Something
to be glad
about?
Coverage of Children
in South African and
Zambian Media
Musa Oswald Rikhotso and Sandra Roberts
Media Monitoring Africa 2012
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Something to
be glad about?
Coverage of Children
in South African and
Zambian Media
Musa Oswald Rikhotso and Sandra Roberts
Children & Media: Championing Best Practice
Funded by the European Commission
Promoting human rights and democracy through the media since 1993
In partnership with
Copyright Media Monitoring Africa 2012
Media Monitoring Africa 2012
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Contents
Contents .................................................................................................. ii
Graphs ..................................................................................................... iv
Tables ....................................................................................................... v
Examples .................................................................................................. v
Abbreviations ........................................................................................... vi
Acknowledgements .................................................................................. vii
1. Introduction ....................................................................................... 1
2. Guidelines on reporting on children ............................................... 3
3. Research Method .............................................................................. 6
3.1. Aim of research ............................................................................... 6
3.2. Method ............................................................................................ 6
3.3. Data collection process ................................................................... 8
3.4. Children’s monitoring (South Africa) ............................................... 9
3.5. Research Limitations ....................................................................... 10
4. Findings (South Africa) ..................................................................... 11
4.1. Breadth of coverage ....................................................................... 11
4.1.1. Number of stories ................................................................ 11
4.1.2. Geographical origins of Stories ............................................. 12
4.1.3. Most Common Topics ........................................................... 13
4.2. Prominence of coverage on children .............................................. 14
4.3. Depth of coverage .......................................................................... 16
4.4. Where are the children? ................................................................. 17
4.4.1. Roles in which children appear ............................................ 19
4.4.2. Sex of children ...................................................................... 20
4.4.3. Race of children .................................................................... 21
4.4.4. Ages of children .................................................................... 21
4.5. Children’s Rights in the Media ........................................................ 22
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5. Findings (Zambia) .............................................................................. 27
5.1.Breadth of Coverage ....................................................................... 27
5.1.1. Amount of stories ................................................................. 27
5.1.2. Geographical origin of the stories ........................................ 27
5.1.3. Most Common Topics ........................................................... 28
5.2. Prominence of coverage of children ............................................... 29
5.3. Depth of Stories .............................................................................. 30
5.4 Where are the children? .................................................................. 31
5.4.1 Children’s role in Media ......................................................... 32
5.4.2 Sex of children mentioned ..................................................... 32
5.4.3 Ages of Children ..................................................................... 33
5.5 Children’s rights in the media ........................................................... 34
6. Conclusion .......................................................................................... 35
Appendix 1: Topic code list ....................................................................... 36
Appendix 2: Origin of stories .................................................................... 38
Appendix 3: Depth of Information ............................................................ 38
Appendix 4: MAD OAT Criteria .................................................................. 39
Appendix 5: Ethical Principles.................................................................... 39
Appendix 6: Children’s roles ..................................................................... 41
Appendix 7: Children’s Monitoring Form .................................................. 42
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Graphs
Graph 1: Top 10 Topics (South Africa).............................................................13
Graph 2: Children’s views of whether stories were positive or negative........14
Graph 3: Story types.......................................................................................14
Graph 4: Page numbers for items appearing in first 20 pages........................15
Graph 5: Item number for children’s items on television...............................15
Graph 6: Children representation by sex........................................................20
Graph 7: Children representation by race.......................................................21
Graph 8: Children representation by age........................................................21
Graph 9: Percentage of stories that protected children’s rights.....................22
Graph 10: How child monitors felt about stories............................................25
Graph 11: Number of stories supporting and violating principles..................25
Graph 12: Top five topics (Zambia).................................................................28
Graph 13: Types of coverage children were found in......................................29
Graph 14: Page numbers for items appearing in first 20 pages (Zambia).......30
Graph 15: Item number for children’s items on broadcast media (Zambia)...30
Graph 16: Children representation by sex.......................................................33
Graph 17: Sourcing of men vs. women in Zambian health coverage..............33
Graph 18: Children representation by age......................................................33
Graph 19: Percentage of stories that protected children’s rights...................34
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Tables
Table 1: Mediums sampled (South Africa).......................................................7
Table 2: Mediums sampled (Zambia)...............................................................7
Table 3: Number of stories on children (South Africa).....................................11
Table 4: Origin of stories..................................................................................12
Table 5: Depth of information indicators.........................................................16
Table 6: How children are sourced / mentioned..............................................17
Table 7: Children’s roles in stories....................................................................20
Table 8: Number of stories on children (Zambia).............................................27
Table 9: Origin of stories..................................................................................27
Table 10: Depth of information indicators.......................................................30
Table 11: How children are sourced / mentioned............................................31
Table 12: Children’s roles in stories..................................................................32
Examples
Example 1: Children accessed story: The New Age, 18 July 2011, p.4 ............18
Example 2: Children not accessed: The New Age, 15 August 2011, p.6 ..........19
Example 3: Child rights respected: The Star, 19 October 2011, p.3 ...............23
Example 4: Children rights violated: Daily Sun, 06 July 2011, p.4 ..................23
Example 5: Principle supported: Daily Sun, 10 August 2011, p.24 ..................47
Example 6: Principle violated: Daily Sun, 27 July 2011, p.6 .............................48
Example 7: Child best Interest: Zambia Daily Mail, 20 August 2011, p.4 ........56
Example 8: Zambia Daily Mail, 23 December 2011, p.2 ..................................61
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Abbreviations
EC: European Commission
MMA: Media Monitoring Africa
MNCRD: Media Network for Child Rights and Development
SCS: Save the Children Sweden
UNCRC: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Acknowledgements
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) would like to thank the European Commission (EC) and Save the
Children Sweden for commissioning the report and supporting the project, together with our partner
Media Network on Child Rights and Development (MNCRD).
We express our gratitude to William Bird for his advice and oversight of the project, and for his editing
of the report, a job completed with additional editing input from our colleagues Sandra Banjac and
Melanie Hamman. Additionally we acklowledge Melanie Hamman for her work in making this report
look presentable through her meticulous design and layout skills.
The successful completion of the project can be attributed to the Johannesburg project team: George
Kalu, Ayabulela Poro, Musa Rikhotso and Ronell Singh. Our thanks for excellent monitoring (by adults) to
Girlie Thamsanqa Sibanda, Jaqualine Kawonza, Joanne Walker, Kgalalelo Morwe, Lethabo Thebe Dibetso,
Mme-mme Motshabi, Rejoice Hoaeane, Msizi Kenneth Mzolo, Nobantu Urbania, Ann Mkwanazi, Ntsako
King Force Manganyi, Otshepeng Mmelesi, Siyabulela Tshaka, Tsholofelo Mophosho, Tshepiso Senetla,
Uyanda Siyotula. Data was captured by Belinda Pendzai and Jacob Mogano.
Our child monitors also were pivotal to the project. Those in South Africa came from four schools.
They were, Naturena Primary, Park Senior Primary, Pelican Park Primary, and Troyville Primary. Child
monitors from Naturena Primary were Babalwa Silver, Keabetswe Miya, Khanyisa Nkosi, Khaya Mabuza,
Kutlwano Mosopa, Leandro Holmes, Lesedi Sekgota, Liam Adams, Manneng Makhothi, Mogau Kganana,
Musa Bovu, Nompumelelo Mjikeliso, Nokuthula Keswa, Orifha Nemurura, Phathu Mukoma, Senzo
Kunene, Sibahle Tshabalala, Thandeka Langa, Vuyisile Malinga, Vuyo Motse, and Zandile Sithole. From
Park Senior Primary, our thanks to Andrea Quintas, Aurora Borges-Lino, Branden Molotsi, Christopher
Durand, Daryl Nkoua-Mackyta, Esther Anne Sobuza, Kiara Nyanhongo, Macha Hendricks, Merton Curtis
Notrem, Michaela Le Kay, Moesha Isaacs, Neema Qwela, Nkosinathi Mdiniso, Oluchi Kabwe Akujiobi,
Sharifa Subjee, Sheneeze Coolman, Tanica Van Der Walt and Tshetsana Rantao. Children participating
from Pelican Park Primary were Aqeefah Martin, Aqeelah Emjedi, Cameron Naicker, Carissa Pillay,
Faseegh Lee, Gouwa Galvaan, Kauther Brenner ,Kauther Khan ,Lailah Fish , Layla McLachlan, Mishka
Mandla, Mohammed Yameen Alli , Muhammed Khan, Naailah Sheik, Quanita Spanneberg, Remone
Moodley, Saarah Hendricks, Shaznay Wood, Tasmiyah Rawoot, Zubair Khan. From Troyville Primary,
the child monitors were Banza Mukunda, Mbalabu Kaniki, Caroline Machara, Londeka Thwala, Jessica
Mampuya, Colette Malatji, Yvone Malinga, Rabbi Mbuyi, David Thipe, Sokuluhle Mbane, Nompumelelo
Ntobela, Nkateko Manyika, Tresor Shamugondo, Linky Maohine, Zalathi Majozi, Quintine Dube, Dimpho
Bridgette Morupisi, Grace Kamanda, Helena Bugumba, and Tali Salamawa. All monitors have been
completely committed to the project and provided us with invaluable input.
