National TB Stakeholders’ meeting How best can TB experts work with the media to inform and engage the communities A journalist’s perspective Catherine Mwesigwa Kizza Deputy editor, New Vision

Background The TB problem Despite the availability of a cure for 50 years, almost 2 million people die from TB every year Less than half of the new TB cases are detected and treated Most people do not understand TB or its consequences and misread the symptoms Very few resources set aside to treat TB “Our failure to respond to TB is largely a communication failure.” Source: Time for Action on TB Communication, Panos Policy Briefing 2

Media in TB communication Media role: Inform, educate and entertain Emerging roles include “media advocacy” Media advocacy definition: The process of disseminating policy-related information through the communications media, especially where the aim is to effect action, a change of policy, or to alter the public's view of an issues. Source: Encyclopedia of Public Health,

Media in TB communication Why work with the media? They have the platform, audiences necessary to put issues on the public agenda fast; Have access to leaders and policy makers who also can easily access the media; Reach wide and diverse audiences in a short time; Can instigate action where other avenues have failed. 4

Experts’ common media engagement practices Training workshops Press conferences Press releases Media visits Designed press kits Sponsorship of conference attendance Opinion articles and letters to the editor etc. 5

Outcomes of current practices Results from a rapid media content analysis show the following: Researchers are often misquoted Limited use of research and researchers as sources for stories on TB The stories do not delve into the underlying causes of TB The amount of media coverage of Tuberculosis (TB) was found to be minimal or non –existent some media e.g. Radio Coverage of TB tends to be event-driven (World TB day) and is not sustained throughout the year Generally few articles focused on people affected by TB as a source of information for the story 6

Underlying challenges Journalism skills: Curriculum - no specialised training for health journalists; Most journalists join journalism training from an Arts background; Health journalism training is ad hoc, modules and sessions focuses on diseases rather than essential competencies and skills for health coverage; High attrition rates of skilled, qualified journalists leaving the field to junior or inexperienced journalists in health coverage; RESULTS: INACCURATE COVERAGE 7

Underlying challenges Attitude of experts to journalists (TB, health, researchers) Inaccuracy destroys the media/experts relationship which is important for accurate, fair, balanced coverage RESULT Dismal coverage of TB issues Poor quality of published stories without expert sources and input: Only accessible sources will be quoted – they will not be researchers; Stories will not address the underlying causes of TB, will have no voices of people suffering from TB HIV stigma and link to TB makes sourcing of sufferers a challenge 8

Underlying challenges Inconsistent engagement with the media by TB experts Coverage linked to World TB day. When do TB experts hold workshops, media trainings? TB experts’ lack of media advocacy strategies *Keeping an issue on the media agenda requires more than the traditional modes of engaging the media. It requires creativity, innovation, studying the personalities, places and issues the media follow and linking them to the issue of interest. This subsequently the media too will pick up the issue. 9

Consistent coverage of TB issues: How possible is it? Media does not mean radio, TV and newspapers alone. Journalists look for people, their experiences, faces and voices to simplify the research stories for the public Where are the community mobilisation activities organised by TB experts? Where are the advocacy and lobbying activities? How often do TB stakeholders approach MPs to educate them on TB? Is the TB issue being discussed at the local gov’t or community meetings? 10

Inconsistent coverage of TB issues… Who in the media are you engaging? Most training workshops are designed for reporters but publishing and broadcasting decisions are made by editors and producers Media platforms have been commercialized, news is a commodity, space and prime airtime have a price to recoup investment costs Implication: Content that has no audience brings no money. 11

Inconsistent coverage of TB issues… How simple is the TB message for the population? What is the key message? For malaria: Sleep under a mosquito net For HIV: Test, ABC, no stigma, PMTCT For infection prevention: Wash your hands with soap Radio and TV consume the simple messages which cannot be designed by the media on their own but by public health communication experts. 12

Inconsistent coverage of TB issues… Issues in the media Private media and high infrastructural costs High production costs Impact of slow economic growth and decreasing advertising expenditure on e.g. newspaper pagination Medical ethical issues: E.g. Advertising of drugs Uganda’s huge disease burden – many health issues compete for the same space Few journalists to cover many health issues 13

Inconsistent coverage of TB issues… Researchers’ jargon and technical nature of documents Difficult to decipher Time consuming Journalists’ time pressures Journalists’ poor pay and impact on time spent on researching and writing stories Nature of media work and low availability of media decision makers for interaction with experts 14

The way forward: Key questions to consider? Why engage the media? What results are you expecting? Will the methods you use to engage the media give you those results in the desired measure? What are the challenges of the media and media personnel? Can they solve them themselves? Do experts have a role to play in solving some of the challenges? Can they help to resolve some of the challenges? 15

THANK YOU