TELEVISION has played, and will continue to play, a prominent role in many Aids awareness campaigns. What is not so certain is how the viewing public regards programmes with an Aids content, what pro portion actually watch such programmes and whether these programmes are of any educational value. This study sought to address some of these issues by surveying public interest in television coverage of Aids and its relevant issues, using a nationally representative panel of viewers. The study asked respondents how much they personally felt they knew about Aids and measured these sub jective assessments against scores obtained from re sponses to a knowledge test. Perceptions of the impact different televised events might have on the public's awareness of Aids were also investigated, together with respondents' views on the suitability of including Aids material in various programmes.
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