Production conditions for televised health programs in Kinshasa

For many years now health promotion has been carried out through a number of mass communication channels. Television remains one of the most powerful and indispensable channels. Its effectiveness is due on the one hand to the combination of sound and image as communication codes. On the other hand these communication codes do not require specific skills on the part of the receiver to understand the message conveyed. The production of health programs on Kinshasa television channels contributes to the circulation of health information in a country where the health system is deficient. On the other hand experience in the field has shown that many of the journalists working for these TV channels have no mastery of health issues. As part of a conceptual and theoretical approach to the production of media content for a doctoral dissertation this exploratory study examines this concern in terms of the resources used by these TV channels to produce their health programs.