Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives neither a MAD[1] nor a GLAD[2] to Sunday Independent and Daily Sun for their stories involving children. This is because despite both articles reporting on issues related to children, the journalists behind these stories failed to give a voice to those childre...
It is quite unfortunate to come across a good article from The Star that deserves a GLAD1 and just right below it one that merits a MAD2. This kind of coverage by The Star highlights a clear need for consistency when it comes to reporting on children. The first article “Boy who strangled mom...
Saturday Star published an article that identified a child in such a manner that may cause them further harm. The article in question written by Lali Van Zaydum titled “Family of murdered former boxing champion faces his alleged killers” (10/05/2014 p. 2) recounted the child witnesses’ test...
Access to proper sanitation is a basic human right but one that is not realised by many people in South Africa – millions in fact – including children. For most women and young girls, changing a sanitary towel could be considered a fairly basic task. On the other end of the scale however...
It is tragic how avoidable mistakes at a hospital can adversely affect the future of children who fall victim to negligence. In such cases, the media has a responsibility to hold those responsible to account but to do so without violating the rights of the children involved. Media Monitoring Africa ...
Unicef has developed a number of guidelines and principles on how to report on children ethically. One of those principles states; “In interviewing and reporting on children, special attention is to be paid to each child’s right to privacy and confidentiality, to have their opinions heard, to pa...
Best and worst practice in reporting on allegations of child abuse can be found in newspapers published on Wednesday the 22nd September 2010. The manner in which the story of two children, who have been missing for two weeks and were found, was reported differed greatly between newspapers. The Times...
It’s encouraging and disheartening at the same time, to come across a story that was spread out and told over three different pages about the appalling school conditions children have been enduring in the Eastern Cape, but where not a single child affected was interviewed. For this reason, Media M...
Three very distinct reporting styles in covering one story of the 6 year-old boy abused by his foster parent, shows how one story can be perceived through different lenses. The Sunday Times(17/01/2010, p. 8), the Daily Sun (19/01/2010, p. 4), and The Star (18/01/2010, p. 2) have all given their...