Essay: Comparing and Contrasting Media Sources on HIV/AIDS (FND35009)

This essay, prepared for the FND35009 module, examines the portrayal of HIV/AIDS in various news and media sources. It compares and contrasts the information presented by different publications, including The Guardian, BBC News, and The Independent, focusing on their approaches to reporting on topics such as new treatments, successful patient stories, and public health initiatives. The essay analyzes the quality and reliability of these sources, considering factors such as ownership, political allegiance, and the inclusion of expert opinions and academic references. It highlights the positive and negative aspects of the coverage, including discussions on the impact of gene therapy, declines in HIV diagnoses, and the challenges faced by patients in accessing adequate mental health support. The analysis aims to assess the impact of media representation on public opinion and awareness of HIV/AIDS. The essay also includes a quality analysis of the sources to determine the reliability of the information presented.

Running head: ESSAY
FND35009 Reading in contemporary society
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

2ESSAY
Introduction- Mass media has been identified to play a critical role in the dissemination
of significant health information. Media and news also increases awareness about particular
illnesses and diseases in the community (Tartari 2019). It also educates and informs people about
the existing diseases and the strategies to prevent them, over a period of time. This eventually
helps in bringing about a modification in the behaviour, and attitude of the target population for
accomplishing better health outcomes. Human immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome refer to a plethora of conditions that are caused due to the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (Gillespie et al. 2019). AIDS is a potentially life threatening
chronic condition that creates an impact on the immune system, and interferes with the capability
of the human body to protect itself against disease and infection. HIV has been identified to be a
sexually transmitted infection. However, it can also get transmitted by direct contact with
infected body fluids or blood, or to a child from the mother during pregnancy, breast feeding,
and childbirth (Wang et al. 2018).
There is no definite cure for the condition; however, administration of medication
dramatically delays the disease progression. The symptoms of AIDS generally vary depending
on the infection phase. Majority of people who are infected by the virus initially develop flu like
symptoms within few weeks, after exposure to the pathogen. This is particularly known as
primary HIV infection, and it lasts for several days (de Bree et al. 2017). The common signs and
symptoms include headache, fever, rash, sore throat, mouth, muscle ache, joint pain, sudden
weight loss, diarrhoea, swollen lymph glands, night sweats, and cough (Phillips, Harris and
Haddad 2019). This essay will compare and contrast news and media sources that have presented
information on HIV/AIDS, in similar or different ways, and will also determine the quality of
their information, besides establishing their reliability and impact on public opinion.

3ESSAY
Presentation of issue- The news/media sources collected throughout the semester on the
topic of HIV/AIDS present the sources in different manner. Approximately six news sources had
been collected during the aforementioned period that focused on different aspects of the disease.
The news published in The Guardian disseminated the positive message of an individual, who
had become the second person ever, to get rid of the infection, and remained free from virus
infection after a year of obtaining his initial report (Davis 2020). Another article published in the
same newspaper discussed about the discovery of a new treatment that could stop transmission of
HIV (Boseley and Devlin 2019). Hence, both the news information published in the esteemed
daily focused on educating the wider population on the new research and development that
occurred in the domain of HIV/AIDS, and also tried to infuse hope in the affected population by
sharing excepts from the success story of the affected individual.
The first article stated “Second person cleared of HIV remains free of virus one year on”.
Hence, this news article put forward the particular view that administration of antiretroviral
therapy when stopped, followed by bone marrow or stem cell transplant for the treatment of
blood cancer, made the patient Adam Castillejo free of HIV. It also elaborated that though some
virus DNA was found in the white blood cells, they were not capable of replication, and no
detectable active virus had been found in the blood of the patient that could replicate further, thus
completely curing the patient who had been living with the condition, since the year 2003 (Davis
2020).
A positive message was also shared by the second article such as, “The success of the
medicine means that if everyone with HIV were fully treated, there would be no further
infections”. The authors highlighted the presence of approximately 1,000 male couples across
European nations, with one partner being affected with HIV, subjected to treatment, without any

4ESSAY
further cases of transmission (Boseley and Devlin 2019). This was in contrast to news articles
published in the BBC where one article reported about rapid test that could help in management
of HIV outbreak in Glasgow, with the other article informing about the failure of NHS to provide
adequate care and support to HIV patients.
The article by Haigh (2020) put forth the viewpoint that individuals affected with HIV
demonstrate an increased likelihood of suffering from mental health condition, and those who
suffer from depression require support from healthcare professionals, in order to increase their
compliance to the prescribed medication. The statement that lack of adequate mental health
personnel in HIV clinics “could be reversing progress made over the past decade toward ending
the epidemic in the UK” clearly sent across the message that people living in the UK suffering
from HIV/AIDS were vulnerable, in terms of their mental and emotional health, and might not
get the much needed support, which return would affect their wellbeing. It was clearly described
in this news article that despite the significant developments that have been made, in relation to
clinical treatment of AIDS since the 80s, the affected people are continuously subjected to
stigma and discrimination that worsen their health condition. Information shared on disturbing
evidences about stigmatizing behaviour that patients have been subjected to, while navigating the
healthcare system further highlighted the NHS and its services in a negative light. However, the
reporter quoted the chief executive Paul Farmer, and mentioned that development of a cross-
government strategy for addressing mental health needs of the affected people, will prove
effective in enhancing their experiences (Haigh 2020).
The other article published by BBC News (2020) shared positive insights, in relation to
the treatment of HIV. It talked about the introduction of novel HIV test in Glasgow that provides
results within few minutes, and if used appropriately will help in addressing the worst infection

