About Us

The HIV/AIDS and the Media Project investigates the role and the impact of the news media on the HIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa.

Specific objectives of the project are:

 
• To encourage and enable journalists to play an informed role in combating HIV/AIDS.
 
• To promote discussion and debate among journalists, editors, health professional and other key roleplayers in this area.
 
• To provide high quality academic research, which ensures an informed and useful debate around this issue.
 
• To monitor the role and the impact of the media.
 

We engage in a number of activities to achieve these objectives:

 
• We offer 4-6 month fellowships to working journalists to undertake longer term and in-depth research and writing outside of the newsroom. The writing that results from these fellowships is published in a wide range of media and peer-reviewed journals.
 
• We identify and research gaps in reporting. Previous and current fellowships have focused on media coverage and audience reception of HIV/AIDS news texts, the role of stigma and gender in Prevention of mother-to-child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT), the strengths and vulnerabilities of HIV-positive children and the role of traditional health practitioners in the mainstream treatment of their patients.
 
• We host this online resource for journalists on HIV/AIDS. See our factsheets, reporting tips and key documents.
 
• We run wider discussion forums on HIV/AIDS and the Media to stimulate debate and discussion amongst journalists, editors, activists, doctors, scientists, academics, government and other stakeholders.
 
• We facilitate training of graduate and working journalists in HIV/AIDS reporting.
 
• Each year we are involved in the training of career-entry honours students from the Wits Journalism Programme in HIV/AIDS reporting.
 
• We produce ongoing research, resources and publications.
 
• We have partnered with a number of organisations such as the Nelson Mandela Foundation, SA National Editors’ Forum, NSJ, CADRE, Media Monitoring Africa and the Children’s Institute in areas such as discussion forums, research and analysis of media content.