April 9, 2008

Journalism Teacher Asks: Where Is the Mainstream AIDS Press?

An Editor and Publisher (editorandpublisher.com, 4/5) opinion piece published on April 5 posed the question: Why is there so little coverage of HIV/AIDS in the mainstream media? The article was written by Allen Richards, chairman of Florida International University’s Department of Journalism and Broadcasting.

“While many infected individuals have survived thanks to antiretrovirals, the HIV/AIDS story has faded from the headlines and public awareness, leading to an alarming increase in [the number of cases of] HIV in young people today,” Richards wrote.

According to Richards, it is young people—particularly those in the journalism field—that will play a major role in putting AIDS back on the front page.

Richards assigned students in his multimedia journalism class projects intended to cover South Florida’s mounting HIV epidemic, particularly in the cities of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach. He and his class regularly report on AIDS in South Florida and abroad through their blog, which can be found at fiuaids.blogspot.com. Two of the student journalists—Jillian Simms and Tiffany Anne Parkes—will accompany Richards to South Africa in upcoming months to document the epidemic there.

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Previous Comments:

Mark, Aztec, 2008-04-12 07:41:55
Given the corporate nature of the media these days and the sad state of journlism in general, it isn't surprising AIDS coverage has evaported. Why should newspapers or television news programs, a term I use loosely, report on something beneficial when they can report on cat fights among high school girls- and the resulting lawsuit - or the latest winner of whichever "reality" show is tipping the rating scales?