Assessing journalists’ language tone and sources used in reporting HIV/AIDS information in Tanzanian newspapers

Abstract

This paper assesses the tone of the language and the key sources used by the journalists when reporting HIV/AIDS information in Tanzania's newspapers for six years between 2002–2004 and 2017–2019 respectively. Two leading broadsheets published on daily basis, the Daily News and Mwananchi were selected. Content analysis and discourse analysis were used as the data collection and analysis methods. Microsoft Office Excel 2010 was used to analyze quantitative data whereas NVivo was used to analyze qualitative data. The findings indicate that the language employed was offensive, discouraging, and laden with complex terminology. Additionally, the study uncovered an optimistic and positive tone in the messages, yet the structure of sentences lack persuasiveness. Moreover, the findings underscore a reliance on international sources for HIV/AIDS information. The research suggests that the overall language employed was inadequate. It asserts that despite the usage of positive tone, yet the language employed lack constructive, informative qualities and not suitably framed for the easy comprehension of their target audience. Furthermore, the findings advocate for journalists to consistently seek improved language tone for conveying HIV/AIDS information to the public. Moreover, the current study proposes that media outlets should provide training to the journalists on the good techniques of framing HIV/AIDS information covered in Tanzanian newspapers for awareness creation. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the journalists’ importance of using positive language tones when covering and reporting HIV/AIDS information in the newspapers for awareness creation in Tanzania.