Gatekeeping Through Media Format:

Abstract

This research examines the extent to which HIV-positive voices are marginalized in the mainstream versus the "alternative" press. The central claim of this research is that news media format considerations, constructed around what has come to be called "media logic," leave persons who are HIV-positive with comparatively little voice in the mainstream press. By utilizing techniques of content analysis, the research examines 535 major HIV/AIDS-specific stories published in two oppositional papers toward an assessment of the level of HIV-positive voice in each outlet. While arguments of "homophobia" have been previously used to explain bias in mainstream HIV/AIDS-coverage, this article asserts that "heterocentric" bias is, in fact, embedded in the routinized practices of mainstream "news production." The article concludes by suggesting that successful future HIV/AIDS-activism demands a recognition of "media logic" and an adoption of its tactics.

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