So the message went out in the press that they were indeed the answer. There is a perception that people are tired of AIDS, and the media want to report on something new. Some feel that mainstream media have prematurely declared an end to the crisis. There is no appreciation for how radically the virus has changed. The media treat AIDS like they would a sports game, proclaiming victory and making people think there's been a cure, when nothing could be further from the truth.
Cooper adds that coverage has ignored the growing crisis in communities of color.
The number of infections is increasing dramatically in communities of color, and yet the focus tends to be on how AIDS is supposedly letting up in the gay community. The media's avoidance of stories that spotlight the epidemic in communities of color is part of a greater problem that Strait characterizes as the media's bias against stories that deal with people in the developing world. Complacency and silence also result because governments of developing nations focus on attracting investors to fund economic initiatives rather than medical needs. South Africa may have a 20 to 30 percent HIV infection rate, but when the government there is also trying to attract new business, the HIV rate is not something it wants to advertise. Garrett says that even some in the HIV community are perpetuating the myth that the AIDS crisis is over.