We cannot stress enough the contribution made by the teachers at the various schools who have
coordinated the monitoring as an extramural activity and ensured that it happened regardless of
whether an MMA staff member was present or not. The teachers to whom our sincerest appreciation
goes to are: Ms. Innocentia Mabalayo, Mrs. Irene Dudley, Mrs. Jelinda Adams, Ms. Refilwe Kekana and
Mrs. Loretta Naidoo, and Ms. Lungiswa Jonus. Our thanks to the principals, Mr. Arendse (Naturena
Primary), Mr. Joubert, (Troyville Primary), Ms. Moonsamy (Pelican Park Primary), and Mrs. Moonsamy
(Park Senior Primary).
On the Zambian side, MMA would like to thank Media Network for Child Rights and Development
(MNCRD) for an outstanding job running the project there. In particular, we acknowledge Lister
Namumba for overseeing both the children’s and adult’s monitoring, which provided data for this report
with the support of Remington Mwelwa. The MNCRD Director, Henry Kabwe, has been invaluable in
providing overall oversight and coordination of all project activities in Zambia.
Adult Monitors in Lusaka were Audrey Namumba, Brenda Chinyama, Juliet Makwama, Mavis Njovu,
Mwansa Malama and Stenwezi Daka. Data was captured by Lister Namumba.
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Child monitors from Zambia came from five schools. They were, Chibelo Basic School, Chisengalumbwe
Basic School, Jacaranda Basic School, Kabulonga Basic School, and New Northmead Basic School.
From Chibelo Basic School, our thanks go to Caroline Kasapo, Drywell Ngala, Edith Nkhondowe, Eric
Banda, Kebby Siancheya, Lauren Mulenga, Lukumo Mumba, Macmillan Hamamba, Mandona Mulanga,
Memory Kapela, Mercy Simushi, Mwansa Bwalya, Nzina Mboozi, Onangi Banda, Patricia Kanenge,
Paul Thole, Tamara Nyirongo, Titus Mushinge, Twambo Wamunyima, and Zabeta Phiri. Child monitors
from Chisengalumbwe Basic School were Alice Kombe, Bwalya Machipisa, Chanda Kaoma, Chongo
Chama, Costa Funga, Cynthia Mondo, Haggai Chongo, Ireen Phiri, Jean Kapilya, Joy Kabaso, Loveness
Mukumbuta, Memory Sibbokolo, Moses Unene, Mwape Mutati, Natasha Mulaisho, Rabecca Kalumbi,
Selina Thewo, Stephen Musonkolo, and Tracy Zulu. In Jacaranda Basic School, the child monitors were
Bethsheba Muwowo, Chipako Mwansa, Chomba Nakazwe, Elizabeth Muntanga, Emeldah Tembo, Eunice
Chiluba, Exploits Mutale, Felix Sinkala, Francis Mapya, Jeff Mumba, Joseph Lungu, Joy Malunga, Kakoma
Kalimbwe, King Louise Mwale, Ndabazithe Nyirenda, Nema Siame, Ng’andwe Ng’andwe, Rachael
Lungu, Samantha Phiri, Selina Banda, Taonga Mukulama, Tina Tembo, and Yoram Gondwe. Kabulonga
Basic School included the monitoring talents of Alice Musenge, Bwalya Sampa, Chipo Mukonka, Chris
Siamukanyu, Christine Mwaba, Chuma Kapwaya, Dingani Banda, DipAulelo Muzumala, Emma Musopelo,
Kaninji Sikombe, Little Makali, Margaret Lifumbo, Maureen Mwale, Monde Muyoba, Mubotu Mubita,
Ntazana Mukalula, Precious Mantina, Sapato Liwoyo, VioletBwalya Mpande. From New Northmead
Basic School, child participants were Adjuoah Chatupa, Annie Mulenga, Christopher Ndima, Dado Ali
Ahmed, Eugene Ndumba, Fema Musonda, Joseph Chilufya, Mary Chimunika, Miniver Chileshe, Mulenga
Mumba, Rabecca Phiri, Raquel Walker, Selita Mwansa, Sylvester Zulu, Takiza Mwenya, Theresa Chisanga,
Theresa Kasaka, Vanessa Yumba, Vera Milambo, and Wisdom Ndhlovu.
Again, the teachers at the different schools made an invaluable contribution. The teachers, Kashita
Mukonka, Mubita Mubita, Chibamba P Liswili, Noel Kandondo, Ellie C Banda, Marjory M Kalumbi,
Kennedy Manglashi provided invaluable help and support. And the principles, Mrs Mbaza, Mrs Malambo,
Mr Sakala, Mr Chisenga and Mrs. Simakando, provided permission and support for the programme to
be run in the schools.
Without the contribution of each of these individuals, this project would not have been possible.
Thank you very much.
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1. Introduction
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the
way it treats its children”
Nelson Mandela
While South Africa may be one of the better resourced countries within Southern Africa, it is beset with
social problems, which children are often exposed to. One of these problems is the high prevalence
of sexual violence. South Africa also has one of the highest rates of child murder in the region and the
world with 1410 children murdered in the 2007/2008 period1. HIV and AIDS continues to affect children
with 100 000 children exposed before birth. South Africa also has continuing problems with education,
despite the rise in the Grade 12 pass rate; there is still much criticism over the system. Further, despite
education being one of the highest budget items in South Africa’s national budget, 60% of primary
schools do not have a library.
Children in Zambia face strikingly different challenges from those in South Africa, with 30 000 children
born HIV positive and more than 20 percent having lost one or both parents to AIDS. Malaria is the
leading cause of child mortality. Children, particularly those bereft of parents by AIDS suffer from
poor nutrition with 50 percent undernourished. Health services are inadequate for the demands. In
terms of education, teacher shortages mean that many children in schools lack language and maths
fundamentals2.
Both the governments of South Africa and Zambia, like many governments throughout the world,
are obliged to protect children’s rights. They have demonstrated their commitment to child rights by
ratifying the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The convention sets out
what the governments and individual citizens should do in order to protect and promote the rights of
children.
Since the previous report on media coverage of children there has been, in South Africa, further
protections put in place in the Press Code to protect children in the 2011 South African Press Council
review. This was after lobbying from Media Monitoring Africa (MMA). Additionally, the Editorial
Guidelines and Principles on for Reporting on Children in the media has been adopted by Independent
Newspapers in 2009. During the period covered by the report, child monitors and MMA staff visited the
Cape Argus in Cape Town and The Star, The Citizen and Sowetan in Johannesburg to present results and
motivate for improved coverage. Revised guidelines have been endorsed by the South African National
Editors Form (Sanef) and the African Editors Forum (AEF) in late 2011, and distributing in South Africa.
There is also the cumulative impact of all the journalists trained by MMA over the preceding four years
which impacts on coverage, as well as, ongoing advocacy in the form of weekly good and poor practice
that is highlighted as part of the Make Abuse Disappear Online Accountability Tool (MAD OAT) through
the MMA website and communication with journalists.
In Zambia MNCRD engages journalists on children’s rights through regular forums on children in the
media, having lobbied journalists for better practice in these forums for the past five years. The contents
of this report represent the first findings on coverage of children in the Zambian media.
1. South African Police Service Annual Report 2007/2008: Crime situation In South Africa (2008). Retrieved on 06 July, 2012, from
http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=88795
2. Zambia. (n.d). Retrieved July 6, 2012, from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zambia_1391.html
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Children present a particular challenge to journalists in terms of ethics. It is important to cover children,
and important social issues, such as education, necessitate covering children. However, specific skills
and knowledge are necessary to cover children, including legal acumen. In particular, with increasing
lawsuits directed at media producers in South Africa, journalists may feel increased pressure to avoid
covering children. Often the issues themselves are also very complicated, such as abuse, poverty,
malnutrition, education and development, which have layers of causal and social factors. A particular
difficulty comes in sourcing children, as children are more difficult to interview, picture, they are not
able to give consent to pictures or to being quoted. Consent is harder to obtain for sourcing children,
since they cannot consent for themselves. This means that covering children necessarily takes more
time. The various pressures on journalists must be born in mind in considering the findings which
follow, including the short lead times for stories and the (often daily) deadlines.
However, covering children remains important. The cliché of children being the future holds true. Social
problems are continued through children or reduced by them, in the future. Media has great power to
highlight, and in so doing correct, abuses of children. It affirms the role of children as our future and
secures a better tomorrow for all. This is true, not only of abuse, but of a range of child-related topics,
such as education and health. But all social issues that affect communities also affect children, who
constitute a sizable minority of the population – 39 percent in South Africa, 53 percent in Zambia. So
there is scope to include children in almost all social issues. Just as women and men are differently
affected by social issues, so children are also affected in unique ways. Including the perspectives of
the most vulnerable in society can add depth to a story. However, irresponsible journalism can have a
serious and lasting negative impact on a child. It is perhaps understandable then that some journalists
may choose to play it safe and consistently opt for adult voices, instead of taking the time to assess
whether it would be in the best interests of a child to offer their opinion.
