The Weekend Argus missed an opportunity (MOP)[1] for a great and exciting story, it failed to give children a voice in a story that involves children who achieved a great performance overseas.
In an article titled, “Drummies team to cough up funds to represent the country” (27/07/2022) reports on a team of children, Cheerleading and Majorette Sport South Africa who arrived back home after competing at the World Championship of Majorette Sport in Agen, France.
The story above fails to give a voice to children who successfully represented South Africa during an international competition. Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) is of the view that when the media is reporting on stories that have a central focus on children, the children must be extensively quoted to share their perspectives and feelings. This is just as valid especially when children have stood out positively as is contained in the article.
Throughout the article, the journalists access coaches, parents but not the children who are the central focus of these stories. Yet the journalists added a few beautiful pictures showing joy and happiness on the children’s faces and unfortunately despite being photographed, the children were not interviewed. Furthermore, MMA’s 2022 media monitoring results on reporting on children[2] reveal that only 8% of children’s voices were heard between May and September 2022 in media coverage of them. And this article published by the Weekend Argus is perpetuating such a stereotype.
MMA’s Editorial Guidelines and Principles for Reporting on Children in the Media[3] advise journalists to access children stating, “Children have a right to have their views heard on matters that affect them, so try and include them.”
MMA fully appreciates the effort by the journalist to report on a story involving children. However, we ask that Weekend Argus accesses children for their views rather than neglecting them.
Written by Jacques Ndong
Edited by Ntombifuthi Kubeka
[1] A missed opportunity is a story in which children should have been accessed but were not.
[2] https://www.mediamonitoringafrica.org/monitoring-research-analysis/
[3] http://54.217.43.239/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/mma_editorial_guideline.pdf