7 out of 10 South Africans are familiar with the TV and radio shows produced by Soul City, a non-governmental organisation, with the aim of raising awareness about HIV/AIDS. Through entertainment, the organisation has found a way of reaching the masses.

Soul City was created in 1992 with the aim of using the power of mass media for health development. Relying the importance of using new methods to inform people, Soul City uses edutainment - entertainment used for educational and health promotion purposes - to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. Currently the organisation produces a TV and a radio drama as well as print booklets, all of which have proven highly successful. RAP 21 spoke to Sue Goldstein, senior manager of research at Soul City.

"We chose new means of using mass media to inform people about AIDS because we realised that the dramatic genre had many advantages as a development communication tool,” says Goldstein.

The success of the TV and radio shows are undeniable with over 70 percent of the population having seen or listened to them at least once, according to Soul City’s latest surveys. Thirty percent of the population has read the print booklets. In sum, the material produced by the organisation has reached over 11 million people in South Africa. Soul City has also created a special TV show for younger audiences (8-12 years), which has become the most popular TV show for children in South Africa.

The dramatic genre used by Soul City offers many results that can not be achieved with regular educational program since didactic programmes tend to be allotted time slots when very few people are viewing or listening. Furthermore, drama attracts advertising revenue for the broadcasters, providing an incentive to place the programmes on primetime. Indeed, because it attracts primetime audiences, it is also attractive to donors and commercial sponsors, who are guaranteed a high profile through their association with the project. The show also allows for discussions about AIDS issues over a longer period of time.

"The fact that it is a local production, broadcast in local languages, partly accounts for the popularity of the program. The show also makes it easier for people to talk about HIV and AIDS, since it is often easier to speak about certain issues in the third person."

The fact that Soul City is using both TV, radio and print also contributes to their success, as more people can be reached. For instance, rural audiences are best reached by radio, while urban audiences are best reached by television. Finally, the success of the shows can also be explained by the fact that all materials used by Soul City are thoroughly tested before being used with wider audiences.

With regards to the reporting on HIV/AIDS in the mainstream media, Goldstein says: “Media reporting has improved in South Africa. Before, the media used to employ many problematic words that caused stigma. However, still today the reporting is often too sensational and reports on extreme incidents instead of showing what happens in everyday life." Her main advice to newspapers reporting on AIDS is “to give a voice to the people who have HIV, let them tell their stories and to show more positive stories of people living with AIDS.”

For more information about Soul City, go to: http://www.soulcity.org.za