The SABC’s Full View on 19 September, 2020 aired a story/interview wherein at least 12 minors are alleged to have been sexually violated by an unidentified man near Rustenburg. Unfortunately, the story/clip contravened accepted journalistic standards when reporting on children in that the children...
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) is appalled at the level of carelessness displayed by News24 and IOL in coverage of crime involving children. The stories, both published within a pace of a week, indirectly and directly identify the children thereby compromising their safety. The callous reporting of t...
“No person shall publish in any manner whatever any information which reveals or may reveal the identity of an accused under the age of 18 years or of a victim or of a witness at criminal proceedings who is under the age of 18 years,” Criminal Procedure Act Section 154 (3). Such is the res...
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives a MAD[1] to SABC News for a broadcasted story in which a 17-year-old alleged victim of rape was potentially subjected to secondary trauma. The story is titled, “17 year old victim of sexual abuse feel justice system has failed her” and was broadcast...
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives a MAD[1] to DispatchLIVE for publishing an article in which the children involved are directly and indirectly identified thereby exposing them to potential harm. “Kids suffer months of agony after school meals cut off” (DispatchLIVE, 27/07/2020) reports on hu...
When reporting on children who are victims of and witnesses to a crime, the media must make sure that they are protecting those children’s dignity and privacy. Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives SowetanLIVE, Times LIVE and IOL a MAD[i] for directly identifying children involved in criminal cases ...
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives a MAD[1] to Cape Times for flouting the Maintenance Act by indirectly identifying the children involved in a maintenance dispute which resulted in a murder. “Unpaid maintenance allegedly drove woman to kill father of her two children” (Cape Times, 01/07/2020) ...
Stories about crime where children are involved should never be told with the children’s identities revealed. This is because identifying children in such stories places them at potential for harm. When the media compromise any child’s safety or well-being, Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) frowns a...
As pupils interact every day in schools, sometimes unfortunate incidents happen, incidents such as conflict, violence or getting hurt by another pupil. Such is the case in this article reported by Sunday World, “Mother of a child stabbed in the eye while at school left to fend for herself” (14/0...