Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) is happy to award Daily Dispatch a GLAD[1] for an article that talks about a pupil who excelled in a mathematics competition. The GLAD is given because the article positively profiled this child whose voice is heard throughout the article.
The article titled, “Hudson Park learner hits perfect score in maths Olympiad” (Daily Dispatch, 26/08/2021, p.8) by Sivenathi Gosa details how star pupil, Mishay Rama took part in the South African Maths Challenge and achieved a 100% pass in the second round of the competition. According to the article, the grade six pupil was one of 67 pupils from Hudson Park Primary school, and one of 479 pupils across the country to qualify.
This is a remarkable story that not only talks about the child’s achievement but also interviews him throughout the article. By doing this the journalist shows that the child’s views and opinions are important.
Speaking to the journalist, Mishay said, “I am proud of myself for achieving my goal of doing well. I always look forward to a challenge and the guarantee that I will learn something new.”
Accordingly, MMA’s Editorial Guidelines and Principles for Reporting on Children in the Media highlight that “children have a right to have their views heard on matters that affect them, so the media should try and include them.”[2]
The article is accompanied by a beautiful picture of Mishay. MMA’s Editorial Guidelines also talk about how journalists should use empowering images of children by stating, “Images of children can be extremely powerful and have a significant impact on people.”
MMA congratulates Daily Dispatch for reporting that promotes children’s rights. We would like to encourage Daily Dispatch to continue reporting on stories about children and afford the children opportunities to make their voices heard when in the children’s best interest.
Written by Msizi Mzolo
Edited by George Kalu
[1] GLAD’s are awarded to media for reporting on children responsibly and for accessing them
[2] http://54.217.43.239/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/mma_editorial_guideline.pdf