Table 3 Research questions to investigate

• How are industries that contribute to NCD risk portrayed in the news media and how and why does this vary by sector and context (e.g. country or type of media outlet)?

• What kind of social, political and ideological values (e.g. neoliberalism, health, justice, etc.) underpin varying media representations of industries and their roles in NCDs and policy responses to NCDs?

• Do the business models and funding sources of media outlets affect the way in which corporate behaviour and responsibility for NCDs are framed?

• How are public health interests, corporate actors and government each portrayed in the media in relation to NCD policy debates?

• To what degree do variations in media coverage of industries involved in NCD debates interact with changes in public opinion, policy opinion and broader societal values? Is it possible to identify pathways and directions of influence?

• Which factors contribute to the success (or otherwise) of strategies employed by corporate, government and public health interests to influence media debates about NCDs? Do they vary by sector?

• What evidence is there of shared learning/resources across industries in media debates about NCDs?

• How do challenges to traditional media (e.g. ‘citizen journalism’, ‘advertorials’, native advertising, organizational subscriptions and the rise of social media) change the media representations of industries that contribute to NCD risk?

• How can those who try to counter corporate framing of policy debates and corporate influence on public health use traditional and social media to reframe these debates?