5ESSAY
outbreak that has occurred in the past decades. The statement that people who obtained positive
results from the test, "can link into treatment instantly” suggested that those individuals, who
have not acquired HIV infection, can be provided harm reduction advice. The article elaborated
on presence of the infection in an estimated 170 individuals in Glasgow, however, it also
predicted the numbers to increase manifold. Taking into consideration the fact that the
contemporary outbreak of HIV can be accredited to sharing of injections and other drug
administration equipment between individuals, it is difficult to modify the behaviour amongst the
target population without the presence of trained professionals. This news article provided a clear
understanding of the fact that a new location will be set up by the GCHSCP and the Glasgow
City Council for inaugurating an indoor location, where drugs can be consumed by the users in a
clean and safe environment that will prove effective in preventing the transmission through
sharing of equipments like needles (BBC News 2020).
Both of the articles published in The Independent had a positive approach towards
management of HIV/AIDS. While the first article highlighted the impact of the gene therapy in
improving treatment for AIDS, the second article elaborated on the decline in diagnosis of HIV
amongst bisexual and gay males in England, by as much as 71%. Marchione (2018) cited an
example of a patient Matt Chappell who had been affected. Administration of some of the
strongest to drugs failed to control the infection. The author elaborated on a process were some
of the blood cells from the patient’s body has been removed, following which a gene had been
disabled to show resistance towards HIV. This was followed by re-insertion of the edited cells in
the body of the patient in the year 2014. The statement “Gene therapy techniques have advanced
greatly,” by Dr Otto Yang highlighted the efficacy of gene therapy for the management of the
life threatening conditions. The article also provided a sound understanding of the therapy

6ESSAY
mentioned above by citing an example of an individual, who had been cured of HIV infection,
following a cell transplant from a donor who had a natural immunity against the HIV virus.
However, the risks associated with the procedure were also mentioned, thus calling for the need
of taking appropriate measures, prior to commencing such therapy on any patient. Information
was also given on zinc finger nucleases, a gene editing tool that plays an important role for
fragmenting DNA at a particular spot. Not only did this article inform the target population about
a company in California that produced this editing tool, but also elaborated on a significant drop
in the total number of cells amongst patients, where it is present in a dormant phase,
thus identifying gene therapy as a promising treatment (Marchione 2018).
A positive approach was also reported by Young (2020) in the article that talked about a
rapid decline in the total number of HIV cases in the UK, particularly amongst bisexual and gay
males, with the rates decreasing by as much as 71% since the year 2012. The statement “In 2012,
there were an estimated 2,800 HIV transmissions among gay and bisexual men, dropping to 800
in 2018” was self-explanatory, and clearly elucidated effectiveness of different treatment
approaches in decreasing the burden of HIV in the UK population. In addition, the author also
talked about rapid decrease in the individuals who were living with undiagnosed HIV. The
article was based on the premise that HIV leads to suffering of hundreds of individuals, thus
calling for the need of decreasing the rate of transmission, particularly amongst those who are
not susceptible to the infection.
The fact that the article highlighted the mission of the Health Secretary Matt Hancock to
reach zero HIV transmissions by the year 2030 was a significant aspect that inculcated hope in
the audience. The author accredited the success of a decline in the incidence and prevalence of
HIV to several measures such as, usage of condoms, and administration of antiretroviral therapy

7ESSAY
to individuals, as soon as they are diagnosed with the condition. Additionally, the availability
and accessibility of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for individuals who gave negative results,
was also cited as a major contributor to the decline in the rates (Young 2020). Despite the fact
that the author identified males and females having casual unprotected intercourse with partners
from nations with high prevalence of HIV to be more susceptible, information was also
disseminated on a British charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT). This helped the audience to
gain a sound understanding of the services and campaigns that the charity offers, in relation to
sexual health and HIV, thereby increasing public awareness.
Quality analysis- Despite the fact that all the six news and media sources report on HIV
incidence and prevention, their quality slightly differs from one another. It can be suggested that
the two news articles from BBC and The Guardian are more reliable, when compared to the
articles from The Independent. Notwithstanding the fact that the articles provide information on
the number of individuals to have been infected with HIV in different years, they did not cite the
information to any academic source or government source. However, they presented the
statements or opinions of eminent personalities who are related to the health and social care
sector, which in turn helped in establishing quality of the articles. Quality of the news published
in BBC can be accredited to the fact that it is public service broadcasting and one of the world’s
largest and oldest broadcasters. Similarly, The Guardian daily newspaper had been published in
the year 1821, and it has a circulation of approximately 126,879, as of February this year, thus
establishing its quality (Abc.org.uk 2020). The articles published in The Independent are thought
to be of an inferior quality, when compared to the others, since this online news publisher had
been established much later, in the year 1986.