This report, first looks at the guidelines on reporting on children developed by MMA, both as background
information and as a basis for the research method. Then the research method is explained. The
findings follow in the next sections, first those in SA and then those in Zambia. Some comparisons are
drawn, but the amount of data from the countries differs dramatically together with the amount of
coverage, and this needs to be kept in mind.
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2. Guidelines on
reporting on children
There are no established universally agreed-upon standards for reporting on children. However, the particular
importance of sensitivity when covering children is recognised in the provisions of various media codes, including
the codes of the Press Council and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission. But by far the most comprehensive
guidelines for journalists in South Africa and Zambia have been collected from various sources into a guide for
journalists.
The Press Council expects the following from print media and journalists in relation
to children:
• Exceptional care and consideration must be exercised when reporting on
matters where children under the age of 18 are involved. If there is any chance
that coverage might cause harm of any kind to a child, he or she should not be
interviewed, photographed or identified unless a custodial parent or similarly
responsible adult consents or a public interest is evident.
• The press shall not identify children who have been victims of abuse
or exploitation, or have been charged with or convicted of a crime.
While the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa has few guidelines
in terms of children in news content, it does say:
• Broadcasting service licensees must not broadcast material which is harmful or
disturbing to children at times when a large number of children are likely to be
part of the audience.
• The identity of rape victims and other victims of sexual violence must not be
divulged in any broadcast, whether as part of news or not, without the prior valid
consent of the victim concerned.
MMA’s guidelines are far more extensive:
1. Even where you are trying to tell people about harm to children or another children’s issue
or promote children’s rights, you always need to respect the best interests of the individual
child. The best interests of each child are to be protected over any other consideration,
including over advocacy for children’s issues and the promotion of children’s rights.
2. Always respect children’s dignity and well-being. The dignity and rights of every child are to
be respected in every circumstance.
3. When interviewing children, respect their privacy and confidentiality and make sure you
protect them from harm and potential consequences.
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In interviewing and reporting on children, special attention is to be paid to their right to privacy
and confidentiality, to participate in decisions affecting them and to be protected from harm and
retribution. A child should always be interviewed in a safe, comfortable and non-threatening
environment. If the child does not want to be a part of the interview, his/her wishes
should be respected. A child should be afforded enough time to think about
whether he/she wants a story to be published or not.
4. Children have a right to have their views heard on matters that affect them, so try and
include them. When trying to determine the best interests of children, the children’s right
to have their views taken into account is to be given due weight in accordance with their
age and maturity.
5. When writing a story on children ask those who know or work with them, or are experts on
the issue, about the potential consequences of telling their story. Those closest to the child
and best able to assess a child’s situation are to be consulted about the diverse ramifications,
including potential political, social and cultural ramifications of any reportage.
6. Always hide a child’s identity where the child might be at risk. No stories or images will
be published that might put the child, siblings or peers at risk even when identities are
changed, obscured or not used. When it is editorially necessary to publish a picture of a
child that is potentially harmful to that child, the identity of the child shall be obscured in
such a manner that the child cannot be recognised.3
7. Children involved in legal proceedings need even more protection, and are at greater risk so
make sure to always protect their identity. In all stories in which a child has been involved in
a crime, either as a witness, victim or perpetrator, unless exceptional circumstances prevail
and then only if there is informed consent from the child involved and the child’s caregiver,4
the child’s identity will not be revealed either directly or indirectly.
8. If you want to name or show a child, make sure you are allowed to do so by law, that you
have informed consent from both the child and caregiver and that you still protect them
from potential harm.
Whenever the identity of a child is disclosed, whether pictorially or in print:
• The statutory restrictions on the naming or identification of a child shall be observed and
adhered to;
• The informed consent of the child and caregiver of any child shall be sought in all cases;
• Even if a child’s caregiver consents to disclosure of the identity of a child, a journalist must exercise cautious discretion, as it may nevertheless be harmful to the child to publish the identity of the child.
9. Make sure to protect a child’s HIV status. If in doubt leave it out. To prevent harm and
possible stigmatisation, a child’s HIV status will not be revealed directly or indirectly, unless
there are exceptional circumstances, and informed consent (from both the child and
caregiver) has been attained. If in doubt, this information shall be left out.
3. In this regard, the face of the child shall be blurred or pixilated completely. However, pixelating the face alone is not enough; anything
in the photo that may identify the child, like a bracelet or picture, must be obscured.
4. It should be noted that caregiver refers to a parent, guardian or an adult who has responsibility for the child, but that the degree of
responsibility can vary depending on the circumstances.
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10. Challenge negative stereotypes about children and conventional roles children occupy in
the media (e.g. helpless victims5) whenever you can.
Negative stereotypes about children based on race, gender, class, culture, and/or sexual
orientation are particularly harmful for children and will be challenged wherever possible. Children’s achievements will also be given due recognition in the media.
11. Treat girls and boys the same in your stories, with equal care, dignity and respect. Girl and
boy children have equal rights and gender based stereotypes will not be perpetuated when
reporting on children.
Where a child’s circumstances makes him/her especially vulnerable (e.g. due to poverty,
homelessness, parent or sibling’s HIV status, being an orphan, child soldier or refugee) journalists
must demonstrate extreme care to ensure their reporting does not cause further harm, trauma,
distress, humiliation, embarrassment, grief or expose them to danger. The child should only
be identified when informed consent has been given by the child and caregiver, and it is
demonstrably in the child’s best interest to do so. Otherwise the child’s
identity should be protected. In all cases reporting must be carried out
in a manner consistent with the child’s best interests.
12. When doing a story on a vulnerable child make sure to be extra careful.6
13. Do not portray children in a sexual manner. Journalists must not use sexualised images of
children.
14. Do not make promises you cannot keep and don’t bribe children for your story. A journalist
must never abuse his/her position of power, especially when it comes to accessing or
reporting on children. Journalists must never bribe a child with money, goods or promises
of help or improved circumstances, in order to obtain information or secure consent. To do
so is a gross abuse of power, is highly unethical and negates consent.
It is with these best practice guidelines in mind that the context was examined and the methodology
for the study developed. Clearly adherence to not all the guidelines can be measured through content
analysis, but some general principles are. The next section discusses the research methodology which
is informed by these guidelines and previous MMA research.
5. Research conducted by Media Monitoring Africa shows that children are usually portrayed as victims in the media. For more information visit:
http://www.mediamonitoringafrica.org/index.php/resources/entry/the_times_hails_class_act_maud/
6. Media Monitoring Africa and Save The Children Sweden (n.d) Editorial Guidelines and Principles for reporting on children in the Media. Johannesburg.
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3. Research Methods
In order to execute this research, a research methodology was created to answer questions related to the extent
and nature of coverage of children in Gauteng based newspapers and free-to-air television stations in South
Africa and all larger newspapers, a selection of radio and national television stations. This section outlines the
research method, the media monitored and process followed for the project. It also discusses the limitations of
the research.
3.1 Aim of Research
The overall goal of the Empowering Children in the Media strategy, of which this research report is a component,
is to improve the portrayal and participation of children in the news media. In striving for this goal the strategy
seeks to empower children in the media in South Africa and Zambia through active participation in media
practices. Through media literacy skills transfer, the strategy enables children to have their voices heard in the
media and develops their analytical skills on children’s rights and their representation in the media. In doing so
the strategy contributes to creating informed citizens of the future who will contribute to good governance and
uphold human rights.
This portion of the strategy encompasses a review of media content on reporting on children, both by adults
and children in South Africa, and adults in Zambia. The research seeks to gauge how children are represented
in South African and Zambian media, to what extent children’s voices are heard in the media and whether the
coverage protects children’s rights.
Initiatives and activities carried out in South Africa for the period covered by the report were:
•
•
•
•
•
News monitoring of children by children in the news and how they are portrayed;
Building children’s critical media literacy skills, through workshops and ongoing media monitoring;
An honours level university accredited course on reporting on children in the media for mid-career journalists;
Ongoing interaction and feedback with journalists and media houses; and,
The dissemination and adoption of ethical guidelines and practical tips for journalists and newsrooms for
reporting on children.
Meanwhile, in Zambia, activities included:
• The children’s news agency, where children produced stories for print media; and,
• Regular journalistic forums where children and media were discussed.
While this report does not specifically gauge the effectiveness of the interventions, these activities doubtless
have affected coverage.
3.2 Method
A content analysis method was applied in gathering the information. This process allowed MMA to extract data
and allow for generalisation of coverage. The term ‘monitor’ is used to indicate the extraction of data from
individual news items. The exact data extracted is explained later in this section.
For South Africa, in total 14 newspapers and 2 television stations were monitored. The table below shows the
mediums and frequencies.
