Shaping the conflict

Prior research suggests there is a lack of editorial-level policy thinking around HIV/AIDS coverage in South African media institutions. At the same time, constraints of time, capacity and resources, common in the commercial newsroom, mean it is often illequipped to deal more comprehensively with t...

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Main Author: Alan Finlay
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Johannesburg 2022-10-01
Series:Communicare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1768
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author Alan Finlay
author_facet Alan Finlay
author_sort Alan Finlay
collection DOAJ
description Prior research suggests there is a lack of editorial-level policy thinking around HIV/AIDS coverage in South African media institutions. At the same time, constraints of time, capacity and resources, common in the commercial newsroom, mean it is often illequipped to deal more comprehensively with the complex effects of the pandemic in the country. A quantitative study, conducted as a sister study to this, shows the press took a strongly critical position in relation to the government health policy on anti-retrovirals (ARVs) during the monitored periods (March-May 2002 and March-May 2003). Given the relative complexity of a public ARV treatment programme, the lack of resources and capacity in the newsroom, as well as the lack of widespread editorial-level policy thinking on HIV/AIDS coverage, how is it that the press came to represent a position so strongly in opposition to the government policy? In the context of an overview of the quantitative findings, this paper explores several possible reasons that emerged during interviews conducted with key informants in the field of HIV/AIDS and the media.
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spelling doaj-art-82080ec6d9c44f828dacaced988d0de82025-01-20T08:51:27ZengUniversity of JohannesburgCommunicare0259-00692957-79502022-10-0123210.36615/jcsa.v23i2.1768Shaping the conflictAlan Finlay0University of the Witwatersrand Prior research suggests there is a lack of editorial-level policy thinking around HIV/AIDS coverage in South African media institutions. At the same time, constraints of time, capacity and resources, common in the commercial newsroom, mean it is often illequipped to deal more comprehensively with the complex effects of the pandemic in the country. A quantitative study, conducted as a sister study to this, shows the press took a strongly critical position in relation to the government health policy on anti-retrovirals (ARVs) during the monitored periods (March-May 2002 and March-May 2003). Given the relative complexity of a public ARV treatment programme, the lack of resources and capacity in the newsroom, as well as the lack of widespread editorial-level policy thinking on HIV/AIDS coverage, how is it that the press came to represent a position so strongly in opposition to the government policy? In the context of an overview of the quantitative findings, this paper explores several possible reasons that emerged during interviews conducted with key informants in the field of HIV/AIDS and the media. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1768HIV/AIDSSouth African pressanti-retrovirals (ARVs)editorial-level policytreatment programme
spellingShingle Alan Finlay
Shaping the conflict
Communicare
HIV/AIDS
South African press
anti-retrovirals (ARVs)
editorial-level policy
treatment programme
title Shaping the conflict
title_full Shaping the conflict
title_fullStr Shaping the conflict
title_full_unstemmed Shaping the conflict
title_short Shaping the conflict
title_sort shaping the conflict
topic HIV/AIDS
South African press
anti-retrovirals (ARVs)
editorial-level policy
treatment programme
url https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1768
work_keys_str_mv AT alanfinlay shapingtheconflict