Desarrollo metodológico para el logro del objetivo específico 4

Agenda building is ―…a collective process that involves the mutual collective influence of the media, government and citizens on one another‖ (Lang and Lang, 1983 in Driedger, (2008).

Recent studies have revealed that agenda building is a cumulative effect of activities associated with the media, government agents, the public and interest groups. It can be emphasised that agenda building is a complex process involving the media and its sources. According to this view, sources of media content also seek to use the media to dispel their own agenda. This adds a new dimension to the agenda setting theory and its sister theory of primary definition which attributes media content solely to elite groups in society. The consequent theory of shared reality (Donsbach, (2004) in Driedger, 2008) views agenda building as an offshoot of combined efforts between journalists and other relevant stakeholders like government officials and members of the public who each leave imprints on the media‘s agenda. For example, Drieger (2008) studied how sources played a role in agenda building in the media coverage of the E. coli contamination of Canadian drinking water supply thereby exposing residents to the risks of drinking untreated – bacteria - infected water. As put by Driedger (ibid) the problem was: while residents suffered from diarrheal diseases (For example, seven residents died while 2,300 got ill), management from the public Health Unit maintained that drinking water was safe and secure.

The media demonstrated that Walkerton residents and members of the citizen group participated in agenda building. Apart from showing that the E. coli contamination of public drinking water became the Canadian ‗what-a story‘ (Tuchman , 1973 in Driedger,

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(ibid), Driedger (Ibid), reporters used their traditional story telling skills characterised by deceit, possible cover – ups and tragedy. Driedger (ibid) proceeds to argue that the media portrayed people as heroes, suffering victims, the villains and, that playing the ‗blame game‘ was central on the media agenda. As alluded to earlier, a further crucial revelation from Driedger‘s study (ibid: 25) is that the ―…primary source of reality for news is not what is displayed or what happens in the real world‖.

The reality of news is embedded in the nature and type of social and cultural relations that develop between journalists and their sources. For, ―News is a product of transactions between journalists and their sources‖ (Erickson, 1989: 377 in Driedger, (ibid). Thus, in this study, it is crucial to unpack linguistic and discursive strategies associated with journalists and their sources much as it is critical to interview the people of Zimbabwe themselves about their views concerning the implementation of the policy. Revelations by Driedger (ibid) are very important as they bring about insights that can be mobilised to unpack newspaper and public discourses around prominent events during the phase of the implementation of the HIV and AIDS policy covered in this study.

The above reveal that, the agenda building contest culminates in a wide range of discursive strategies mainly revolving around people‘s ―negative emotions‖ (Miller, 2007: 693) and traceable to such agenda builders. As theories are intricately related to rhetorical theory it should be mentioned that media content that revolve around people‘s negative emotions qualifies as negative rhetoric, which is rhetoric that subtracts rather than adds value (Cockcroft and Cockcroft, 2005). Thus, in this research, the two – fold challenge is to unpack linguistic and discursive strategies used to evoke such emotions and to explain how they influence public opinion on media content.

Lang and Lang (1981 in Driedger, ibid: 26) identify six steps that are crucial to agenda building. They are as follows:

1. An event or activity needs to be covered in the media; the very act of drawing attention to some topics can affect how much people may think or talk about it.

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2. Simply being in the news is a necessary, but insufficient, condition needed to guarantee attention. Attention at a public or political level will vary based on how that issue affects people‘s lives.

3. The media gives an event or activity meaning by how it is described, defined and framed.

4. Language, through framing, conveys meaning to a broader audience.

5. The focus on attention to an activity or event can be amplified if it can be linked to other easily identified symbols (For example, ‗truth‘, ‗public right to know‘).

6. Using high – profile or credible sources (spokespersons or organisations) further promotes the concerns made in communication acts about an activity or event.

Within the six steps Lang and Lang (ibid), examine two points that have a direct bearing to this study: that attention of people is drawn to issues that affect their lives and that this depends on how such issues are described or framed. Regarding the implementation of the HIV/ AIDS policy for Zimbabwe, salient issues that affect peoples‘ life and the discursive strategies used by the media to draw readers‘ attention towards such issues are not known. The last step mentioned by Lang and Lang (ibid) is also highly relevant to this study for it highlights the use of high - profile and credible sources in so far as they impact on the salience of an issue in the public sphere. The study seeks to reveal such high profile sources as revealed by the media and suggest how they influence readers‘ attitudes. As has already been stated, elsewhere studies have revealed the critical role played by sources in agenda building (Driedger, 2008). Such studies have discouraged the reliance on essentialist models which rank sources as is evident in the theory of primary definers and passive / active audience models. Recommendations are made to adopt an eclectic theoretical approach based on shared reality and agenda building models in which ―non – elite source groups‖ should merit serious scholarly attention in media studies (Driedger, (ibid). As revealed in research methodology chapter of the study, the eclectic approach that is aimed at gaining more insights into the gap created by media content and reality regarding the implementation of the HIV / AIDS policy for Zimbabwe will be filled by soliciting views of Zimbabweans through Focus Group Discussions (FDGs) and interviews.

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As shown earlier, a recent study that investigated agenda building in the E. coli contamination of a Canadian public drinking water supply (Driedger, 2008) showed that sources of media content exploited theme in the agenda building process. Related studies in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) have revealed that thematic and rhematic (Bloor and Bloor, 1995; Halliday, 1989; Guijaro, 1989; Makamani, 2006; Thompson, 1996), representation of ideas is one linguistic (and discursive) strategy through which writers influence readers ideologically. The study seeks to find whether this is the case regarding media‘s representations of the implementation of the HIV and AIDS policy. This study seeks to establish whether this is the case regarding the language representation of the implementation of HIV/ AIDS policy by state controlled and private newspapers. The study proceeds to explore revelations by CDA oriented investigations below.