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Table 1: Mediums sampled (South Africa)
Media
Media type
Business Day
City Press
Daily Sun
e.tv News
Mail & Guardian
SABC 3 News
Saturday Star
Sowetan
Sunday Sun
Sunday Times
Sunday World
The Citizen
The New Age
The Star
The Sunday Independent
The Times
Newspaper
Newspaper
Newspaper
Television
Newspaper
Television
Newspaper
Newspaper
Newspaper
Newspaper
Newspaper
Newspaper
Newspaper
Newspaper
Newspaper
Newspaper
Frequency of publication
/ broadcast
Daily
Weekly
Daily
Daily
Weekly
Daily
Weekly
Daily
Weekly
Weekly
Weekly
Daily
Daily
Daily
Weekly
Daily
All the media monitored are widely available in the Gauteng province. Most of the major daily and weekly
privately-owned English-medium newspapers were monitored. Free-to-air English television stations were also
included in the sample. e.tv is an English-medium, commercial television station that is easily accessible to many
South Africans. SABC 3 is the commercial station of the public broadcaster. Both e.tv and SABC 3 are broadcast
nationally. South African media were monitored between 1 July 2011 and 31 November 2011.
For Zambia, the media analysed were state-, and privately-owned. The table below shows the media studied.
Media
Media type
Muvi TV
QFM
Radio Christian Voice
Radio Phoenix
The Post Newspaper
UNZA Radio
Zambia Daily Mail
ZNBC TV
ZNBC TV2
Television
Radio
Radio
Radio
Newspaper
Radio
Newspaper
Television
Television
Media frequency
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Table 2: Mediums sampled (Zambia)
The 9 media in Table 2 were purposively selected to be a good reflection of the media in Zambia. In terms of
newspapers, most of those available in the country were selected. Although some audiences may be excluded
by the heavy concentration on English, most Zambians can read and speak the language. Besides, English is the
country’s official language and the medium of instruction in schools. Zambian media were monitored between 1
July 2011 and 30 September, then from 1 December 2011 to 31 January 2012.
The prime time bulletins were monitored each day for each of the stations. For print media, news items were
monitored. Monitoring excluded advertising and paid-for content, sports results, educational supplements,
letters to the editor, film / book reviews, and television programming guides for newspapers. For television,
advertisement breaks were excluded.
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3.3 Data collection process
Data was manually collected by people trained to examine and extract data from all stories that were clearly about
children, or pictured a child or children. A child, according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC), is a person under the age of 18.7 University students and the recent university graduates with
media studies and humanities backgrounds were employed to monitor content in South Africa, while working
professionals acted as monitors in Zambia. Monitors were also trained on the methodology for this project.
Quality and accuracy of monitoring submitted was checked on a daily basis. The completed monitoring was then
captured into a specially designed database.
For all news sources, the number of children-related stories was counted against the number of non-health
related stories. This enabled MMA to determine how much coverage is specifically given to children-related
issues.
For each children-related story, the following information was captured:
Item Number:
Each item was numbered in relation to where it occurred in a news bulletin or the page where it appeared
on in the newspaper. The position of a story in a newspaper is an indicator of the importance attributed to
an issue, as front page stories or opinion, analysis, or editorial pages indicate greater importance ascribed to
the issue by the newspaper. Likewise, the order of items on television or radio bulletins shows the relative
emphasis given by the station.
Summary:
A brief summary of each children-related story or item was provided. The summary reflects the ‘essence’ of
the story.
Type of story:
For television, the monitors recorded different types of stories such as news, sports, photograph and business.
For print, the monitor recorded different types of stories, such as, news story, in-brief, editorial, opinion piece
and feature. The type of story is an indicator of editorial commitment to the issue, such as feature/news
analysis, editorials, opinion pieces, and current affairs, indicate greater commitment than news stories.
Topic:
The overall topic or central subject of each item was captured using a set list.8 Monitors were obliged to
choose the most specific and most appropriate code for the item being monitored. Only one topic code for
each item was permitted. The more general topic codes were utilised only as a matter of last resort in those
few instances where an item could not be categorised as falling into one of the more specific topic areas.
origin:
The geographic area in which the stories originated was recorded using a set list.9 Capturing the origins of the
stories gave a broad indication of the journalistic selection biases.
Author:
The authorship of an item/story, for instance, a journalist, an agency, a combination of these, or a guest writer
was captured. Where possible, the sex of the author was also captured. This enabled MMA to determine
whether the media commit their own journalists to covering health issues, which also is an indicator of
editorial commitment to the issue.
7. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Retrieved July 6, 2012, from http:// www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm
8. See Appendix 1
9. See Appendix 2
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Sources:
Children were regarded as sources when directly or indirectly accessed, named, photographed and made
reference to their age. They were captured using a set list. Where clear, further information about the sex and
the function of the people accessed was also categorised. However, adults were only regarded as sources when
directly or indirectly accessed. They were also captured using a set list. Sources in stories gave an important
indication of whose stories were covered, who was speaking and who was asked for quotes.
Children’s rights:
An overall assessment of whether headlines, images and the stories are in the best interest of the child/
children or not.10
Quality of information:
Ideally, a good news story should give more detail than the bare facts of the event or a particular issue. It
should accurately set the context, show the implications of the course of events and how a particular issue
or event might impact society at large. To determine the quality of information provided in the news items,
monitors recorded whether items provided a basic context and an in-depth context. In addition, monitors
noted whether items discussed relevant legislation or policy, self help and whether the stories were in
children’s best interest.11
Ethical Principles:
There are widely-accepted principles of journalistic practice, these more general principles were used in the
Zambian monitoring, while for the South African, specific principles relating to children were developed and
used to assess whether stories were generally ethical.
3.4 Children’s monitoring (South Africa)
In South Africa, child monitors in grades six and seven participated in the project. The comments from these
children are dispersed through the report. While the work done by the children in this project is not supposed
to be reliable and valid like the findings of the main project, it is a key part of the strategy of the project to get
children reading news and also participating in the dialogue with media practitioners.
Schools were selected to include various socio-economic backgrounds, different races and were situated in two
provinces in the country.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Naturena Primary School in South of Johannesburg;
Park Senior Primary School in Turfontein Johannesburg;
Troyeville Primary School in Bertrams/Bez Valley Johannesburg; and,
Pelican Park Primary School in Grassy Park Cape Town.
Eighty children took part in the monitoring of eight newspapers, with monitors from each school focusing on two
newspapers.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The Times and Sowetan were monitored by Naturena Primary;
The Star and Daily Sun were monitored by Park Senior Primary;
The Citizen and The New Age were monitored by Troyeville Primary; and,
The Cape Argus and Cape Times were monitored by Pelican Park Primary.
All the monitoring books that were given to the children were collected and the data was fed into an MS Access
Database, which in the end, contained a total of 632 children’s stories. The questions that children answered
about each story forms Appendix 6.
10. See Appendix 4
11. See Appendix 5
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3.5 Research Limitations
There were a number of limitations to the research. Firstly, selection of items was a great challenge. All items
were selected manually, firstly by MMA and MNCRC staff and then checked by monitors. Since media differ
dramatically in their presentation of stories, this method was not infallible. Items with accompanying visuals of
children may have been selected when the same story, if a child or children did not feature prominently, may
not have been. These visual cues, however, are likely to affect casual readers or viewers similarly, leading media
audiences to make the same assumptions about the relevance of children to the story. Secondly, comparing
very different media also has limitations, since comparing media with as diverse audiences and resource bases
is problematic. This can be seen in in-country findings, with the different media which target different audiences
and have different levels of resources. In addition, comparing South African media is also problematic due to
the different media cultures and resources. Thirdly, comparisons made in this report are between South African
and Zambian media. They are done cautiously because of the very different sample sizes, based on the higher
number of media in South Africa and the far lower coverage of children in Zambia. Comparisons were made
further problematic because of the differing monitoring periods, which may have impacted coverage differently.
In particular, the South African period ended during the 16 Days Campaign,12 and included the Universal Day
of Children; in Zambia, the monitoring began again while the campaign was underway. Fourthly, biases of the
monitors could not be ruled out despite the emphasis from MMA to ensure that the monitors are fair in their
monitoring. However, this was minimised by the standardised user guide, training and regular communication
during the monitoring process to prevent distortion of the findings.
12. The 16 Days Campaign of no Violence against Women and Children is an international civil society campaign that runs from the International Day for
the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November) to International Human Rights Day (10 December), each year. It symbolically links
violence against women (and children) to human rights abuse.
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4. Findings
Striking about the findings from South Africa is the sheer number of stories on children. There were other
indications that South African media prioritised coverage of children in various ways. The majority of the stories
were also felt by the children to be positive rather than negative.
4.1 Breadth of coverage
Children were covered widely in the media, this was both in terms of the amount of coverage of children, the
stories that they were featured in and the geographical origin of these stories. This section examines the breadth
of coverage in terms of these criteria.
4.1.1 Number of stories
The amount of coverage afforded to children varied dramatically across the various media monitored. Table 2
below demonstrates the relative coverage as a percentage of all coverage.
