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The aim of this study is to discover the relationship between health, media and gender, more specifically HIV and AIDS prevention, women’s magazines and women as readers. This research has been conducted within a Master’s dissertation at the Centre for Communication, Culture, Media & Society (CCMS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2012 and the primary emphasis is on media reception and the way in which women make sense of women’s magazines messages, particularly of HIV and AIDS messages. Therefore, the study’s focus is on media consumption, influences of women’s magazines and personal interpretation of embedded messages. The aim is to identify the role of women’s magazines as part of mass media within a particular field of communication rather than to identify the magazines’ impact on gender roles. My study will discover the reception of health messages on HIV and AIDS surrounded by controversial messages on femininity and gender stereotypes. The main research questions are: i) How, why and when are recipients using women’s magazines? ii) How are recipients perceiving and interpreting HIV and AIDS messages in women’s magazines, and specifically within the context of contradictory messages on sex, femininity and gender roles? iii) And, if and how are health messages in women’s magazines influencing recipients and their interaction with others? The interpretive qualitative research paradigm is applied and the method of qualitative interviews is used for collecting the data. The uses and gratification theory, social learning/social cognitive theory, the concept of entertainment education (EE), and the women-centred sense-making approach are consulted. As an overall result, the analysis reflects a positive picture and interpretation of women’s magazines by the participants, but it also shows the dual character of women’s magazines. Contradictions and critique on content were expressed, positive and negative features were identified, female stereotypes and at the same time the enjoyment of reading was noted, and with regards to health messages, the overall reception was predominantly positive and various content elements seemed to be relevant for the participants. In conclusion, the decisive factors for health messages on HIV and AIDS in women’s magazines, identified in my study are: motivation as an important stage, according to social learning/social cognitive theory in order 7 to enable behaviour modelling; relatedness, originally identified as a third human need within the self-determination theory, which helps to strengthen intrinsic motivation; the dual character of women’s magazines as an on-going conflict between the pleasure of reading a magazine and the consciousness of reprehensible stereotypes and female roles; the sense of female community and finally the role of readers as female opinion leaders. These results present women’s magazines as a multifaceted medium and might influence future research and programmes for health communication on HIV and AIDS prevention. Key words: Women, health, HIV and AIDS, women’s magazines, print media, reception analysis, HIV and AIDS communication, development communication, media usage, media consumption, health messages, relatedness, duality. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Thesis (Ph. D. (Humanities)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / The South African mass media have been actively involved in the efforts to address the country’s HIV and AIDS pandemic. Their news contents are well received by the general public, who greatly depend on them for their information and educational needs concerning the disease. Though substantial progress has been made towards reducing the spread of HIV and AIDS in the society, South Africa is still impacted adversely on different aspects of the society’s wellbeing. Sustaining the gains in expanded treatment access and reversing the pandemic in South Africa require greater progress in reducing the rate of new HIV infection. Therefore, collective, consistent and concerted effort of the media, Government, civil society and other stakeholders can stop it on its track, and reduce the incidence rate (new infections) to zero level, while the country and the world wait in hope for vaccine and cure for the disease. Since education has been recognised as a powerful weapon against HIV transmission, consistent and regularly updated public education on all aspects of the pandemic by the media are still necessary. The quality, quantity and frequency of media efforts and readiness to be effectively involved in the whole effort for its success cannot be over emphasised. The present study is a content analysis of South African mass media output on HIV and AIDS covering 12 months (366 days), and public perception and attitude towards their coverage of the pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS A mixed method research approach and design, incorporating quantitative and qualitative research methodologies was employed in this research. Quantitative research method was used to collect data (desk research with content analysis) from twelve months editions of five national newspapers stratified as tabloid and broadsheet newspapers. A random sampling technique was used to select a study sample (5 national newspapers) out of the two categories as classified above. A total of 366 days or editions of the sampled mass media were therefore studied. The analyses of data (content analysis) on each of the main headings and topics, variables and sub-variables were presented on quarterly and year basis. The data obtained were coded based on the research variables, sub-variables and analysed. The public perception and attitude of South African media coverage of HIV and AIDS was studied using questionnaire and analysed quantitatively, and qualitatively where necessary. v RESULTS South African mass media communicated high quality HIV and AIDS news stories to the public in the year 2010. In the analysis of the quality of media content, the six variables that were used