Media Coverage

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            I ventured through numerous search engines for newspaper articles and anything related to AIDS in my hometown. I used search phrases such as “AIDS in the Bronx” and “AIDS and Bronx” and came up with approximately one thousands articles. The bulk of the articles came from two of the most well known newspapers in the country: The Daily News and The New York Times. Of these articles, the majority were unrelated articles because they had nothing to do with AIDS. Rather, the topic that appeared the most had to do with federal aids for various projects in and around the city. The majority of the articles that were related to AIDS in the Bronx dealt with funding for various agencies and projects such as special housing for AIDS victims. Now how is a borough that is considered very impoverished and poor going to concern themselves with federal fund plans when those same people are struggling to survive on the small budget of their own families? These stories go relatively unnoticed.

            Then I had a glimmer of hope. I came across several articles that seemed to use a strategic and effective method for getting people’s attention and support: sympathy. One article’s headline was “YOUNG VICTIMS OF AIDS SUFFER ITS HARSH STIGMA”[1] The article was about an adopted three year old girl who was diagnosed with AIDS and soon after given up by her foster parents. The article continues to describe many other instances where “Young victims of AIDS have been left in hospitals, some by mothers who have died or are dying of AIDS”[2]. A separate article proved to be very saddening. It began by saying many children are becoming orphans because of their parents who die from AIDS. Here the writer is trying to move the focus from the dead parent to the innocent child who is left with nothing in the world but fear and loneliness. The very end of the article, the part that most readers will remember more than any other part of the article, says “ ‘Unless these kids are able to grieve and talk about these things,’ said Ms. Ahto, ‘they will be the next generation of addicts and people with AIDS.’”[3] A third article deals with, what at the time was a new, day care center for children with AIDS. Again, this article drives home the idea of how sad these kid’s situation is: “ ‘Many of these children are shunned and ostracized, and the purpose of the center is to provide them with the social needs they are not receiving so they can live a normal life,’ Dr. Rubenstein said.”[4] All of these articles are taking the side of the helpless children who are affected by AIDS to gain the sympathy of the public. Another method writers have tried is giving the reader hope and providing a story that would leave the reader with the idea that “they can help too.” One such article discussed the HIV/AIDS Peer Educators Conference in 1995 and how teen presence has grown ever since rates of teen infection have grown. Several times through the article, quotes are thrown in that tell of loved ones dying from AIDS. “ ‘It's impossible to ignore AIDS when you have lost a close friend or someone in your own family.’”[5] It is the idea that AIDS is “impossible to ignore” that is most important in this article. This sends a message to the reader that AIDS is an epidemic that must be stopped or significantly reduced. I was glad to find an article that finally sent out the right messages.