Table 3: Number of stories on children (South Africa)
Media
SABC 3
eTV
Saturday Star
The Times
Daily Sun
Mail & Guardian
The New Age
Sowetan
Sunday World
City Press
Sunday Sun
Sunday Times
The Citizen
The Sunday Independent
The Star
Business Day
Total Stories
(N)
630
686
1782
3915
5976
1640
7228
3680
296
1615
675
2192
8874
1476
9234
10842
Stories
featuring
children (n)
269
236
235
492
700
169
718
320
21
108
44
136
538
73
427
190
% Child
Stories
42.7%
34.4%
13.2%
12.6%
11.7%
10.3%
9.9%
8.7%
7.1%
6.7%
6.5%
6.2%
6.1%
4.9%
4.6%
1.8%
Out of the two television stations monitored, SABC 3 covered the greatest proportion of children’s stories at
42.7%, followed closely by eTV 3 at 34.4%. Although, SABC 3 had numerically more stories, as they carry more
stories per bulletin. The proportion of stories involving children is dramatically lower for the print media. For
newspapers, of the 14 newspapers monitored, The Saturday Star had the greatest proportion of coverage on
children with 13.2% of stories devoted to children (235 stories on children overall). While The Times had the
greatest number of stories on children at 492, or 12.6% each of their total stories focusing on children. The worst
ranked is Business Day with only 2% of stories (in general) focusing on children.
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4.1.2 Geographical origins of stories
The origins of the story in this report help us to understand where the stories that involve or include children
originate from and which provinces are getting more coverage. As with any other numerically significant
proportion of the population, it would be expected that children are shown from a diversity of provinces within
South Africa. The table below show the percentage of the origins of the stories.
Table 4: Origin of stories
Origin
%
Gauteng
29%
International
18%
National
16%
Western Cape
8%
Africa
6%
Kwa-Zulu Natal
4%
Limpopo
4%
Eastern Cape
4%
North West
3%
Free State
3%
Mpumalanga
2%
Regional
2%
Northern Cape
1%
Gauteng province constitutes 29 percent of the origin of stories containing or discussing children. This is not
surprising, as the newspapers surveyed were available in Johannesburg, rather than a national sample. Stories
from international origins (the rest of the world, excluding Africa) constitute 18 percent. National stories constitute
16 percent of children stories. Such stories typically include stories about education, justice system and health
issues. These stories focus on the children in South Africa. The stories that originate from other African countries
constitute 6 percent of the children stories. Northern Cape ranks the lowest with 1 percent of children stories.
Northern Cape is both the most scantly populated province and the poorest. The province consistently receives
the least coverage in media monitored. For instance, in the 2009 National Government elections coverage, it got
less than three percent of coverage.13
The results also indicate an urban bias present in most media (even community media). Provinces with the
most developed metropolises have ranked higher that the provinces with less developed metropolitan areas.
Gauteng, which ranks first, has the most developed metropolises which are Johannesburg and Pretoria. The
second ranking province is Western Cape with its most developed metropolis being Cape Town. Northern Cape
has less developed metropolises, such as Bisho, when compared to Gauteng. Since urban areas are also where
the national government offices are, it is not surprising that media would work from there and cover many stories
from there, as many stories from government are of national importance.
13. Govenden, P, Duncan, C and Radu, W. (2009, p54). National and Provincial Elections 2009. Johannesburg, Media Monitoring Africa.
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4.1.3 Most common topics
This section presents the key topics in the coverage of monitored media and the levels of attention afforded to
various subjects like party politics, party manifestos, and logistics. This gives us a good idea of general trends of
children coverage. A diversity of topics is preferable that allow for a comprehensive view of children.
A topic is regarded the central subject of the story. For example, if the story is about a suspect appearing in court
for murder and it makes an extensive reference to the murder scene, the central topic will be the justice system,
which includes court proceedings. The topic codes were used to see which issues children were most likely to be
featured in. Graph 1, below, shows the top 10 topics in all children stories.
Graph 1: Top 10 Topics (South Africa)
e le
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es
i.
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rs
Pe
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/A
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t 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% The topics above reflect the biases that media have about children. Education is unsurprisingly the top topic,
with 16 percent of coverage. Education was a prominent topic due to a teachers’ strike that took place in the
monitoring period. Other prominent topics were preliminary and final matric exams, results, problems in schools,
problems with the new syllabus and education system more broadly, together with a big story on corporal
punishment sparked by a video of a child being abused that went viral. Disaster/accident together with crime
stories accounts for 18 percent of stories. This is not surprising, as stories on disasters and crime that involve
the innocent (i.e. children), tend to be more newsworthy than those that involve adults and those who are
somehow partly responsible for what happens to them (such as criminals). Road related accidents involving
children featured prominently around disaster and accident stories.
Other stories revolved around household accidents such as fires or drowning. Included were some international
stories, mainly involving South African children in some way. The murder of children featured prominently under
the topic of crime. In terms of health there was a mix of international and South African stories where children
were mentioned, as the health issues mentioned had particular bearing on them. The fact that children appeared
regularly in sports, education, profiles, health, media and arts demonstrates that they are covered in stories on
topics that are perceived as positive, although, this does not necessarily mean that these topics had stories that
were all positive.
Furthermore, it is interesting to note that children featured less in topics such as child abuse, justice system,
crime, conflict and disasters. These topics are mostly regarded as negative, however it does not mean that all
stories with this topic were negative. Children seem to feature less as “the face of disaster” than previously. This
is a positive finding.
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When the children monitored they felt that overall stories were well reported on.
Graph 2 below shows the breakdown of what the children considered to be well
reported or badly reported stories.
Graph 1: Posi-ve vs Nega-ve stories Graph
2: Children’s
views of whether
stories were
positive or negative
Nega%ve 20% Posi%ve 80% This is not a bad result for the media. Most stories that were considered badly
reported were those that either ignored the chance to interview children or
violated the children’s rights in the manner that the story was reported. Well
reported stories meant that the news articles were sensitive in the way
they reported the stories and that all the details that were
required journalistically, were included in the report for the
readers to make sense of the story.
4.2 Prominence of coverage on children
The type of coverage given to children is significant when considering depth and quality of coverage. The type
of coverage also reflects to what extent the media is willing to expend its resources on covering health issues as
more resources go into features than news stories. The bulk of stories in newspapers are news stories, as is all
coverage in news bulletins (with the exception of sports stories and the weather report).
Graph 3: Story types
Editorial 1% Interview 1% Sport 3% Opinion piece 5% Feature/News Analysis 5% Photograph News Story Media Monitoring Africa 2012
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10% 67% 14
News stories constitute 67 percent of the children stories monitored, whilst photographs constitute ten percent.
Sports, briefs, opinion piece, editorial and interview stories were 14 percent. While it may seem that coverage
of children was “newsy” and lacked depth, it is important to bear in mind that the newspapers monitored were
mainly dailies so the overwhelming bulk of stories are news, while broadcast media is almost entirely news with
some sport. In this light, the 67 percent is a very positive finding, reflecting that more analysis was frequently
given on stories about children. However, the ten percent of photographs is concerning, as these gave no space
for further explanation of the situation. In particular, photographs featuring children from other parts of the
world may just serve to highlight events and cultures that would seem bizarre to readers.
Another manner in which we can tell how newsworthy media thought items on children were is to examine what
page they are printed on, or for television, when in the bulletin the story was aired. Greater prominence is given
to stories early on in the newspaper and on the editorial and analysis pages. Graph 4, below, reflects the page
numbers of stories.
Graph 4: Page numbers for items appearing in first 20 pages
500 450 Number of stories
400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Newspaper pages children’s stories appeared on
The majority of children stories appeared in the news sections of newspapers. However, it is good to notice the
spike in coverage on page 10, as it is often in these pages that editorials and features are found.
In terms of television, items with children were more likely to air earlier, rather than later in the bulletin, indicating
that they were given prominence, shown clearly in graph 5, below.
Graph 5: Items number for children’s items on television
140 120 Number of stories
100 80 60 40 20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 News bulletin item number where children’s stories aired
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Various types of coverage on children are encouraged. Not only does this help raise profile of children but it
is also more likely to bring across the complexity required for addressing matters relating to children. Graph 5,
shows the item number of children stories.
Not only were children found in a broad range of stories, but stories about children were given prominence, both
in the relatively high number of items that offered more analysis than news stories and the prominent placing of
stories in bulletins and newspapers.
4.3 Depth of coverage
The depth of the information of all the stories that are about and involve children was measured by standard
criteria. The eight criteria detailed in the table below are the criteria by which the quality of the stories about
children was evaluated.14 The below table shows the different information criteria as a percentage of all stories.
Table 5: Depth of information indicators
Criteria
%
Context Basic
Causes
Child's Best Interest
Consequences
Context-in-depth
Solutions
Self-Help
Legislation
100%
75%
43%
42%
19%
12%
1%
1%
If all journalists provided all the information in the above table, the stories would be more informing, in-depth,
accurate and balanced. However, they may not be entertaining, since they would be too information-heavy and
dry. So, achieving all of these is not desirable or appropriate for all stories. All coverage provided basic context
about the events in the stories. 19 percent of the stories provided in-depth information. For the story
to be evaluated as having context-in-depth the stories should have looked at broader social consequences and
recurring patterns. 75 percent of the stories gave the reason for the occurrences or causes in the story. For
example if the story talks about fire destroying informal settlements in Alexandra, does the story mention the
cause of the fire? When the story mentioned the reason the fire occurred, the cause box was ticked.
