All Resources
Category: Children [REMOVE]
- New publications bill still a threat to media freedom
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The Media Monitoring Project (MMP) has been petitioning government to change the proposed Film and Publications Amendment Bill. While it is crucial to protect the rights of children, the MMP argues that the Bill has negative implications for media freedom in South Africa. Amongst other things, it is trying to get the country’s newspaper’s to self-regulate. Chakula spoke to William Bird, the Director of the MMP, and Sandra Roberts, a Project Co-ordinator at the organisation.
- Media wise - children make the difference
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The comprehensive research study proposed by the MMP, the first of its kind in South Africa, aimed to address the representation of children and children’s rights in the news media. The ECM project took place over a three-month period in 2003. A group of monitors reviewed print, radio and television media to identify trends in the portrayal of children in the news. In an exciting and innovative research approach, the MMP also sought the active participation of children, in order to understand their views and perceptions of children’s representation in the media. The MMP, together with Clacherty & Associates, an organisation that specialises in participatory work with children, co-developed the content and methodology of the participatory workshops. Clacherty & Associates facilitated the workshops, which were run with the children. As part of the process, the children engaged in a parallel monitoring project where they monitored the media for a two-week period. This was done so that the children could express their views directly and see for themselves how they are represented by the
- Environmental hazards and children’s vulnerablity
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The Sowetan (24/07/07, p.4) published a story titled “Lives at risk as mines coin it: State knew about danger for 40 years,” about exposed toxic wastes which allegedly endanger millions of people in Gauteng and the North West Province. This article is one to be glad of as it is educational, includes the views of children, and covers a topic which does not receive as much attention as it could do; the environment.
- Reporting on Children in the Context of HIV/AIDS: A Journalist’s Resource
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In the context of widespread HIV/AIDS and poverty, this booklet provides reference information about children affected by HIV/AIDS and related policy issues, which need urgent and in-depth coverage by the media. With the imperative to “put children first”,this booklet challenges some of the limitations and misleading messages in current coverage, and offers a resource list to help media with the task of shaping an appropriate national response to children affected by the epidemic.
- Success in Daily Voice complaint
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The Media Monitoring Project filed a complaint against the Daily Voice about the coverage of children in a child pornography feature. We also highlighted this case of bad coverage and launched a petition against it. The Daily Voice approached MMP for a settlement to the complaint.
- Mobiles and Minors
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A recent national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the SABC found that 72% of 18 – 24 years owned cellphones - and many were using them for more than just talking!
The Media Monitoring Project, in partnership with the Open Society Foundation and SAfm, invites you to tune in to MEDIA @ SAfm this Sunday for their latest radio conference “Mobiles and Minors”.
Does increased access to mobile content mean an increase in potential exposure to harmful content?
Drawing on key industry experts, you’ll learn about the various regulatory measures that should ensure children are protected from inappropriate content. We’ll also explore how videos, wallpapers and other cellphone content make it into our local youth media mix.
If you have a cellphone - or if you have a child that uses one - download the sound file or read the transcript here!
- The Children’s Media Mentoring Project (CMMP) Report
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The Media Monitoring Project pioneered a best practice approach to working with children as monitors and with journalists as mentors in a project called the Children’s Media Mentoring Project. MMP worked together with the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) and Agência de Notícas dos Direitos da Infância (ANDI: a Brazilian news agency focused on children’s rights). This report describes the project activities and looks at The Star newspaper as a case study on the effectiveness of the MMP’s approach.
- Star highlights long walk to freedom
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On 13 March 2007, an exemplary piece on children was published in The Star (page 13) titled Brothers’ long walk to freedom. It follows the day in the life of two teenage boys who are not deterred from attending school despite a 24km walk to get there and back because there is not enough money for transport. The headline is witty and plays on the discourse of struggle and liberation invoked by Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. The story takes up a whole newspaper page and the photographs are highly aesthetic.
- Reporting on disabilities: Too little, too limited
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People with disabilities constitute a considerable part of the South African population, yet coverage pertaining to people with a disability is very low and very limited in the media. In the few instances that this population groups is reported on, the coverage fails to raise the rights of the disabled and actually perpetuates societal stereotypes.
- Daily Voice and illegal coverage
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The Daily Voice, a Cape Town daily newspaper has grossly abused children’s rights. This story, published the 9th of March 2007, on pages 1, 6 and 7 of the Daily Voice, show children that were drugged, raped, filmed for the purposes of a pornographic film. Their images were then published in the newspaper, with only their eye colour obscured.
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