Cape Times and IOL journalists failed to adhere to MMA’s Editorial Guidelines and Principles for Reporting on Children in the Media[1] by not accessing the children involved in their stories. The guidelines state that “children have the right to have their views heard on matters that affect them, [therefore, media should] try and include them”. Both journalists did not give children a chance to share their views in their stories and for this reason, Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) gives them a Missed Opportunity.[2]
Raphael Wolf’s article, “Surgeries for ten children to start at Red Cross as part of Smile Week,” (Cape Times, 30/10/2019) is about a 10-year-old-boy, Chrissie Maredi who is to undergo reconstructive surgery. This is reportedly after sustaining 44% burn wounds on his body. He is one of the 10 children who will benefit from free surgery at the Red Cross Hospital as part of Smile week.
The journalist does not access him but accesses his mother and the Foundation officials. This is despite identifying him and more importantly showing him in bright photographs accompanying the article where the child is smiling and looks happy. That the child is old enough to express his feelings about the operation and that it does not expose him to any potential harm, MMA believes the journalist should have given the young boy a voice in an issue that affects him.
The IOL article, “Checkmate…10-year-old Joburg girl flies SA flag in chess tournament” (05/11/2019) by Asanda [last name not published] is about Sanjana Ramlall who is a chess player. The article reports that “her achievements include Joburg Metro Closed Winner U10 (2018), SA Junior Chess Championships (SAJCC) 2018 U10 Girls Blitz Champion, SAJCC 2018 Silver Medal Team Event U10 Section, Arnold Classic 2018 Best Female Player Rapid and GoForChess-Winner Online Tournament 2018”. She is to represent South Africa and compete at the African Youth Chess Championship competition in December, 2019 in Namibia. Her love for the game reportedly started when she first played at her school. A photograph of a smiling Sanjana posing accompanies the article.
The 10-year-old is not accessed even though at her age, just like the child in the Cape Times’ article, she can share her views and feelings. The journalist fails to give the child a voice in a positive article about her achievements. By giving children a platform to speak about their achievements, other children can also be encouraged to take on sports. Therefore, IOL should have accessed this child.
It is worrying that both articles report on positive issues about the children but none includes their voices. By failing to access the children, Cape Times and IOL violated the children’s right to freedom of expression.
We encourage Cape Times and IOL to always include children’s voices when reporting on positive stories involving children.
By Girlie Sibanda
[1] http://54.217.43.239/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/mma_editorial_guideline.pdf (See page 3)
[2] A missed opportunity is a story in which children were not accessed when they could have been.
IOL responded to the commentary saying, “Thank you for your feedback.”