Out With The Old, In With The New: Welcome to the Millennium

Finally. The clock struck 11:59p.m. on December 31, 1999, one could feel the anticipation lingering heavier than the salty air breezing in from the nearby Biscayne Bay. Only 50-seconds left before the countdown began. What to do? Reflecting on the past decade and all those that didn't get the chance to make it to this point; their legacy will be remembered with the media's help, right? 10, 9, 8 -- the ball began its decent. 7, 6, 5 -- crossed fingers become sweaty in hopes that the Y2K bug is all a myth. 4, 3, 2, 1 -- "Happy New Year!" That famous brightly lit ball dropped, ringing us all into the new millennium with song reminding us that time goes by.



Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne?



And in that exact moment of bittersweet nostalgia, media focus shifts from the real issues faced within local communities to what celebrities showed up to the biggest White Party of the century.

OK, so not that dramatic, but I think you get the point.

Each year, the masses are on one accord with the notion of "out with the old, in with the new." And why not? Why shouldn't one focus on what's to come, instead of what once was? But what happens when that unfinished and unresolved issue that once was still is?

The global pandemic that is HIV/AIDS hit hard in the nineties. HIV/AIDS hit ad campaigns worldwide in the nineties. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS also hit home in the nineties. According to the International Women's Health Coalition, the disease has claimed more lives than, "all of the wars in the twentieth century combined." Despite the awareness that politicians and celebrities drilled into our heads in the twentieth century, media coverage on HIV/AIDS seems to have little to no place in today's society. In the news room that is. An October 2003 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that "72-percent of the U.S. public said that most of the information they get about HIV/AIDS comes from the media, including television, newspapers and radio."

Which makes me think...hmmm. If it isn't discussed in a public forum (mass news media) then it is eradicated or just plain doesn't exist, right? Wrong!

In 2006, according to Advocates for Youth, more than half of all new HIV infections occurred among people 25 years of age or younger, rounding out at about 11.8 million youths living with HIV or AIDS globally. The UNAIDS statistics in 2007 reported 33.2 million adults and children living with HIV/AIDS, with 2.5 million of those being newly infected cases. On the opposite end of the life spectrum, there were 2.1 million AIDS-related deaths on the global level in 2007. It is not a homosexual disease nor an African-American disease. HIV/AIDS affects people of all races, creeds and origins and if not treated early, can claim the healthy lives of many worldwide.

On a more local level, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported there being 475,871 adults and children living with HIV/AIDS in the United States in 2005, although a whopping 27-percent of all HIV-infected people remain undiagnosed.

San Francisco used to top the nation in HIV/AIDS cases, but with extensive research and education targeting those infected individuals, the focus has shifted from the West to the East Coast. South Florida to be exact. The disease that causes AIDS is rapidly spreading to black and immigrant communities, according to the CDC's HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update in 2004. One of the largest communities fitting in that demographic is throughout Miami-Dade, Ft. Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches. Many of the stereotypes seen throughout these communities such as poverty, cultural differences and language barriers continue to hinder the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In 1996, according to the CDC, there were about 2000 news stories done on HIV/AIDS, and about 60,000 new AIDS cases were diagnosed that same year. Compare that to 2002, where there were under 1000 news stories on the subject and over 40,000 newly reported cases. There was obviously a demand for media attention, no?

If we don't educate ourselves properly, the disease wins. Instead of catching up on the latest happenings in the Spears family soap opera, why don't we give ourselves and generations to come a better future. A future where HIV/AIDS is a thought of the past. My voice is only so powerful; the media ultimately is paramount in influencing a nation by telling them what issues to think about.

When the time rolls around again for that glowing ball to drop, try rethinking shooing out the old; we can only be oblivious to this dire threat for so long.