HIV-infected person and those who exchanged sex for drugs.
- 62 percent of those in casual relationships used a condom.
(Family Planning Perspectives, AGI, 212/248-1111; Web site: http://www.agi-usa.org)
Unsafe Neighborhoods Hinder Exercise Among Elderly
It's no surprise that people who live in dangerous neighborhoods are less likely to exercise, but research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently confirmed it. In unsafe communities, outreach aimed at encouraging more physical activity must also address issues of neighborhood safety to be effective.
The study found that the elderly and ethnic minorities who feel their neighborhoods are unsafe are less likely to exercise compared with people who are of the same age in safer communities. The CDC report is based on a 1996 survey of 12,767 adults who live in Maryland, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Study highlights include:
- 30 percent of those surveyed were physically inactive.
- Seniors, women and ethnic minorities and those with low household incomes were more likely to lead a sedentary lifestyle.
(CDC press office, 404/639-3286; Web site: http://www.cdc.gov)