Brief Analysis of News Reports on HIV/AIDS in Taiwan, 2008

Ivory Yi-Hui Lin

2009 Vol.25 NO.3

Correspondence Author： Ivory Yi-Hui Lin

Abstract：

Since the news media has become one of the most influential sources for social education, the majority of people contact and probe HIV/AIDS issues from the news media. For a long time, public sectors and NGOs have been launching campaigns set to raise the HIV/AIDS awareness and thus to decrease the infection possibilities. Measures have been taken to erase the long-term stigma against people with HIV/AIDS.
In this report, news pieces are sampled as raw materials for analysis. The selected news stories are categorized into eight types, and next, they have been processed with basic statistical methods. There have been totally 730 news samples detailed and interpreted in this analysis.
This report is intended to represent the imagines people conceive regarding HIV/AIDS issues through the news media. In addition, to detect the news media’s attitudes toward HIV/AIDS issues, there is also a comparison between the positive-toned news stories and the negative-toned news pieces.
The conclusion of this report indicates that the infection rates are inclined to be reduced by diffusing news, while, however, the long-term stigma against people with HIV/AIDS is not apt to alter despite the positive-toned news presentation.