Articles About Internews

Issue 104, July/August 2007
A Publication of Global Health Council

How Does HIV Media Coverage Rate?
Views and Voices of Those Who Know Best

BY JACQUELINE GAYLE
DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT

In Kenya last year, members of HIV-positive networks piled into the streets to demand government action against the killing of an HIVpositive boy chopped to death by his uncle in a Kenyan village. With local media in tow, the protests sparked national debate about care and support for HIV-positive people. Though the story could have died in a news brief in one of the country’s national newspapers, the HIV-positive community understood the important role media plays in highlighting important issues around HIV and AIDS. Within a few months, the advocacy groups had garnered enough media attention about the crime to plow the issue into international newspapers, journals and AIDS forums.

This is one example of increasing media advocacy which has contributed to a steady improvement of HIV/AIDS coverage. Several recent studies surveying the views of people living with HIV (PLHIV) have weighed in on the issue. In 2006, a study released by Internews Network, Voice and Visibility: Frontline Perspectives on How the Global News Media Reports on HIV/AIDS, presented the views of more than 130 PLHIV and 200 AIDS program managers globally about HIV/AIDS media coverage from more than 40 countries. The study revealed that there is more effective coverage of HIV/AIDS than a decade ago by reporting more accurate information and increased viewpoints of PLHIV.

But despite these improvements, HIV/AIDS media coverage continues to promote stigma, violate PLHIV confidentiality, and contain inaccurate portrayals of those affected by the pandemic. “Sensationalism always takes over from the bulk of coverage of HIV issues,” said one respondent to the survey. “This tends to brand us all as sex murderers, AIDS assassins, gay scroungers, and health-care tourists.”

HIV/AIDS coverage varies considerably by region, but with general newsroom disinterest in health issues, HIV/AIDS stories today typically follow events around World AIDS Day or policy-related issues. Journalists receive little support from editors compared to stories about politics or sports. A 2006 study of HIV/AIDS media coverage in six African and Asian countries published by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) concluded that HIV/ AIDS stories were less prominent than other news topics. The study cited AIDS “fatigue” in African newsrooms and taboos against public discussion of sensitive issues around sex and homosexuality as contributing to the low level of HIV/AIDS reporting.

JOURNALISTS CITE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS

In many developing countries dedicated health reporters, journalists who cover HIV/AIDS, often lack training and access to adequate resources and information. The Health Journalism Partnership (HJP) found in case studies through interviews with media professionals, that journalists often struggle to understand medical concepts and find reliable sources for health stories. “Journalists often use a single source for their stories, misuse quotes, and blur the line between news and editorial pieces,” the HJP reported in its analysis of the state of health journalism in Cambodia. The HJP research found that these were common challenges faced by journalists in the study’s 16 focus countries that included Russia, China, Mexico and South Africa.

Health agencies sometimes provide media training to help journalists better understand health issues, particularly around HIV/AIDS. These activities generally provide journalists with topic-specific information, such as details about new treatments or information about the work of local HIV/AIDS support groups. They also connect reporters with HIV/AIDS experts for interviews. However, many media trainings lack sustained follow-up necessary for journalists to develop deepened knowledge of HIV/AIDS issues and advanced skills to report about them.

Issues of trust between PLHIV and the media also affect the coverage of HIV/AIDS. Many PLHIV respondents in the Internews study reported that when media use stigmatizing language, reveal PLHIV identities, and focus on the negative aspects of living with HIV, people living with the virus are less open to granting media interviews.

PLHIV focus group participants in Cote d’Ivoire discussed Christian television shows that pay PLHIV to provide oncamera “testimonies” of how they became infected. The testimonies are followed by messages to “follow Christ to prevent this from happening to you” and the shows are aired along with programs about the dangers of drug use and other ‘deviant’ practices.

Similar discussions amongst PLHIV in Ukraine revealed that journalists over-use images of HIV-positive children and ask PLHIV to provide terrifying accounts about their lives. In some cases, journalists breach agreed-upon terms of confidentiality.

