Media Coverage of AIDS

My first reading of Shaw’s article on AIDS left me stunned, and more than a little upset. I was appalled at what I perceived to be a positive treatment of Rock Hudson’s “contribution” to the public’s awareness of the threat of AIDS.

On the second reading, I came to realize that Shaw’s intent had been to indicate that it took the death of a celebrity to focus the attention of the press on an issue that simply had not yet aroused the interest of those of us not immediately affected by this dreadful disease. Unfortunately, either Shaw or an editor failed to impart that intent and understanding effectively.

If it is true, as was widely reported at the time, that Mr. Hudson continued an intimate relationship with a live-in companion after learning of his (soon to be fatal) infection, we can afford him no credit, only condemnation. Who can imagine a more relentlessly vicious act? Without wishing to disparage his exceptional film career, that single failure of character assured Mr. Hudson an unforgivably dishonorable role, his last, in an increasingly tragic story.

DAVID W. NICHOLAS

Princeton, N.J.