Get Mad/Glad
- Teenage pregnancy is more than a teenage issue, the M&G reveals
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Rates of teenage pregnancy in South Africa are among the highest in the world, yet the reasons for this problem are often misunderstood and riddled with myths and stereotypes about teenage girls. However, the Mail & Guardian, health section (04/10/2011, p1) article ‘Teenage moms learn the hard way’ by Katherine Child points to deep underlying social problems. The article reveals that teenage pregnancy results from a complex set of varied and interrelated factors, largely associated with the social conditions under which children grow up. The article also unearths and debunks myths surrounding contraceptives and child grants being blamed for high rates of teenage pregnancy in South Africa. For these and other reasons discussed below, the article deserves a Glad1.
- Daily Sun stages photo of four month-old among rocks
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Few would condone lying a four-month old child in sand to pose for a news photograph. Yet, this is what Daily Sun seemingly did for a front cover picture recently. The article accompanying the picture, “Baby boy dumped in veld!” (04/10/2011, p. 1, 3) and the follow-up story “Sunpower shames bad mum!” (05/01/2011, p. 2), further abuses an abandoned baby boy and stigmatises a seemingly desperate mother.
- Saturday Star shows how pre-schoolers are particularly vulnerable
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The article “Starving before school-going age” (Saturday Star, 01/10/2011, p.11) by Sheree Bega was selected as a GLAD for focusing on a concerning issue relevant to children of pre-school going age.
- There are ways to prevent teen suicide, so says The New Age
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The New Age receives a GLAD for its article which addresses the prevention of teenage suicide.
- Photographs by Beeld violate the dignity and privacy of grieving children and their families
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Photographs accompanying an article by Beeld have been selected for a MAD for violating the right to privacy and dignity of children attending a memorial service.
- Mail & Guardian depicts challenges in SA’s education system and children’s learning frustrations
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Mail & Guardian receives a GLAD for its insightful and critical article that reflects on challenges in South Africa’s education system.
- Sowetan gets a MAD for indirectly identifying children involved in a murder case
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An article by Sowetan receives a MAD for indirectly identifying children involved in a murder case and further failing to provide context by probing reasons behind one of the children’s alleged violent behaviour after his father’s death.
- The New Age commended for paying considerable thought and extreme care in reporting on children
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Two articles by The New Age share a GLAD for demonstrating extreme care in reporting on convicted mothers and their children who were born in jail.
- The Citizen misses the broader picture
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An article by The Citizen has been selected for a MAD for its insensitive picture and for failing to provide a nuanced and in-depth coverage of the eviction of 2000 people from a derelict building.
- Daily Sun fails to include the “WHY” factor in story.
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Daily Sun receives a MAD for its story which lacks basic information and context.