42 percent of the stories managed to mention the consequences of the event in the story. For example, if
a story was about a fire destroying houses in the informal settlements of Alexandra, and mentioned the impact
of the fire on the residents, the consequences box was ticked. Regarding solutions to events, 12 percent of the
stories provided solutions. For example, if a story was about a fire destroying houses in the informal settlements
of Alexandra, the story was expected to mention what will happen to the people who were left homeless due
to the fire, and even advice on how to prevent fires. Only one percent of the stories included elements
that constitute self-help. For example, if a story was about fire destroying houses in informal settlements of
Alexandra, it was expected to tell victims where to go to get help for their destroyed house or the contact details
of someone to speak to for assistance.
43 percent of the stories were in the best interest of children. These stories were able to promote
the interest of the children through coverage of the positive stories, protecting their identity when necessary,
promoting children’s rights and their interest. When assessing this section, headline, image and article were
considered. Only one percent of the stories mentioned the relevant legislation on the issues covered. For
example, if the story was about child rape, it was expected to make reference to the Sexual Offences Act or the
Children’s Act. However, only one percent mentioned the relevant legislation.
14. See Appendix 3 for more explanation on the quality of story
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Overall, stories about children tended to provide greater levels of information as compared to kinds of information
provided in stories monitored for election coverage. It is also noteworthy that nearly half (43 percent) of all
stories monitored were clearly in the best interest of the child.
4.4 Where are the children?
Sources are important as they indicate whose voices are represented in the media. The media use sources not
only as a point of reference but also to build an ideology around the issues being discussed. Hence it is important
to analyse who speaks and is mentioned in the media.
For adults, we noted how they were sourced. However, we noted whether or not children were mentioned and
/ or sourced. Despite the fact that this is not strictly speaking comparable, it does provide some insight as to the
absence of children in the media monitored.
All media content of the media monitored were subjected to an initial scan and only stories that mentioned
stories or were about children were then further analysed. In total 4676 stories were monitored and analysed.
Of these only nine percent of all the people in the stories were individual children; whilst an
overwhelming 91 percent of were adults. Of the nine percent most did not have their voices heard but
were merely mentioned.
In order to determine whether children’s voices are heard in stories MMA developed criteria to determine exactly
how each child in each story is sourced or accessed. For example a child may be quoted directly or indirectly, a
child may merely be mentioned by name or as brother or sister, or a child may be the subject of a photograph.
Each of these are captured separately the results of which are captured in the table below. This classification
enables MMA to get a clear indication of how often children speak or are spoken to or about as this is important
in realizing children’s rights to express their opinion and be heard.
Table 6: How children are sourced/mentioned (number of mentions and percentage)
Number
%
Mentioned by means of age or reference but not named or accessed
4589
56%
Photographed
1662
20%
Named Only
948
11%
Named and Photographed
443
5%
Accessed and Named
217
3%
Accessed, Named and Photographed
173
2%
Accessed Only
121
1%
Accessed and Photographed
56
1%
Author (thus automatically named and accessed)
38
0%
Children were referred to, but not named in 56 percent of stories. In 37 percent of stories children were
photographed and named at the same time. By contrast, children were accessed, i.e. quoted directly or indirectly
in only seven percent of stories about children. Therefore, in all stories about children, children
themselves were actually only sourced in 4.7 percent. Whilst it is unlikely to be in the best interest
of a child to be identified if they are either a victim of a crime or an accused;15 it is concerning that so few stories
give voice to children’s opinions and views.
15. MMA writes weekly comments on coverage of children under the MAD OAT project. Frequently the problematic items identify a child who should
not have been, such as a child perpetrator or victim.
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Below is an example of a positive story where the child is accessed.
Example 1: Children accessed. The New Age, 18 July 2011, p.4
In this story, the child is both mentioned and accessed in accordance with best practice as found in the guidelines.
This is possible both for stories that show community events such as this one and other more “serious” news
topics. The below story is an example of the failure by the journalists to access to children on the story that is
about and involves them.
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Example 2: Children not accessed. The New Age, 15 August 2011, p.6
The story above is a good example of a missed opportunity. It focuses on a design by a pupil that a company used
to build container classrooms. While the child is at least pictured and named, his voice is absent from the story.
Ordinarily it would be unusual media practice for the journalist not to speak to and quote the main subject of a
story. It would be like doing a story on Mark Shuttleworth going into space and not quoting Mark Shuttleworth.
4.4.1 Roles in which children appear
People are accessed in the media in various ways. They can be portrayed as professionals, or in a diversity of
other roles. When it comes to women for example not only are they frequently identified in a particular role but
are also more likely to be identified in relation to their partner, for example ‘wife of’ or ‘mother of’.16
16. The world over, see Macharia, S. O’Connor, D. & Ndangam, L. (2010). Who makes the news? Global Media Monitoring Project 2010. London &
Toronto: World Association for Christian Communication.
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This practice reduces the potential for agency of the individual women and ties her identity to another person,
usually a man. In the case of children we find a similar trend. As can be seen in table 7 below, 18 percent off all
children are not identified on their own terms but in relation to a family unit.
This trend is heightened by the relative absence of diversity of roles given to children more generally (71 percent
of all roles given to children are limited to only 4 roles: child, member of family unit, victim or learner). A greater
diversity of roles would encourage a greater sense of agency and identity for children.
Table 7: Children’s roles in stories
Role
Number
Child
Child as member of family unit, e.g. son, daughter, nephew etc.
Victim
Learner, student
Sportsperson
Baby, infant
Sick child
Survivor
Child in need
Child offender
Teenager
Entertainer
Fan/supporter
Orphan
Child with disability
1635
1450
1368
1358
368
278
175
155
152
108
103
102
100
95
90
%
20
18
17
16
4
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
At 20 percent, “Child” is a catch-all code when a child is identified by age only and no other identifiable role. This
is not surprising, as often children tend to be mentioned in the story and not sourced. 17 percent of children
were portrayed as victims. While this is significantly lower than it was in 2003 where 25 percent of children were
victims, children’s role as survivors are almost entirely marginalised at 2 percent.
4.4.2 Sex of children
Identifying the sex of children is crucial as it gives insight into who is given more access: girls or boys, which reveals
media’s view of each and can provide insight into a possible patriarchal bias, for example, should more boys be
accessed than girls. Both the previous story examples feature boys. This was true of over half the coverage. In
terms of the sex of sources, boys were accessed more often than girls, shown in graph 6 below:
Chart Title Chart Title Graph 6: Children representation by sex
39% 46% 46% 61% 61% Media Monitoring Africa 2012
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54% 39% 54% Girl Sources BOYS SPEAKING BOYS PEAKING Boy Sources GIRLS SPEAKING GIRLS SPEAKING Girl Sources Boy Sources 20
Amongst the accessed children, boys were accessed more than girls. Boys’ access constitutes 54 percent and girls’
46 percent. Compared to the sourcing of adults, female children are sourced more than their adult counterparts.
According to the Global Media Monitoring Project report, women are sourced only 24 percent of the time, as
opposed to men.17 Women in general are less accessed which reinforces the idea that men’s and boys’ voices are
more important.
4.4.3 Race of children
Children from a diversity of races appeared in the media. In keeping with general coverage, White children are
overrepresented in relation to the population of South Africa, while Coloured children are grossly underrepresented.
Graph 7 below shows the races that appeared, when it was clear what the race was.
Graph 7: Children representation by race
Indian, 2% Other, 6% Asian, 2% Coloured, 3% White, 18% Black, 67% This graph above is representative of South African demography with Black children having appeared in more
stories as compared to other races, as Black people constitute the majority followed by whites.
4.4.4 Ages of children
Children’s ages are not always specified in the news item, but can provide greater context to the story. Children
are broken down into age groups of infant (from birth to one year old), toddler (ages one to two), child (ages
three to nine), preteen (ages ten to twelve) and teenager (ages thirteen to eighteen) in the graph below.
Graph 8: Children’s representation by age
16% 37% Age group
6% 0 to 1 1 to 2 3 to 9 26% 15% 10 to 12 13 to 18 17. Macharia, S. O’Connor, D. & Ndangam, L. (2010). Who makes the news? Global Media Monitoring Project 2010. London & Toronto:
World Association for Christian Communication.
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The size of the age category (in terms of the ages included in the category) correlates roughly with the number of
children represented, with the exception of items where the age of the children mentioned were not specified.
It seems that children aged 1 to 2 are under represented in coverage, compared with other age groups. Stories
which featured infants (aged 0 to 1) were overwhelmingly about celebrities, with their having babies making
big news, followed by health stories - such as prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, disasters and
accidents. On the other side of the age spectrum of children, teenagers (aged 13 to 18) were featured the most,
and particularly in stories about the justice system, as well as education stories.