“Only a limited number of PLHIV are ready to be open and share their feelings, and this hinders the ability of reporters to bring in more of their voices,” reported the manager of a care and support program. “The authorities working in this sector do not make HIV/AIDS information resources easily available … which limits the capacity of the reporters to cover HIV/AIDS.”

INCREASING MEDIA STORIES ABOUT THE ‘LIVING’

In a time when HIV treatment allows PLHIV to continue their lives, many PLHIV prefer media portrayals that include images of those living with the virus rather than only those dying of AIDS-related illnesses. Engaging more HIV-positive people in the media can increase the quality and frequency of HIV perspectives in the media.

For example, The Gleaner, Jamaica’s largest national daily newspaper, published an award-winning series of human interest stories between 2001 and 2005 about people affected by HIV/AIDS. The articles highlighted the everyday lives of PLHIV and stimulated national debate about HIV/AIDS issues.

In Kano, Nigeria, a weekly radio show hosted by a PLHIV called Fata Na Gari (Better Life), has increased public discussion about HIV/AIDS issues, which is generally taboo in the conservative Muslim community where the station operates. The interactive show, which answers live calls from listeners, discusses many aspects of HIV, including topics such as how to disclose one’s HIV status to proper nutrition for HIV-positive people. Since the show began airing in 2006, local testing centers have reported significant increases in visitors seeking support and HIV testing as a result of the program.

Research has found that media such as Fata Na Gari, which engage the public and stimulate discussion about the sensitive issues around HIV/AIDS, help confront stigma and produce the greatest impact. When media contain accurate information, balanced views and comprehensive coverage of HIV/AIDS and those affected by the pandemic, audiences become better informed and less accepting of stigma. Furthermore, the fact that the show is hosted by a PLHIV allows the voices of those most affected to engage directly with the public.

More and more PLHIV have found ways to integrate their viewpoints and concerns into mainstream media. In some regions, development agencies teach PLHIV support groups and HIV/AIDS-related organizations to attract and maintain positive relationships with their local media. Trainings cover skills such as writing interesting press releases and building beneficial relationships with reporters. When PLHIV media advocacy works, both sides win – PLHIV and AIDS issues gain prominence in the news and reporters gain reliable sources to help them report more effectively.

In Kenya, PLHIV media outreach concerning Isaiah Gakuyo, the HIV-positive boy who was orphaned by AIDS and murdered by his uncle, not only initiated national discussion about care for HIV-positive orphans, it also seduced international attention to important issues around stigma that the nation faces. The Seattle Times described how prior to his death, Gakuyo’s guardians banished him to a woodshed and forced him to eat away from the rest of the family with designated utensils. The South African Mail and Guardian revealed how villagers who witnessed the killing did nothing to stop the bleeding from his stab wound because they feared contracting HIV. For months, the boy’s death remained on the radar of HIV/AIDS bloggers and organizations such as Human Rights Watch, which tracks deaths related to HIV stigma.

As HIV/AIDS media coverage steadily improves, reporters are less likely to report about PLHIV as plagued and doomed to death, as was the norm when media first began reporting about HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. However, in many countries, this portrayal still persists with few stories addressing the complicated social issues related to the condition or portraying diverse experiences of life with the virus.

Sustained improvement of the coverage of HIV/AIDS issues will require continuous PLHIV media advocacy and journalism training. When journalists receive adequate training and support for HIV/AIDS reporting, they can produce more in-depth and accurate stories about the realities of the pandemic. However, more important to improving HIV/AIDS coverage is the strengthening of relationships between PLHIV and local media. Through sustained media advocacy, PLHIV can increase the frequency and quality of their perspectives to stimulate more comprehensive media coverage of HIV/AIDS.

Jacqueline Gayle is a development professional in media, health and educational development. She was formerly a program associate at Internews.