Table 2.
Count Regression Models of News Coverage Tone and Sentiment
| Dependent variable | Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | Model 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive words | Negative words | Pro-CWF words | Anti-CWF words | ||
| Independent variable | |||||
| Referendum outcome (0= CWF rejection, 1= CWF support)) | β | 0.48 | 0.62 | 0.31 | 0.84 |
| 95% CL | (−0.40, 1.35) | (−0.29, 1.53) | (−0.44, 1.05) | (0.14, 1.55) | |
| P-value | p = 0.29 | p = 0.18 | p = 0.43 | p = 0.02 | |
| Child references (number) | β | 0.27 | 0.33 | 0.32 | 0.51 |
| 95% CL | (0.16, 0.39) | (0.26, 0.40) | (0.23, 0.41) | (0.38, 0.64) | |
| P-value | p < 0.01 | p < 0.01 | p < 0.01 | p < 0.01 | |
| Interaction: Child references X referendum outcome | β | −0.18 | −0.16 | −0.07 | −0.21 |
| 95% CL | (−0.42, 0.07) | (−0.28, −0.03) | (−0.24, 0.11) | (−0.44, 0.03) | |
| P-value | p = 0.16 | p = 0.02 | p = 0.47 | p = 0.09 | |
| Intercept | β | 1.51 | 1.41 | 0.86 | −0.04 |
| 95% CL | (1.13, 1.90) | (1.00, 1.82) | (0.52, 1.20) | (−0.58, 0.50) | |
| P-value | p < 0.01 | p < 0.01 | p < 0.01 | p = 0.89 | |
| Ob servations: # news articles | 234 | 234 | 234 | 234 | |
| Model Log Likelihood | −675.7 | −858.3 | −521.06 | −446.49 | |
CWF = community water fluoridation
β=Regression parameter estimate; 95% CL = 95% confidence limits; P-value from test of null hypothesis that β=0