This paper is an investigation into the role of the print media in combating the HIV epidemic in Kenya. A critical analysis of how this information is covered is necessary to determine whether there is need for change of style in the presentation of this information . This is so because till date, there exists a gap in literature on how preventive knowledge on HIV is presented in the Kenyan print media. The data for this paper was gathered using both quantitative and qualitative designs. The paper relied mainly on the content analysis methodology in which the Daily Nation newspapers were searched for articles on HIV. The Daily Nation was purposively studied for this paper because it has the largest selling publication with the highest circulation and therefore, can adequately represent Kenya’s newspapers. All the issues of the year 2010 were purposively studied and this yielded a total of 365 copies for this paper. Findings of this paper indicate that the print media in Kenya lack consistency in the coverage of HIV issues. They also lack a clear editorial policy on the coverage of the epidemic that could guide in a sustained and effective method of coverage of the epidemic. Prominence of the HIV articles, which is a very crucial aspect in coverage, is also found to be lacking. This paper recommends that the print media should focus on consistency in their coverage… It is The print media should involve the general public, including people living with HIV in the discussion of the epidemic.
Data Analysis and Presentation This research sought to analyze articles on HIV issues during the specified period (January 1st to December 31st) in Kenya appearing in the Daily Nation newspaper. In this respect the following aspects were analyzed and coded accordingly. The unit of analysis was an individual story (news story, feature, and editorial, letter to editor or commentary) whose content was be examined in terms of Number of articles, Their size (in cm2), Type (whether news, Opinion, feature, editorial, book review, letter to editor, or advertisement), Placement (front page, page 2, page 3, other inside pages, special feature/magazine section, or back page), Prominence (edition lead, page lead, main editorial, or special commentary), Main event (or occasion) Main actor (Government, NGO, the United Nations system, PLWHIV), and
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Main subject. The table (the main research instrument) was designed in such a way as to ensure flawless entry of the data into a microcomputer for analysis. The subsequent data aggregation and analysis was done using the SPSS computer software and involved mainly charts to indicate associations and differences in the treatment of HIV stories by the Daily Nation newspaper.
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Findings The researchers used content analysis to collect data for this paper. First, the process involved selecting a sample of 365 copies of Daily Nation newspapers. Once the researchers selected a representative sample from the population, he embarked on perusing them while looking for stories on HIV. The process involved identifying the story; classifying them into their respective categories, for example, a news item, a feature story, an editorial, an advertising feature, news in brief, opinion, letter to the editor, among others; measuring the amount of space allocated for them in cubic centimeters; and determining the source of the story, the placement of the story in the newspaper, the number of stories in the newspaper, the main event, the intention of the story, and the origin, that is, whether local or international. Mogambi et al. Chart 1. Size (in cm2) of articles published in each month of 2010.
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Chart 2. Number of articles and percentage of allocated space. After collecting the data the researchers presented it in different ways based on the type of interpretation that is intended to the audience. The researchers made use of tables and pie charts to present the data from the research. To meet the objectives of this paper, the researchers focused on some of the aspects from the findings in the process of analysis. The aspects which the researchers analyzed include: number and size of articles published every month of the year under the paper, type of article and its frequency of coverage during the year under the paper placement of the article in the newspaper, themes covered in the article, and sources of the stories in the articles. Number and Size of Articles Published One of the objectives of this paper was to examine the amount of space allocated to articles on HIV to determine the
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