Exposing AIDS: Media's Impact in South Africa

HIV/AIDS is not just another medical condition like malaria, meningitis, or mumps. It has taken on a life of its own, a life that depends upon a multitude of vested interests linked to power, prestige, religion, and money.1 The news media's reporting on this complex pandemic cannot be separated from

these issues. Media coverage is mostly a reflection of the environment in which it develops and operates, and it can impact the fight against HIV/AIDS either negatively or positively. In South Africa public-health battles-particularly those related to HIV/AIDS-are increasingly being fought on television news bulletins, front pages of newspapers, and radio talk shows. News reporting can have a significant impact on the public perception of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and on the government's policymaking.

M. E. McCombs has argued that the media do not tell society what to think but rather what to think about.2 But I will argue that, in South Africa, the opposite is true. The news media have told the public what to think: that the government's AIDS policies lack comprehensiveness; that antiretrovirals are effective and should be made available; and that the drug Nevirapine-the efficacy of which both the president and his health minister have publicly doubted-is essential in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.3 In this respect the news media, in combination with AIDS lobby groups, have made a significant contribution to civil-society pressure on the government around HIV/AIDS policy changes-in particular, regarding the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and access to antiretroviral drugs. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to explore the ways in which South Africa's news media have used their power to shape the HIV/AIDS world; to gauge the effectiveness of the media coverage; and finally, to examine the complex factors that have influenced coverage in a country with one of the largest populations of people living with HW in the world.4