South Africa
HIV/AIDS and the Media Project
Activity Dates
2004 – ongoing
Activity Summary
Research conducted by fellows in the HIV/AIDS and the Media Project has shown that the quality and quantity of media coverage of HIV/AIDS is inconsistent and uneven. Started in 2003 by the Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU) and the Journalism Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and funded by HCP in 2004, the HIV/AIDS and the Media Project investigates the role and the impact of the news media on the HIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa and advocates for better media coverage of HIV/AIDS. The project was initiated in response to fill gaps that were identified in the media’s response to the pandemic.
Each year, the HIV/AIDS and the Media Project focuses on a different HIV/AIDS-related theme. The focus in 2003 was on audience reception of HIV media and reporting of HIV and the relationship with conflict. In 2004, the project focused on the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), in particular women’s experiences in Soweto, content analysis of media coverage and the role of men and PMTCT. This was followed by a focus on orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in 2005, and an abstinence and being faithful (AB) theme in 2006.
Objectives
- To encourage and enable journalists to play an informed role in combating HIV/AIDS
- To promote discussion and debate among journalists, editors, health professionals and other key roleplayers in this area
- To provide high quality academic research, which ensures an informed and useful debate around this issue
- To monitor the role and the impact of the media
Implementation
Fellowships
Every year, the project offers two 4-6 month fellowships to working journalists and/or researchers in order to produce high quality and in depth writing on that year’s HIV and AIDS theme. The fellowships are an opportunity for practitioners to receive specialist training in HIV/AIDS and the Media, covering all aspects of the pandemic from basic information on prevention, treatment and care to issues of media coverage, ethics and writing skills related to HIV/AIDS.
The fellows closely monitors print and broadcast news media related to the HIV/AIDS theme and responds to inadequate or confusing coverage. The results of the monitoring are used as a basis for a research article on media coverage of the issue. In addition, they focus on identifying gaps in media coverage of the theme and filling them with in-depth and high quality research and journalism. The writing that results from these fellowships is published in a wide range of media and peer-reviewed journals.
Discussion Forums
In partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the HIV/AIDS and the Media Project hosts large discussion forums (70+ people) to stimulate discussion, debate and interchange among and between various role-players, such as editors, journalists, doctors, scientists, activists, academics and government. Selected examples of forums include:
- HIV/AIDS: The Role of the Media in South Africa (1 December 2003)
- Secrets and Lies? The Ethics of HIV/AIDS Reporting in South Africa (1 February 2005)
- Baby Steps: Reporting on the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (8 April 2005)
- Covering Sex & the Epidemic: A Comparative Look at HIV/AIDS Reportage in the U.S. and South Africa (12 July 2005)
The project has also run an umber of smaller discussion forums and training workshops for journalism students, graduate and working journalists covering topics such as prevention, treatment and care, HIV/AIDS reporting, the role of journalists in covering the ARV rollout and the science of HIV/AIDS reporting. Additionally, “Reporting on Children Affected by AIDS: A Round Table Discussion for Health Journalists” was held on 4 February 2006.
Smaller Editors’ Forums
Often, journalists are committed to HIV/AIDS stories, but their production is constrained by sub-editors and editors. The project ran 2 smaller, closed door, round table discussions over lunch for editors to discuss and debate concerns over editorial policy, with the goal of personally motivating them about HIV/AIDS pandemic and shifting their editorial policy on HIV/AIDS. In February 2006, the first forum was held to bring together health reporters from national and regional print and broadcast media. The group of 25 discussed the challenges facing health journalists, elements of a good story, the position of the journalist and stereotyping and stigma, among other issues. The second forum for editors was held in February 2007.
Honours Career-Entry Group: Training in HIV/AIDS Reporting
Each year, the project trains career-entry Honours students in HIV/AIDS reporting. The honours career entry group in 2004 conducted a thematic content analysis of ten years of media coverage of HIV/AIDS and completed their research essays in this area. They also went on a week-long research trip to Limpopo Province and gathered the stories of a wide range of stakeholders in the PMTCT programme in this area. In 2005 the group researched the production, content and reception of a news media text on two HIV-positive women and their families and have produced research reports detailing their findings. In 2006 students undertook research essays in HIV/AIDS and the media.
Research Monitoring
Monitoring of news media coverage of the HIV/AIDS thematic issues takes place on an ongoing basis. The project continually feeds commentary and response to media coverage of HIV/AIDS into media publications. The project set a 7-10 day turnaround guideline in response to media coverage so that the issue remains current and their response is timely. The project compiled quarterly reports on media coverage of the issues and found new and innovative ways to disseminate the findings to a wide audience of media institutions across southern Africa, including publishing them on the website, and actively marketing them to media practitioners.
JournAIDS Website
The HIV/AIDS and the Media Project redesigned and maintains the JournAIDS website (www.journaids.org) originally developed by the Centre for AIDS Development, Research, and Education (CADRE). The website is the leading resource on HIV/AIDS for journalists in Southern Africa, and is widely used by all sectors of the AIDS world in the country. The website contains information on reporting on HIV/AIDS, a variety of fact sheets and key documents on HIV/AIDS, as well as information on the project, its fellows, and their publications. A weekly blog is posted on a current issue related to HIV/AIDS and the media, and guest bloggers from a number of different sectors and people living with HIV/AIDS are invited to comment on media coverage or the particular handling of the issue.
HIV/AIDS and the Media Colloquium
A 2-day colloquium on HIV/AIDS and the Media incorporated the findings and presentations from previous forums. The colloquium targeted academics, media practitioners and health professionals with practical sessions on aspects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and media coverage of those aspects.
Audiences
Journalists, journalism students, editors, doctors, scientists, health professionals, activists, policy makers, academics
Partners
Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU), Witwatersrand Journalism Programme, Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF), Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF), South African National Editors’ Forum, CADRE, Johnnic Communications, Southern African Media Training Trust (NSJ), Media 24, Stellenbosch University, IDASA, TAC, Civil Society Organizations
   
Back to South Africa
Note about materials: Some of the materials and resources listed on each page are available in their full form, others are represented by image or citation only. For more information and resources, go to www.jhuccp.org
|
