An Examination of the Coverage of HIV/AIDS in Uganda's Top Newspapers

• Main Author: Napakol, Angella
• Format: Others
• Published: North Dakota State University 2019
• Subjects: AIDS (Disease) > Press coverage > Uganda.; HIV infections > Press coverage > Uganda.; Uganda > Newspapers.
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10365/29788

The following thesis examined the coverage of HIV/AIDS in Uganda's top newspapers. Both evidence from previous literature and this study shows that HIV/ AIDS is a dangerous social, health, and demographic problem which has received varied media attention over the years. This study sought to investigate the different frames used in HIV/ AIDS news stories, the major themes associated with HIV/ AIDS, the different risk groups identified in the news stories, and the different preventatives/correctives provided in the HIV/AIDS news stories so as to discover what has been emphasized or de-emphasized in order to help the media become more valuable in HIV/ AIDS prevention. While some findings were consistent with previous literature, some were different. The general coverage of HIV/ AIDS news stories was low, with a fluctuating trend in the four-year period. The thematic frame emerged as the most used frame in both The New Vision and The Monitor. The themes of prevention, treatment, prevalence, awareness, moral issue, and stigma and discrimination appeared more frequently. Among the risk groups that appeared most were children, married couples. and women while some preventatives/correctives that appeared more frequently were diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy. The married couples appeared most in the risk group category for example. This group is a recent addition to the HIV/ AIDS risk group and has quickly become predominant as illustrated by this study hence showing that the concentration of HIV/ AIDS is constantly changing.