Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) awards Cape Times a GLAD[1] for the publication’s piece, “Nature lover Latita, 13, plays lead role as voice for saving our planet” (06/08/2021). This is because the article positively portrays the child and accesses her for her views.
The article that has put Latita, the child in the centre of the story reports about the child having been chosen to star in a show called, “Love nature with Mbali”. According to the story, the show which is by Cape Nature in partnership with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is an educational animated series which focuses on environmental conservation. The story which is written by Okuhle Hlati is accompanied by a bright photograph of Latita posing on what looks to be the set of the show. The child who is quoted extensively in the story speaks about how elated she was when she received the news that she was chosen to feature in the series.
The grade seven pupil says in the article, “I realised I could be a voice for my generation to teach them about the environmental impact they have on our planet.”
By quoting Latita, Cape Times has adhered to MMA’s Editorial Guidelines and Principles for Reporting on Children in the Media.[2] The Guidelines advise the media to include children’s voices to stories about them especially when in the children’s best interests.
Subjects such as the “environment, water, waste, species conservation and energy” are rarely reported in the media. MMA’s 2017 media monitoring results show that the topic, environment was one of the least covered topics in that year by the media at a disappointing 1 percent.[3]
We therefore commend Cape Times and Okuhle Hlati for doing a sterling job reporting this article in this manner. The article itself and the positive portrayal of the child can inspire her peers into caring about the environment. Further, the inclusion of the child’s voice to the story is empowering.
Bravo! We look forward to seeing more stories such as these.
Written by Bantse Pelle
Edited by Lister Namumba
[1] A GLAD is awarded for an article that reports about children in a positive way
[2] http://54.217.43.239/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/mma_editorial_guideline.pdf