Dis-Articulating Ideological Norms in Jamaican HIV Reporting
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/star.v37i.23074Keywords:
HIV, Caribbean journalism, ideology, Jamaica, media, languageAbstract
The use of accurate terminology reflecting the reality of Jamaica's HIV situation is needed to dis/articulate existing social stigmas. This study explores whether Jamaican journalists predominantly use stereotypical language in HIV reporting. This quantitative case study used 14 predefined coding categories from PAHO's 2006 HIV-related Language Update - a Caribbean HIV-reporting media guide. This facilitated the use of content analysis to evaluate HIV-related stories before and after the publication of PAHO's HIV reporting guide in two time periods: January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005, and January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2008. Jamaican journalists predominantly used 10 socially and medically problematic HIV-related terms. Through the application of the framing and agenda-setting theories, this study notes that these terms diminish attention from HIV; are socially outdated strategies; and ostracize, stereotype, and disrespect people with HIV. By spotlighting news production, this study underscores that dis/articulating existing stereotypical HIV reporting norms and language use in the Jamaican press must involve future research into newsroom dynamics.
Downloads
References
Antabe, Roger, Yujiro Sano, and Daniel Amoak. 2024. “Association Between Mass Media Exposure and HIV Testing Uptake In Cameroon.” PLOS Global Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003687
Barnes, Corienne, and Cynthia Archibald. (2017). “Voices Of Citizen Journalists on HIV and AIDS: Implications for The Next Generation of Researchers.” West Indian Medical Journal, 66(2), 305-310. https://doi.org/10.7727/wimj.2015.377
Barnes, Corinne, Robert Carr, Fae Ellington, and Faith Hamer. 2008. “Responsible Reporting on HIV and AIDS: A Guide for Jamaican Media Workers.” Kingston, Jamaica: Minute Press Limited. https://www.panoscaribbean.org/images/documents/Responsible_Reporting_on_HIV.pdf
Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, and Allison J Steinke. 2020. "Capturing Digital News Innovation Research in Organizations, 1990–2018." Journalism Studies 21 (12): 1724 – 1743. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1789496.
Bernstein, Anita. (2017). “Working Sex Words.” Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, 24(2), 221-263. https://doi.org/10.36641/mjgl.24.2.working.
CARICOM. 2006. “Media Crucial to Stemming HIV/AIDS Related Stigma and Discrimination.” Georgetown, Guyana: CARICOM Secretariat. https://caricom.org/media-crucial-to-stemming-hiv-aids-related-stigma-and-discrimination/
De Bruin, Marjan. 2006. "Blind Spots and Wasted Effort in Caribbean HIV/AIDS Policy Making: Communication and Behaviour Change.” New Global Times, 4, 1-12.
Entman, Robert. 1993. “Framing: Towards Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm.” Journal of Communication 43 (4): 51-58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x.
Figueroa, J. Peter, Jacqueline Duncan, Althea Bailey, and Nicola Skyers. “The HIV Epidemic in Jamaica: A Need to Strengthen the National Program.” Pan American Journal of Public Health 44(157): 1-8. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2020.157.
Forsythe, Steven. 2021. “Global Economic Forecasting of the COVID-19 Impact on the HIV/AIDS Response.” Paper presented at a virtual panel discussion entitled The Next and Last Pandemics: The Consequences of COVID-19 and its Impact on the HIV/AIDS Response, Boston, MA, July 21.
Free Documentary. 2021. “No-Go Zones – World’s Toughest Places Jamaica.” Produced by Free Documentary, November 21. Video, 47:18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFrldKFqjYI.
Goffman, Erving. 1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on The Organization of Experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hall, Stuart. 1980. “Cultural Studies: Two Paradigms.” Media, Culture and Society 2(1): 57-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/016344378000200106
Hall. Stuart. 2021. Writings On Media: History of The Present, edited by C. Brunsdon. Durham, NC: Duke University Press
Hamer, Faith. 2000. “Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices of journalists in Jamaica regarding HIV/AIDS.” Master’s thesis, Department of Public Health, The University of The West Indies, Mona Campus.
Heravi, Bahareh. 2022. “Storytelling Structures in Data Journalism: Introducing the Water Tower Structure.” Computation & Journalism: Proceedings of the Columbia University Conference, New York, USA.
