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Ivoirian Journalists Associations Fighting HIV/AIDS during the DVC (Photo: Soro Yacouba/US Embassy)

Paris-Based American Journalist and Ivoirian Counterparts Shared Tips on AIDS Reporting

A select group of about 40 Ivorian print and electronic media journalists gathered at American Embassy November 20 to discuss with Diane Seligsohn, a Radio France International reporter, how to cover HIV/AIDS. The two-hour program was organized jointly with REPMASCI and CFMS-CI, two Ivoirian journalists associations fighting HIV/AIDS, in prelude to World AIDS Day. Among panelists were two Ivorian reporters selected to participate in the PEPFAR Lusaka, Zambia Conference starting November 27, and the president of the Ivorian Rural Radio Association.

The discussion focused on HIV/AIDS media reporting and coverage – for national and international audiences -- with a sharp emphasis on the special problems and social challenges faced by journalists reporting on the subject. The program gave Ms. Seligsohn a golden opportunity to share with her Ivorian counterparts a number of practical ideas, suggestions, tips, and some tricks of the trade – based on her own AIDS reporting experiences in Africa, Europe and the United States.

The Ivoirian journalists, in their turn, described the situation, and their efforts to educate, inform, and influence their audiences about the realities and heartbreak of HIV/AIDS in Cote d’Ivoire, through their reporting.