to assess the media HIV and AIDS news reports, in both analyses (simple descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA analyses), showed that the media reports were technically competent (99%) (see operational definition of terms), and characterized by high number of high confidential reporting (93%), with good combination of journalistic styles and creativity in HIV and AIDS reporting (99%). There were also good level of research (96%), objectivity (96%) and use of journalistic skills (99%). However, HIV and AIDS news reports were mainly in straight news format (73%) without adequate mixture of the various news types that would have further enhanced the media success in increasing public awareness and knowledge of the disease, and thereby helped further to mitigate and manage the pandemic. Though South African media depended heavily on outside sources (79%) (for examples, Government, CSOs, private organizations) for HIV and AIDS news, (an unhealthy condition for media effectiveness), they seem to have skilfully managed this situation through the use of further news research and investigation (73%), and probably edited out possible publicity contents, capable of blurring the objective of their HIV and AIDS news reports. Furthermore, HIV and AIDS prevention (27%), testing (18%) and treatment (11%) dominated media HIV and AIDS news subjects (56% in total) following Government’s HIV and AIDS Testing and Counselling campaign (HTC) along the same line throughout the period studied, resulting in the success of the campaign and against the pandemic. The results also indicated that South African media appropriately used “constructive and informative” language (99%) in communicating HIV and AIDS news stories, though with some fluctuations between “very constructive and informative” (58%) and “constructive and informative” HIV and AIDS new stories (41%). However, their “tone” in the reports were consistently positive (good) and supportive of the nation’s efforts against HIV and AIDS (94%). The media used mostly professional or appropriate HIV and AIDS news reporting words and language (99%) without such sensational and stigmatizing words as “killer disease”, ‘dead sentence”, “victim of HIV”, “HIV/AIDS suffer”, and “killed by AIDS”. Their news reports also showed low percentage of blame on HIV and AIDS infection attributed to “Reckless lifestyle” (8%) and “Blame on husband” (2%). These percentages (although low) were the highest from the analysis of blame for HIV and AIDS infection. vi Additionally, the South African media generally reported on domestic HIV and AIDS matters (77%) with direct bearing on the life of the populace, and mixed with very limited foreign HIV and AIDS news items (23%). This approach enabled the people to identify with the news stories on HIV and AIDS, but at the same time enriched their knowledge with interesting new developments on HIV and AIDS from international news scene. Equally, the media rightly reported HIV and AIDS as development (84%) and health issue (12%). Generally, the content analysis result revealed that South African media accorded some importance to the pandemic, but not at the expense of other news items that were equally of national interest. Hence, the high percentage location of HIV and AIDS news stories on “Other page numbers” (93%), very limited placement of HIV and AIDS reports on important pages (7%), and limited editorial space allocation to HIV and AIDS in the period of study (5111 column width inches or 0.9% of the newspaper editorial space available in the year). However, HIV and AIDS items of special importance were featured prominently on newspaper pages (51%). This management pattern points to a special skill with which the media sustained the public awareness of the pandemic amongst other competing news items of national interest. Though, there was low coverage (quantity) of HIV and AIDS news by the media (a total of 345 HIV and AIDS news stories in a year), the result showed gradual increase in media coverage of HIV and AIDS stories from 1st to the 4th quarters in the period (19%, 17%, 26% and 38% respectively), indicating gradual increase in the response of the media to the pandemic within the study period. Public Perception and Attitude to South African Media Coverage of HIV and AIDS The media (TV, radio and newspaper) (75%) were the main source of regular HIV and AIDS news information in Limpopo Province of South Africa, followed by health officers (69%), indicating that a large segment of the people depends on the media for their HIV and AIDS information and updates. The public seems to have accepted, and has high level of trust on the media as an authentic source of HIV and AIDS information and as a role player on issues of national interest such as HIV and AIDS pandemic. However, the media are not held as the most trustworthy source of HIV and AIDS information. “Doctors and other health care givers” was the most trusted source of HIV and AIDS in Limpopo Province (South Africa) (73%) followed by the media. Television was the most trusted source of HIV and AIDS information among the media (71%), followed by radio (53%) and then, newspaper (45%). There is adequate HIV and AIDS coverage (87%) and knowledge level of HIV and AIDS in the Province (79%), but the public are still interested in accessing and consuming more HIV and AIDS news vii information. South Africans in Limpopo Province love media information and entertainment (TV 97%, radio 96%, newspaper 94%) and there is high media penetration in the province (TV 100%, radio 93%, newspaper 83%), with high exposure and access to media contents both on weekdays (TV 100%, radio 98%) and weekends (TV 83%, radio 63%, newspaper 75%). Television is exceptionally loved by South Africans among the media, with the entire audience members owning the medium (100%), followed by radio (93%), and newspaper (83%). The media have greatly improved their coverage of HIV and AIDS by adequately informing and educating the public on all aspects of the disease (89%); discouraging stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS (85%), not stereotyping the disease as disease of the poor and immoral (89%), and have greatly improved their language use (85%) to the benefit of the people. The media coverage have been significant in promoting HIV and AIDS prevention (95%), testing (97%), caregiving (92%), HIV and AIDS free generation (91%) and other related issues in South Africa. All stakeholders in the fight against the pandemic must seriously address the various catalyst or drivers of HIV and AIDS pandemic such as fear of discrimination against HIV and IDS positive individuals (51%), poverty (67%), alcoholism and drugs (62%), STIs (63%), multiple sexual partnership (79%), rape (65%), and reckless lifestyle which largely to some extent still exist in the society. Other drivers of the pandemic were increasing HIV and AIDS infection (42%), and the commonly accepted unplanned teenage pregnancy (53%). There is therefore, a strong link between people’s socio-cultural behavior as drivers of HIV and AIDS in Limpopo Province, South Africa and attitudinal change towards the pandemic. The media must address them thoroughly for tangible positive effects to be recorded at both the individual and societal levels. There is presently easy access to HIV and AIDS testing (68%), counselling and treatment (68%) contrary to the early days of the pandemic due to the easily accessible Government’s HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, counselling and care programme. however, more improvement is needed in the frequency of the teams’ visit to those localities that don’t yet have easy access to medical clinics or hospitals. Overall, the result indicated that multiple sexual partnership ranked the highest HIV and AIDS problem of concern in the society, followed by poverty, rape, STIs, alcohol and drugs, and unplanned teenage pregnancy. viii KEY WORDS HIV and AIDS news coverage, HIV and AIDS news reporting, HIV and AIDS news reports, HIV and AIDS news stories, media and HIV and AIDS pandemic, content analysis of HIV and AIDS news stories, impacts of HIV and AIDS, HIV and AIDS media discourse, South Africa and HIV and AIDS pandemic, HIV and AIDS prevalence rate, HIV and AIDS incidence rate, Expanded access to HIV and AIDS treatment, HIV and AIDS Prevention, Treatment and Care (HTC) programme, public perception of media HIV and AIDS coverage, public attitude to media HIV and AIDS coverage.

Thesis (M.A. (Population and Reproductive Health Research))--Mahidol University, 2007. / LICL has E-Thesis 0028 ; please contact computer services.

Thesis (M.A. (Journalism and Media Studies))--Rhodes University, 2005. / "A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies" -T.p.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the meaning of responsible news coverage of the HIV/Aids epidemic with references to Die Burger en The Star. Even though the numbers of HIV positive people are escalating in our country, the media still persist in addressing HIV/Aids news in exactly the same way as any other news, which means that journalists are still detached observers who simply reflect the news of the day. This study emphasizes that the limited success of HIV prevention campaigns should urge the South African society to re-evaluate our approach to addressing HIV/Aids. It is also important to convince the media of its responsibility towards more ethical practices and especially towards greater involvement in this subject. Greater involvement will necessitate the press to re-evaluating some conventional practices as detachment and objectivity. Within this context greater involvement and activism do not have to be synonyms. With greater involvement one would like to emphasize the need for the media to take a few steps closer to the realities of HIV/Aids in order to be able to have a deeper understanding of the complexities of this disease. If one would like to see a difference in the spreading and impact of HIV/Aids on the South African community it is very important that the media will be included in the efforts against HIV/Aids. The media are a powerful and influential institution, which shape the minds and ideas of the society. The majority of South Africans are dependent on the media for most of their information - including HIV/Aids information. The greater involvement and responsibility requires pro-activity of the media and could facilitate the establishment of a better informed, well empowered and involved civil society who would themselves also be prepared to take ownership of HIVand Aids in the South African community. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie word ondersoek ingestel na wat verantwoordelike mediadekking met betrekking tot MIVNigs sou beteken met spesifieke verwysings na enkele uitgawes van Die Burger en The Star. Onafhanklik van die groeiende epidemie in Suid-Afrika kies die meeste publikasies om MIVNigs nuusdekking steeds soos enige ander nuus te hanteer. Dit beteken dat joernaliste die oogmerk van objektiwiteit nastreef en dus as onbetrokke waarnemers die gebeure van die dag aan die publiek weergee. Hierdie studie beklemtoon die omvang van die MIVNigs krisis en die beperkte sukses van voorkomingsinisiatiewe in Suid-Afrika wat gevolglik ook die media noodsaak om konvensionele joernalistiek praktyke in heroënskou te neem. Indien 'n mens 'n verandering in die verspreiding en impak van MIVNigs op die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing wil sien, is dit veral nodig om ook die media in die stryd teen MIVNigs te betrek. Die media is 'n invloedryke instelling en die grootste deel van die publiek se inligting - ook oor MIVNigs - word op die inhoud van dagblaaie gebaseer. Dit beklemtoon die verantwoordelikheid wat op die media rus om verantwoordelike en etiese nuusdekking aan die kwessie te gee. Vir die media om optimaal tot die stryd teen MIVNigs by te dra, is dit egter nodig dat die media self betrokke raak en proaktiewe nuusdekking sal nastreef. Met 'n meer betrokke media word nie noodwendig aktivisme bedoel nie, maar dit vra eerder dat die media 'n paar tree nader aan MIVNigs sal gee sodat die epidemie in sy totaliteit beter verstaan kan word. Met so 'n benadering kan die media bydrae tot die vestiging van 'n ingeligte, bemagtige en betrokke gemeenskap wat self ook eienaarskap van MIVNigs begin neem.