Oicheke Campaign – Radio Botswana


Date: April 13, 2011
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Description

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in conjunction with the National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA) will hold an HIV/AIDS sensitisation workshop in Gaborone. The aim of the workshop was to build and strengthen relations with the media fraternity and to discuss availability opportunities for reporting about the Oicheke Campaign.

 

Analysis

The item was merely a news announcement. In fact, the description outlined above is the extent of the coverage. This can be used as an example of poor reportage and a missed opportunity to tackle critically HIV and AIDS.

 

The item did not, but could have included, critical information that would have transformed it from being a mere announcement to a report. It could have been a worthy news report by merely extending itself by including a description of the Oicheke Campaign and an assessment thereof.

 

Oicheke is a National campaign launched to seek innovative ways in addressing HIV and AIDS by focusing on multiple partner relationships. The report failed to explore this as well as reasons why the media fraternity was being targeted.

 

Ironically, the news item missed the underlying message of the news announcement itself and underscores the perception of an unresponsive media in disseminating critical information. The report provided no background information/research or even discussed the latest HIV and AIDS statistics which would have brought to bear the urgency of dealing with the pandemic in a holistic manner. There were no sources used.

 

Headlines

The headline briefs the audience about the workshop that NACA and MISA will hold in Gaborone to prevent HIV/AIDS. The headline was the news item.

 

There is a need to critically review the treatment of HIV/AIDs stories. In this instance, readers did not even get the short-end of the stick À“they were left with a splinter (bite-size announcement).

 

Sources

The item was read by the presenter and there are no other sources that were used apart from the secondary information reported on.

 

Language

The language was fair. There is no bias conveyed. The aim was to present information about an event that was to address HIV and AIDS. The presenter did this. One got the impression that the announcement was important and so was the event and the presenter was highlighting its significance.

 

Visual images

This was a radio broadcast and as such the reporters use multiple tools to draw a picture for the listener, via sound effects and sound bites, none of which were applied in this case.

 

Story angle and perspective

Apart from the fact that the listener is informed about this important event on a campaign that brings HIV and AIDS into the living rooms of people, the journalist does little more. However, there is a definite perspective that indicates this subject must be addressed and it is significant.

 

Positioning

The radio clip was on prime-time evening news at eight am; the clip was posted mid-way during the programme for about 20 seconds.


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