Kristin, thanks so much for bringing this up and sharing these resources, you saved me a step!

You mention this importance of putting a human face on these issues,
and I believe that is by far the most critical "value added" that video offers. It
helps others relate to those who are HIV positive and universalize
their experience. So much of what we hear about HIV is about statistics instead of the human experience, and yet how is the public to care without feeling their own connection to these issues? It's also a great way to challenge stereotypes. This was a big part of what we were trying to do with the Hope project (see my next entry on target and impact for more on that). I find that video is a great way to introduce an issue, by
putting a human face on it and creatng a window into larger more complex issues. I see it as an invitation to learn more, not the final story. It's
not great for getting into complexity, statistics and historical
evolution, at least not in a short internet-friendly video, but that is
why it important to approach the issue from multiple platforms and cross-link like crazy between the resources you offer.

The decision to use video for the HIV in Caribbean projects  was an application of the Pulitzer Center's overall approach to raising awareness of under-reported issues. We've found that the best ways to engage the audience is to go about it through every platform possible: print, video, blogs, images and combine them into one comprehensive resource but you also need to disseminate materials independendtly as well. Point is, you can't wait for people to come to you. So while we post the videos on the project pages with the related reporting, they are also available as part of the interactive narratives which stand alone, and on YouTube, and on blogs and pretty much anywhere we can think of! For example, for Hope, our HIV in Jamaica project you mention above, we aired these videos on our partner braodcast show Foreign Exchange, posted the videos on YouTube:

Positive outlook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVoCmaKJVNM

and Talking HIV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La7__0mR-lo

And they were also available as part of an interactive narrative at: www.livehopelove.com

which incorporates poetry, video, and music and links back to the related articles. And they are also available directly off of our site, with additional related resources:

http://www.pulitzercenter.org/showproject.cfm?id=61 

We did something similar with the Heroes of HIV project, whcih explored the situation in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where the videos we produced were tied to the print articles, online interactive narratives, and more. I don't want to overwhlem folks with links, but you can find links to the videos, articles and interactive site here: http://pulitzercenter.org/showproject.cfm?id=51

I'm going to answer the target audience and impact question in a separate entry.