Press Releases

Internews Launches Training for Kenyan TV Journalists on Covering HIV/AIDS

Local Voices Project Expands from Radio to Television

(Nairobi, May 15, 2007) In Kenya, where some 300 people die of HIV-related illnesses every day, no one is untouched by the impact of AIDS. Yet Kenyan television coverage is ineffective in conveying new information on the epidemic, according to a recent report. 

To address this problem, Internews Network is expanding its Local Voices project to train and mentor Kenyan television reporters, camera people and video editors in how to cover HIV/AIDS accurately and effectively. The TV training plans will be unveiled at a public event at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 17, at Internews’ new TV studio in Nairobi, Kenya.

US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger and Kenyan HIV scientist Prof. Ruth Nduati will speak at the launch event.

A 23-minute documentary, My Dead Husband’s Land, will have its Kenyan premiere as part of the event. The film tells the story of an HIV-positive widow, Betty Tom, and the transformation of her community on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. Film director Mia Malan, who is Internews’ Senior Health Journalism Adviser, will introduce the film, which was filmed in Nyanza Province.

Through its Local Voices project, Internews has four years of experience helping radio and print professionals in Africa, India, and Southeast Asia to expand and improve their coverage of HIV/AIDS, so that it is both accurate and compelling, while reducing stigma around the epidemic. The Local Voices project is funded by grants to Internews from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) through the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief. 

“The Local Voices Project has helped reporters to give people living with HIV a voice on local radio stations. We now wish to support journalists to give these voices a human face on television,” said Ida Jooste, Resident Advisor for Internews in Kenya.

Trainees in Internews’ Local Voices television training programs will receive free access to state-of-the-art broadcast equipment at Internews’ TV studio in Nairobi to help them produce quality programs on HIV/AIDS. Radio reporters trained by Internews also have access to the radio production studio at Internews’ Nairobi office for HIV-related stories.

A 2006 media survey ontelevision media coverage of HIV in Kenya by the Kenyan monitoring and evaluation company Q and M found that TV is one of the most preferred mediums for people to receive AIDS messages. But the report also concluded that current TV coverage is not as effective as it could be in conveying new information on the epidemic—HIV stories make up a only small percentage of television content, and many items simply repeat old news angles. According to the most recent health and demographic survey for Kenya, about 35% of Kenyans have access to television.

Who? Internews Network, Nairobi, Kenya
What? Launch of TV Training
When? Thursday, 17 May at 5:00pm
Where? Internews’ new TV studio on 4th Floor, IPS Building, Kimathi Street
Why? To share Internews’ training plans, which are expanding to support captivating HIV/AIDS storytelling for TV

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Ida Jooste, Resident Advisor, Internews Network, Tel: 252492 or 0720953765

Sandra Ndonye, Media Manager, Internews Network, Tel: 253249 or 0721263317

Background on Internews’ health journalism work