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how rural Ugandan women engage with discussions of HIV and AIDS on community radio. It explored how this audience may relate such broadcast discussions to their own lived experience of HIV and AIDS. It is explained in the study that, while the Uganda government has an official policy of openly discussing matters of HIV and AIDS, health communication strategies still operate within a context where there is an underlying "culture of silence" that discourages openness about sexual matters. It is also pointed out that there are widespread gender disparities among rural communities, which severely limit women's ability to make use of health communication initiatives aimed at educating them. Against this backdrop, the study sets out to explore audience responses to a particular example of Speak Out and Listen, a weekly programme broadcast on Mama FM, a Kampala-based radio station managed by the Uganda Media Women's Association (UMWA). The study maps out responses to the programme by a particular group of rural women. It is argued that these research participants' comments confirm the importance, noted in literature dealing with health education, of drawing for content on what members of an audience have to say about their own lived context. It is proposed that, despite the existence of a 'culture of silence', the women's comments demonstrate an ability to speak with confidence about their experience of living with HIV and AIDS. Thcy are able, more particularly to discuss the constraints placed by gendered power relations on women's ability to draw on the educational content of programming that targets people living with HIV and AIDS. As such, the comments that such women offer represent a valuable resource for HIV and AIDS related programming. The principal conclusion of the study is that health communication initiatives such as Speak Out and Listen would benefit from facilitating conversations with their target audience about their lived experience of HIV and AIDS, and incorporating such discussion into their programmes

This study investigates HIV/AIDS coverage in selected South African newspapers. The rationale for the study hinges on the fact that the media’s role in informing society about social issues, such as HIV/AIDS, is of paramount importance. The study adopted, principally, the content analysis method and, as a supplement, discourse analysis. Four daily newspapers were content-analysed, namely: Daily Dispatch, Daily Sun, Sowetan and The Star. A total of 288 editions of newspapers, spanning a period of twelve months (January to December 2010) were sampled. This study is informed by agenda setting theory. Discourse analysis was used to determine the compliance of these newspapers to media guides on the use of appropriate language or terminologies. The tone, sentence structures used when disseminating HIV/AIDS stories were also examined. The results revealed that HIV/AIDS coverage by these newspapers is reasonable even though the prominence given to HIV/AIDS issues is dissatisfactory in terms of placement on the page, headline font-size and number of paragraphs devoted to HIV/AIDS stories. 5.0% of HIV/AIDS-oriented stories were placed on the front page; 93.8% on the inside pages while 1.3% were placed on the back pages. It was also found that news and feature were used equally to disseminate HIV/AIDS issues. These genres constituted 50% each. On the other hand, the results revealed a statistically non-significant relationship between the newspapers and categories; that is: (25.09 2   , p  0.122  0.05 ). Results further revealed that these newspapers used appropriate terminology and value-neutral language in their stories. The tone of the messages was found to be positive and encouraging.

This study explores the multiple ways in which Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) functioned through concrete biomedical institutions, namely, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the World Health Organization (WHO). AIDS is viewed as a product of the full range of institutional practices in which it became embedded and in which it was set within the boundaries of Louis Pasteur's germ theory of disease (see the Preface section). This biomedical model of disease was materialized through journalistic practices and sold as news. Within these operative terms can be understood another analytical strategy that also designates the main domain of my study of this contemporary social form: I argue in this thesis that knowledge about AIDS was by no means dependent solely on the objective, scientifically determined, "received narrative" of biomedicine; what is today known as AIDS is also a product of a wide range of social practices produced and reproduced over time and space. AIDS is also an outcome of the resolutions, judgements and decisions that working journalists made over time in terms of what they generated or covered as news; the disease is also product of a large assortment of representational mirrors that I call `authentic voices', to take as good examples, the "narrative of moral protest", the narrative of a "homosexual disease", the narrative of a "heterosexual disease," and the narrative of a "modern-day Black Death" (plague). The story of AIDS in the media can also be seen to be defined by the proliferation of these authentic voices. From this reading, the distinctive trait of AIDS in the media lies in the fact that it is a constructed object, a disease framed through a specific structure of meanings. When we look at these structure of meanings we find that their moral and cultural assumptions and stereotypical connotations embody certain aspects of the organism of the society within which they were created and nourished over a much longer history. / Sociology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

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