4.5 Children’s rights in the media
As part of the research method, MMA sought to discover whether children’s rights were protected in coverage.
This was done in two different ways. Firstly, it is determined whether an item clearly violates a child’s rights ,
this is based on a number of factors including whether a child is idetnitifed when he or she should not be, for
example naming or identitifying a child who has been abused. In addition stories are monitored in line with ethical
principles for reporting on children. The ethical principles have been developed with journalists, academics and
children and have been recoommended by the South African National Editors Forum.
Children’s rights should always be respected in the media especially in cases where the child has been abused,
an accused, a witness or where parents are involved in a divorce or a maintenance dispute. In these cases
children should not be named or identified, either directly or indirectly where their privacy needs to be respected
irrespective of consent from parents or legal guardians. Stories should not promote stigmatisation, stereotypes,
or cause embarrassment and any further harm through identification in any way. Graph 9, below, shows the
results for children’s rights in the newspapers and television.
Graph 9: Percentage of stories that protected children’s rights
2% Rights Violated Rights Supported 98% Out of 4676 stories monitored in newspapers and television, two percent violated children’s rights whilst
the remaining 98 percent respected children’s rights. Children’s rights were deemed violated when stories
transgressed any of the provisions above.
When reporting on children, media should not identify a child directly or indirectly by name, or give information
which may lead to the child being easily identified. Below is an example of reporting that respected children’s
rights.
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Example 3: Child rights respected: The Star, 19 October 2011, p.3
The story is about the arrest of a teacher for having sex with pupils. A pupil, who was allegedly abused by the
teacher, was interviewed. However, a pseudonym was used to protect her identity and the picture, while being
very personal, does not reveal her identity. This kind of reporting gives a child a voice, while protecting the child
from secondary abuse and further embarrassment by making it very difficult for people to recognise the victim.18
However, the story below failed to protect the children’s identity, which may put them in further danger. The
below story is an example of the violation of children’s rights. MMA has obscured instances where the child’s
identity is revealed.
Example 4: Child rights violated. Daily Sun, 06 July 2011, p.4
18. See Appendix 5.
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Example 4 is a story about the murder of a woman by her husband which their children witnessed. The child who
is old enough to be a witness in the trial and the young toddler are both identified. Journalists are always expected
to protect the children who are witnesses to a crime as it may put them in danger. This is also a requirement of
the Criminal Procedures Act. The story has failed to protect the child’s identity and consequently put him in
danger as his father is still at large, and because the child is a potential case witness in future court proceedings.
In terms of how the coverage made the child media monitors feel, graph 10, below,
displays what the children expressed about how their feelings after toward the
stoires they monitored.
Graph 7: How do the stories make us feel
Graph 10: How child monitors felt about stories
Mad/Angry 18% Glad/Excited 48% Sad/Scared 34% Almost half of the items made the child media monitors glad, however they
majoritively had negative feelings towards the stories they were analysing.
53 percent of stories made them mad, angry, sad or scared. Responses
from the monitors were based on their feeling towards how the
stories were reported as well as their feeling towards
what happened to the children in the stories.
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Ethical principles help us understand whether the story clearly promotes and respects the rights of children and
good journalistic practice. Items are therefore assessed as to whether they clearly violate or support these ethical
principles.19
Graph 11: Number of stories supporting and violating principles
8% 7% Principle Violated Principle Supported Graph 11, above, shows that 7 percent of the stories monitored have clearly supported any of the ethical principles,
while 8 percent of the stories clearly violated one or more of the ethical principles. The remaining 85 percent of
stories did not have any principle allocated to them by the monitors due to items not clearly supporting or clearly
violating one or more of the ethical principles.
The story below gives an example of how the media has supported some of the principles.
Example 5: Principle supported. Daily Sun 10 August 2011, p.24
The above story is about young horse riders achieving. Unlike example 2 on p.19, this story is not only about the
children but accesses them about their passion for riding. In so doing it clearly supports the principal of children
having their voices heard on matters that affect them. One of the principles designed by MMA requires that
children be accessed when necessary.
19. See Appendix 5 for details on principles
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The below example indicates how some of the principles have been violated by journalists when reporting on a
story that involves children.
Example 6: Principle violated. Daily Sun, 27 July 2011, p.6
The story above is an important story as it highlights the reality that is faced by so many children on our continent.
Unfortunately the images that accompany the story sterotype not only the continent but the children and their
plight. They also clearly violate the dignity of the children involved, as none of them have an identity beyond
‘starving child’ nor is it clear whether their permission was sought for the images and also show children in an
undignified manner.
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5. Findings (Zambia)
The sample collected from Zambia differs in many aspects from South Africa. It was far smaller, made smaller
by the very low coverage of children over the time period. For this reason, comparisons are made with much
cautionary comments expressed.
5.1 Breadth of coverage
As for South Africa, breadth of coverage was gauged through the number of stories on children, together with the
geographical origin of stories and the central subjects of the stories.
5.1.1 Amount of stories
Zambia, like South Africa has an inverted pyramidal population structure with 53 percent of the population under
18 years of age. Accordingly, one could expect issues that affect children to get considerable coverage. Table 8,
below, shows the number of children’s stories over the monitoring time period.
Table 8: Number and percentage of stories on children of the total number of stories (Zambia)
Medium
Children stories
Muvi TV
Zambia Daily Mail
ZNBC TV
The Post Newspaper
Radio Christian Voice
Total
23
27
49
125
26
% Child stories
260
1320
777
1660
468
9%
2%
6%
8%
6%
The overall space given to children in the media which had a significant enough coverage of children not to be
excluded20 was 4.42 percent. The table demonstrates that most of the coverage came from Muvi TV at nine
percent, followed by The Post at eight percent. This is significantly lower than South Africa’s 43 percent in one
media to a low of two percent.
5.1.2 Geographical origin of stories
Diverse coverage of children should be reflected in a range of origins, focusing on children with divergent life
experiences. Table 9, below, shows the percentage of the origins of the stories from Zambian media.
Table 9: Origin of stories
Origin
Lusaka
International
Africa
Copperbelt
National
Eastern Central
Western
North Western
Northern
Regional
Luapala
%
39%
19%
9%
7%
6%
3%
3%
2%
1%
1%
1%
20. Mediums excluded were UNZA Radio with one story, QFM, with two stories, and Radio Phenix with 6 for the periods.
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The commercial and government hub of Zambia, Lusaka gets the lion’s share of coverage at 39 percent, which
is markedly different in a comparison with the amount of children’s stories originating from the commercail hub
of South Africa, Gauteng which received 29 percent.21 As in the case of South Africa, Zambia has a largely urban
population, together with resource limitation of media, this has doubtless led to the large urban bias in terms of
where stories originate from. International stories were the second most prominent with 19 percent. 10 percent
of children’s stories in Zambian media were from Africa, which is far more than children’s stories from Africa in
South African media. The dispersal of stories amongst the Zambian provinces is remarkably similar to findings
from a recent project monitoring health reporting in Zambia22, which possibly indicates that this is a common
pattern for all news in Zambia.
5.1.3 Most common topics
As with South Africa, the central subject of the story was assigned a topic based on a fixed list. Graph 12, below,
shows the top five topics in all children stories. Because of the limited coverage, the sample is far smaller than
South Africa, so only the top five topics are represented graphically, as opposed to the top ten in South Africa.
Graph 12: Top 5 topics (Zambia)
18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% Health Sport Accident/Disaster Educa=on Jus=ce System In complete contrast to South Africa, education stories were only fourth in terms of top subject covered in stories
on children, garnering half the amount (in terms of percentage) at eight percent as opposed to 16 percent. Health
was the top subject of stories that included children as a central part (17 percent). Stories typically were about
health issues that had a particular impact on children, such as children affected by cholera. It was disheartening
to note, that in common with general health coverage in Zambia23, much of these stories were international
or from elsewhere in Africa. The second most prominent subject was sports. Stories covered under this topic
were generally about children’s sporting activities and competitions. The topic disaster/accident unsurprisingly
appeared in the top topics, and justice system stories featured children that were both victims and accussed/
offenders.
While, it may seem that the Zambian media takes a different approach in covering children than the South African
media, with 17 percent focused on health compared to only 6 percent in South Africa. The discrepancy between
the numbers of children’s stories must be kept in mind, coverage of children in Zambian media is very low, with
a total of 244 stories over the entire period (as opposed to the 10290 for South Africa). It seems that Zambian
media have limited coverage on children in terms of how social issues impact them. While the high number of
international stories may also indicate limited resources available to news rooms, it seems that Zambian media
practitioners could be more aware of the need to cover children and the various ways children can be included
in stories.
21. This is slightly deceiving, since South Africa has three capital cities, Pretoria in Gauteng is only the executive capital.
22. Radu, W. & Banjac, S. (2012). Writing it Right: An Analysis of Zambian Media Coverage of Health Issues. Johannesburg, Media Monitoring Africa..
