Media Watch
The Daily Sun encourages good conversation
The Daily Sun’s ‘Speak Up!’ section provides a unique space for HIV-conscious readers to communicate through, rather than with, the media.
This makes a change from the conventional dynamic of communication between readers and the media by adding an additional channel where readers can communicate with readers.
This could ultimately break the cycle of HIV fatigue, heralding more public interest and involvement in HIV-related issues in a context where one-way HIV communication has been the norm.
Tools only as good as the craftsman
Initially we were thrilled when a Daily Sun journalist called the JournAIDS helpline for advice on an HIV-related dimension of a story this week. But enthusiasm quickly dissipated when we opened the paper the next day to discover that the information we supplied was not used to offer context or further understanding and the source was misrepresented.
DRUM ‘out and proud’ and addressing HIV
By publishing stories that highlight acceptance of homosexuality and same sex sexual practices, DRUM inadvertently gives HIV-prevention and treatment among men who have sex with men (MSM) a leg-up.
This week DRUM magazine published a feature story on local gay choreographer Somizi Mhlongo, emphasising his mother’s acceptance and support of his sexual preference.
Stories like this could go a long way towards educating a public that still has ‘outbreaks’ of sometimes-violent homophobia, as exemplified by the 2006 murder of Zoliswa Nkonyana, whose killers were sentenced this week.
ANC dome debacle: Media throws caution to the wind
The condom has once again come up against bad press after news reports claimed that a batch of government ‘Choice’ condoms, ordered from the national health department for the ANC’s centenary celebrations, was sub-standard.
Taking a more critical eye to media reports reveals that the bulk of the coverage has incorrectly given the impression that the condoms have been proven to be defective, when in fact they have yet to undergo laboratory tests.
According to countless news reports, thousands of condoms distributed to venues at and around the ANC centenary celebrations were recalled by the Free State Department of Health, after the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) received complaints from centenary celebrants that the condoms were prone to bursting and leaking.