Jaques, Tony. 2009. "The Case for Case Studies: Optimising the Use of Communication Cases." PRism 6 (1): 1-10.
Jamaica Ministry of Health. 2005. Jamaica National HIV/AIDS Policy. Kingston, Jamaica. https://moh.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/National-HIV.-AIDS-Policy.pdf.
Kiptinness, Evonne, and James Kiwanuka-Tondo. 2019. “The Prevalence Of HIV/AIDS Frames in Kenya Newspapers: A Summative Content Analysis of The Daily Nation.” Cogent Medicine 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331205X.2019.1596047.
Krippendorff, Klaus. 1989. Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. 2nd. ed. Sage: California.
Krippendorff, Klaus. 2004. "Reliability in Content Analysis: Some Common Misconceptions and Recommendations." Human Communication Research 30 (3): 411-433. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2004.tb00738.x
Li, Li, Zunyou Wu, Yu Zhao, Chunqing Lin, Roger Detels, and Sheng Wu. 2007. “Using Case Vignettes to Measure HIV-related Stigma Among Health Professionals in China.” International Journal of Epidemiology 36 (1): 178-184. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyl256
Long, Norton E. 1958. “The Local Community as An Ecology of Games.” American Journal of Sociology 64 (3), 251-261. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2773192.
Makus, Anne. 1990. "Stuart Hall's Theory of Ideology: A Frame for Rhetorical Criticism." Western Journal of Speech Communication 54 (4): 495-514.
McCombs, Maxwell and Donald Shaw. 1972. “The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media." Public Opinion Quarterly 36(2): 176-187. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2747787.
McCombs, Maxwell, Donald L. Shaw, and David H. Weaver. 2018. "New Directions in Agenda-Setting Theory and Research." Pp. 131-152 in Advances in Foundational Mass Communication Theories. London: Routledge.
Moqasa, Nketsi, and Abiodun Salawu. 2013. “An Examination of The Language Use Of Selected South African Newspapers For Reporting HIV/AIDS.” Journal of Communication 4(2): 143-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0976691X.2013.11884817.
Myhre, Sonja and June Flora. 2000. “HIV/AIDS Communication Campaigns: Progress and Prospects.” Journal of Health Communication 5(1): 29-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730050019546.
PAHO. 2006. HIV-related Language: PAHO 2006 Update. https://www3.paho.org/hq/dmdocuments/2009/HIV-related-Language-PAHO-2006-Update.pdf
Press Association of Jamaica. 2011. Code Of Practice for Jamaican Journalists and Media Organisations. http://pressassociationjamaica.org/wp- content/uploads/2010/09/Code_for_Media_Practitioners-Ratified-8.8.11.pdf
Semini, Iris. 2021. “Economic Impact Of COVID-19 On HIV.” Paper presented at a virtual panel discussion entitled The Next and Last Pandemics: The Consequences of COVID-19 and its Impact on the HIV/AIDS Response, Boston, MA, July 21.
Singh-Anthony, Shanti. 2021. “PANCAP’s Commitment to HIV Response During COVID-19.” Paper presented at a virtual panel discussion entitled The Next and Last Pandemics: The Consequences of COVID-19 and its Impact on the HIV/AIDS Response, Boston, MA, July 21.
Smith, Alana. 2023. “HIV Reporting: A Quantitative Case Study of The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited.” Tout Mount: Caribbean Journal of Cultural Studies 8 (1). https://journals.sta.uwi.edu/toutmoun/papers/issue8No1/Tout_Moun_November_2023_Vol_8_No_1-Alana-Smith.pdf
Sontag, Susan. 1978. Illness as Metaphor. New York City, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Tambini, Damien. 2021. Media Freedom. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
UNAIDS. 2023. The Path That Ends AIDS: 2023 UNAIDS Global AIDS Update. Retrieved February 29, 2023. https://thepath.unaids.org/wp-content/themes/unaids2023/assets/files/2023_report.pdf
USAID. 2023. Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2020-2025: Jamaica. Retrieved February 29, 2023. https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/Public_Jamaica%20Revised%20CDCS%2020202025%20%281%29_1.pd
White, Livingston. 2007. The Coverage of Health in The Print Media of Five Caribbean Countries: A Content Analysis. Unpublished PAHO Report.
Yin, Robert. 1999. “Enhancing the Quality of Case Studies in Health Services Research.” Health Services Research 34(5): 1209-1224.
