Ethical journalism requires editors and journalists to constantly evaluate the decisions they make in news reports including how best to act in the well-being of their sources whilst informing their audiences of a particular issue or event. This is a difficult balancing act but a necessary one that ...
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives a MAD[1] to The New Age for failing to protect the identity of a child victim and potential witness in criminal proceedings in an article describing the circumstances in which two children were severely assaulted. “Teen beat my child to death” (The New Age, 2...
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) selects eNCA’s online article “Man allegedly beats son to death” (01/09/2017) for a MAD[1] for failing to adequately protect the identity of a child witness. The article is about a father who was arrested for allegedly killing his son. According to the repor...
Two articles by Sowetan and IOL have been selected for a MAD[1] by Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) for not taking necessary precautions to protect the identity of the child witnesses involved. “I saw killer suck blood” (Sowetan, 12/04/2017, p.2) reports on a 21-year-old man who allegedly stabbed ...
Two articles by Sowetan are selected for a MAD[1] by Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) as they both failed to act in the best interests of the child in their reporting. The first article, “’l’ m too scared to bury my father’” (18/05/2017, p.3) relays a story involving a dispute in the famil...
This week Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives a MAD[1] to Sowetan and The Times for publishing articles in which the identity of a teenager was revealed, despite her being a victim and witness to a crime. “Teenager traumatised after ‘police’ shootings”, (The Times, 02/05/2017, p.2) and “...
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives a MAD[1] to IOL for an article in which a child who was sexually abused was made to relive her traumatic experience through an interview. “’Raped by dad and brother’” (IOL, 09/05/2017) reports on a nine-year-old girl from Cape Town who was allegedly raped ...
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives a MAD1 to The New Age for its article “Girl forced to raise rapist’s son”, (10/02/2016, p. 23). The article, originally published in the Daily Mail (United Kingdom), identified a South Sudanese child rape survivor. The story is about a 16-year-old girl in So...
Reporting about children and their challenges is of crucial importance and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) always appreciates the efforts. However, it is equally important to ensure that the reporting is done with great caution and protection of the children involved. Unfortunately, articles from the ...