In addition to investigative and interpretative reporting, journalists might adopt a new approach to the news--preventive journalism. Preventive journalism would concentrate on news and information that could be used to prevent crises and conditions upon which the mass media thrive. In one area, public health, preventive journalism could be used to emphasize ways to prevent ill health, causes of various health problems, and ways to prevent the costs of dealing with these problems after they become crises. To determine if this preventive approach to health news coverage was being used, a content analysis was conducted of nine issues of a large daily Texas newspaper. The results showed that health news stories usually dealt with the odd, the spectacular, and conflict and controversy. In addition, health related stories seldom appeared on the first page of the newspaper, indicating that a preventive attitude was not yet visible in news reporting. (FL)