Beyond she said: Giving depth to HIVAIDS Stories

1
Beyond s/he said Giving depth to HIV/AIDS
Stories

• J2J Training for Journalists15th International
  Conference on HIV/AIDS, Bangkok ThailandJuly
  2004
• akin JIMOH
• Development Communications Network, Nigeria

2
INTRODUCTION

• At 13 I was raped, by my uncle.
• At 14 I was raped againand I became
• pregnant
• subsequently I tested positive
• to HIV.
• Kabati Ishaya, 23 year old Nigerian
• PLWA.

3

• Why s/he said?

4
In the Beginning

• HIV and AIDS were medical issues
• Health ministry leads prevention
• efforts
• Doctors, health workers were lead
• sources
• Stories and reports looked at the
• medical angle

5
In the Beginning

• Government pronouncements
• are reported
• What health minister says take precedent
• Government officials are sources of
• information
• Quote statistics that has little or no meaning to
• the media audience

6
NOW
NOW

• While HIV/AIDS has traditionally been a
• health story, it is now recognized as being
• much bigger than a health issue

7
NOW

• It is also political, economic, social
• and cultural.
• It is local, national, regional and
• global.
• It is about individuals, families
• communities, regions, nations and
• the world

8
NOW

• There are many aspects to HIV/AIDS
• from science to medicine, epidemiology,
• human interest, social, health, and
• economy
• And there are appropriate sources of
• information for the varied, but
• interlinked issues in HIV/AIDS

9

• Thus it is imperative for journalists to broaden
• the content of stories articles, programs,
• features be it in broadcast or electronic
• media
• What has depth should be relevant to the
• people and must deal with their problems,
• challenges and give deeper understanding of
• the key issues and implications

10
How do we give depth to
HIV/AIDS stories?

• Ability to weave the various
• dimensions of the pandemic in a report

11
Giving depth requires

• A list of good information sources -- to provide
  quotes, background information, explanations of
  complex aspects or technical details, useful
  suggestions and leads, new findings or other
  news, and even contact with other sources
• Ability to conduct research, and to make research
  an integral and important part of a story i.e
  get command of the topic and the concept

12
Giving depth requires

• For the purpose of in-depth reporting of HIV and
  AIDS pandemic the convention of news may not
  work. This is true for most science coverage and
  is based on the fact that
• We dont learn about discoveries today or
  yesterday.

13
Giving depth requires

• Discoveries are usually incremental
• Discoveries are usually uncertain
•  
• Thus we risk the tendency of media hype that
  could make HIV and AIDS stories seem like other
  news (inflate the importance and minimize the
  uncertainties)

14

• ALWAYS REMEMBER
• HIV/AIDS is also a social, economic, political,
  and developmental story

15

• Reporting the story from a new (third) eye

16
New trends in the HIV/AIDS epidemic

• What population groups are being hit
• the hardest, why, and who is doing
• what to respond
• Note implications for stigma
• For example, why more women than
• men are getting HIV why young
• women are several times more likely
• to get HIV than young men and the
• possible solutions.

17
Gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS

• How and why these are linked, and
• what this linkage means
• What changes would be needed to
• Reduce violence and the transmission
• of HIV/AIDS
• Gender-based violence and the
• criminal justice system

18
HIV/AIDS, human rights, and justice

• Rights of people with HIV/AIDS and the
• legal protections for people with HIV/AIDS
• How people with HIV/AIDS are treated
• and how they should be treated
• International conventions/plans of action
• related to human rights, reproductive
• health, gender equality, children's rights,
• etc. - and the status of their implementation

19
The impact of HIV/AIDS on different sectors of
the economy

• Its impact on different businesses,
• industries, agriculture.
• What this impact means for
• economic and social development.

20
HIV/AIDS and children

• Maternal transmission of HIV
• and its prevention
• AIDS orphans - the extent of the
• problem and the impact on older
• generations

21
HIV/AIDS and children

• The changing roles of older
• generations in the face of HIV/AIDS.
• Strategies to care for AIDS orphans
• and others affected by HIV/AIDS.

22

• THANK YOU