8ESSAY
Ownership and political allegiance- The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had
been established by the government of United Kingdom that was initially referred to as her
Majesty's Government and John Charles Walsham Reith in 1922. It had been established in the
form of a formal grant issued by the monarch, and it currently operates under an agreement with
the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Most of the fee that is used for
funding these services is established by the British government, following which they are agreed
by the parliament.
This quasi-autonomous corporation is operationally not reliant on the
government. Furthermore, the government does not have any power to dismiss or appoint the
Director General. However, time and again it has been accused of demonstrating political bias,
both within the nation as well as abroad (Crawford and Levonyan 2018). Therefore, the
information shared regarding the NHS and rapid test must be verified from a secondary source.
While The Guardian is owned by the Guardian Media Group, and had been established by John
Edward Tailor, a business tycoon, The Independent is owned by a Russian businessman
Alexander Lebedev, since 2010. Views of The Guardian are typically on the British political
opinion, and it has been identified as a platform for left wing or liberal editorial. This is often
results in usage of epithets like "Guardianista" or “Guardian reader" for individuals who hold
perception, or in the form of a stereotype for the earliest middle class, and politically correct
people (Wright, Jackson and Graham 2020). Despite the declaration of support for liberal
democrats, the two pieces of information have been published in unprejudiced manner.
Similarly, The Independent has been found to have an inclination towards the left political
spectrum that brings a direct competition to The Guardian. However, it often adopts a pro-market
and liberal stand on issues related to the economy. Considering the fact that it promotes political

9ESSAY
and civil rights, it is essential to verify credibility of the information published, prior to forming
an opinion.
Conclusion and implications- In the domain of health and social care, news and media
convey health associated information such as, policies, research and development, on new
treatments consequently shaping public opinion. The fact that majority of the articles focused on
research and development in the field of HIV/AIDS will increase awareness and familiarity in
the target population, regarding the life threatening condition. Information shared on new
treatment approaches such as, gene therapy and/or rapid detection kits will influence the public
to exert pressure on health policy makers, for adequately responding to the situation.
However, news shared on lack of mental health professionals in the NHS, which in turn leads
towards decline of the emotional wellbeing of HIV affected persons will create a negative
perception about the NHS in the audience. Exposure to news/media will not only prove
beneficial in preventing individuals engaging in risky sexual behaviour that increases
susceptibility to HIV/AIDS, but will also instil a feeling of hope in them, about getting cured
from the disease, through the implementation of novel treatment approaches like gene
therapy. The articles will also prove beneficial in increasing understanding on the discrimination
and stigmatising attitudes of the society towards people living with HIV/AIDS that leads to a
deterioration of their mental health. It will also prove effective in elimination of such stereotype.
Most of the news articles will have a positive impact on the society by directly increasing health
literacy, which in turn will help the target population and individuals identified to be at high risk,
to engage in self management. This will decrease the burden of the life-threatening condition on
the UK population. However, the information shared in the articles need to be considered by the

10ESSAY
department of health as well, following which effective policies should be formulated and
enforced in real time.

11ESSAY
References
Abc.org.uk., 2020. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.org.uk/product/2451
[Accessed on 07 April 2020]
BBC News., 2020. Rapid tests to help tackle Glasgow's HIV outbreak. [online] Available at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-51539601?intlink_from_url=https://
www.bbc.com/news/topics/c008ql15118t/hiv-aids&link_location=live-reporting-story [Accessed on
07 April 2020]
Boseley, S. and Devlin, H., 2019. End to Aids in sight as huge study finds drugs stop HIV
transmission. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/may/02/end-to-aids-
in-sight-as-huge-study-finds-drugs-stop-hiv-transmission [Accessed on 07 April 2020]
Crawford, G.S. and Levonyan, V., 2018. Media Bias in Public Service Broadcasting: Evidence from
the BBC.
Davis, N., 2020. Second person cleared of HIV remains free of virus one year on. [online] Available
at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/10/second-person-to-be-cleared-of-hiv-still-free-
of-virus [Accessed on 07 April 2020]
de Bree, G.J., Wheatley, A.K., Lynch, R.M., Prabhakaran, M., Grijsen, M.L., Prins, J.M., Schmidt,
S.D., Koup, R.A., Mascola, J.R. and McDermott, A.B., 2017. Longitudinal dynamics of the HIV-
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Infection and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. In Clinical Immunology (pp. 545-560).
Content Repository Only!.

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Haigh, J., 2020. NHS is 'failing' patients living with HIV. [online] Available at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51727221?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/
c008ql15118t/hiv-aids&link_location=live-reporting-story [Accessed on 07 April 2020]
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Phillips, K.D., Harris, R.F. and Haddad, L.M., 2019. Human Immunodeficiency Virus/AIDS.
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Yu, J., 2018. Health utility of pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS: prevention of mother-to-child
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Young, S., 2020. HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men in England falls by 71 per cent.
[online] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/hiv-diagnosis-
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