23. Ibid.
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5.2 Prominence of coverage of children
Graph 13, below, represents in what type of coverage children appeared. The graph must be read bearing in
mind the high proportion of broadcast bulletins, which are almost all news stories (with the exception of sports,
weather and market news, which were excluded from the monitoring).
Graph 13: Types of coverage of children were found in
Opinion Piece In Brief/Short Features/News analysis Photograph Sports 1% 3% 6% 7% 15% News 68% News stories were the most common type of coverage at 68 percent. In common with the topics of the stories,
sport items were second. Like overall patterns of coverage, the bulk of the news stories came from The Post (with
69 of the 176) news stories. This was followed by ZNBC TV2, with 40 news stories. The prominence of sports
stories about children is in stark contrast to South Africa, where it is not nearly as common, in terms of percentage
of the total coverage of children. Photographs picturing children with no accompanying stories were much less
common (15 images in all). However, considering the huge gap in terms of the number of stories covered, this has
no real meaning, since they are almost impossible to compare. While only 14 features or analysis pieces appeared
over the period, the bulk of analytical pieces, in common with all coverage, were about health. There were three
opinion pieces for the periods. One of the opinion pieces was by a child author. This suggests that civil society
groups have the opportunity that they are seemingly not using to get child-related content published. There was
one opinion poll over the period, on child brides. Since this is an issue that affects a large number of children in
Zambia (42 percent of girls are married before age 1824), creating knock-on health problems such as childbirth
difficulties, it would seem to have warranted a far more analytic piece.
The prominence given to children, again, can also be reflected in terms of where in the news bulletin or newspaper
they were found. Below (graph 14) are the page numbers on which coverage was found in the newspapers.
Graph 14: Page numbers for items appearing in first 20 pages (Zambia)
14 Number of stories
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Newspaper pages children’s stories appeared on
24. Statistics. (n.d). Retrieved July 6, 2012 from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zambia_statistics.html
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It seems stories about children were frequently found on the front page, with 11 out of 148 items coming from
there. The prevalence of stories on pages eight and nine is due in the main to The Post, which seems to feature
children stories on these pages to a greater extent. Thirteen stories were published on page nine, of which nine
of which were from The Post and four from the Zambian Daily Mail.
The pattern of where children’s stories appeared in the broadcast media was more dispersed in terms of ordering
children’s stories, than South Africa seen in graph 15, below.
Graph 15: Item number for children’s items in broadcast media (Zambia)
14 Number of stories
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 News bulletin item number where children’s stories aired
The length of broadcasted news differs, so it may seem as if the items were more likely to appear in the first half
of bulletins from the graph above, this is not necessarily the case. Despite the apparent spuriousness of broadcast
treatment of children, they carried a good amount, at 104 items compared to newspapers 148. Considering that
print media carry far many more stories per edition, this further underscores the greater space given to stories
by broadcast media.
While it is difficult to comment on the prominence given to children based on item number, the low number of
analytical pieces on children is concerning. There are complex social issues in Zambia that disproportionately
affect children, such as child brides and orphans and vulnerable children due to HIV and AIDS. These issues need
more exploration in features and analytic pieces in order for readers to understand because they are so very
complex. The generally low coverage is compounded by the lack of more in-depth pieces. While it may seem
that Zambia compares favourably to South Africa in terms of the number of news stories (a smaller percentage
being better), given amount of coverage overall, it is clear that readers would not get a very diverse idea of issues
affecting children. This is what the report looks at next in terms of the depth of information given in each item.
5.3 Depth of stories
As in South Africa, stories in Zambia were examined for criteria that would indicate quality. The findings are in
Table 10 below:
Table 10: Depth of information indicators
CRITERIA
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Context Basic
Context In Depth
Causes
Consequences
Legislation
Solutions
Self-Help
Child's Best Interest
%
100%
4%
16%
5%
12%
11%
0%
43%
30
Clearly all stories provided some basic context, while in-depth context was largely absent, with only four percent
of stories providing broader context. However, the score for causes was slightly higher, meaning that there was
atleast some mention of the cause of the event, providing slightly more context in those stories. It was good to
see that almost half the stories kept the child’s best interests in mind. If all journalists provided all the information
listed in Table 10, the stories would be more informing, in-depth, accurate and balanced. Not only were there a
small number of items about children, but they were also of inferior quality, meaning that audiences would not
have been more broadly informed about children. This may be due to the low importance ascribed to children by
media practitioners or the low quality of stories overall. This research was not designed to assess these factors.
5.4 Where are the children?
For each story, data regarding the children mentioned and accessed was extracted. For each child mentioned,
whether they were mentioned or accessed was noted, together with the role they were presented in, their age
and sex.
Table 11: How children are sourced/mentioned
How child is sourced/ mentioned
Number
%
158
60
56
21
Named Only
19
7
Named and Photographed
14
5
Accessed and Named
6
2
Accessed, Named and Photographed
7
3
Accessed Only
1
0
Accessed and Photographed
2
1
Author (thus automatically named and accessed)
0
0
Mentioned by means of age or reference but not named
or accessed
Photographed
Results seem to be similar to South Africa in terms of children mentioned, but not named or accessed, but again,
as children can form a group, it is unclear what this means. The sample sizes, make comparison impossible. But
only 17 children were accessed over the entire period in all 224 stories. In common with the lack of prominence
of children, their voices are practically absent.
The example below is one such story.
Example 7: Child best interest. Zambia Daily Mail, 20 August 2011, p.4
This seems to have been a good story to access some children for their views on the issues that affect them. This
was not done, and would have made the story both more interesting to read and more informative in general.
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5.4.1 Children’s role in media
The roles played by children are shown in table 12, below. Percentages are indicative only, since the averall
sample was very low.
Table 12: Children’s roles in stories
Role
Victim
Child
Learner, Student
Sportsperson
Fan / Supporter
Missing Child
Criminals
Baby/Infant
Activist/ Protestor
Teenager
Number
62
46
36
32
17
10
9
8
7
5
%
27
20
16
14
7
4
4
3
3
2
In contrast to the topics of the stories, children were most likely to be referred to, when sourced or mentioned,
as a victim. Referring to children in this way is disempowering, presenting them as passive recipients of abuse,
rather than active and engaged in the process of being acknowledged as a survivor and dealing with the trauma.
Labelling a child a victim may be harmful in terms of the way the child sees herself, as if a terrible event(s) that
they lived through comes to somehow embody them. Child was also a common way in which children were
referred to, as a catch all phrase. This was followed by learner and, in alignment with the prominence of sports
stories, sports person.
5.4.2 Sex of children mentioned
Boys are frequently mentioned more than girls in media coverage, as can be seen in Graph 16 below.
Chart Title Graph 16: Children representation by sex
39% 61% Girl Sources Boy Sources Girls were represented less than in South Africa where girls appeared 46 percent of the time; the difference is
significant at five percent less in Zambia. The difference in sex of sources does not only exist amongst children
but in adult sources too. The study on health in Zambia shows that men are sourced more than women. Graph 17
shows the sourcing of men and women in Zambian health coverage.25
25. Radu, W. & Banjac, S. (2012). Writing it Right: An Analysis of Zambian Media Coverage of Health Issues. Johannesburg, Media Monitoring Africa.
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Chart Title Graph 17: Sourcing of men vs. women in Zambian health coverage
31% Female Male 69% As with South Africa, there are more women than men in Zambia with 52 percent of the population being female.26
Clearly women are sourced to an even smaller degree than girl children are mentioned27 in stories. However,
because of the small number of items that children appear in at all in Zambian media, the low appearance of
girls makes them practically absent in coverage overall. This is an incredible loss, as girls face particular social
concerns such as lower levels of education, higher levels of HIV infection, and greater levels of poverty.28
5.4.3 Ages of children
In terms of age, where it was specified, the pattern was as represented in graph 18, below.
Graph 18: Children’s representation by age
12% Age groups
7% 43% 0 to 1 1 to 2 3 to 9 23% 10 to 12 13 to 18 14% Surprisingly, infants (0-1) appear less often than in South Africa. With the high number of health stories, you
wouldn’t expect this to be the case given the vast range of issues affecting children beween 0 and 12 months,
including infant mortality, PMTCT, and basic healthcare. However coverage of teenagers (13-18) was much greater
than in South Africa. The most prominent coverage for this age group was in sports, followed soon after by health
stories.
26. Central Statistical Offices (CSO), Ministry of Health (MOH), Tropical Dieseases Research Centre (TDRC), Universty of Zambia, and Macro International
INC.2009. Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2007.Calverton.Maryland,USA: CSO and Mac International Link of Zambia.
27. There is a difference in terms of the sourcing of adults and the mentioning of children, since children just have to appear, not be
cited in any way. The sourcing of children is rare, and a breakdown by sex would yield too small a sample to permit comparison.
28. Ibid.
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5.5 Children’s rights in the media
At a bare minimum, children’s rights should be respected when they appear in the media. This was generally true
in the Zambian media, as seen in graph 19, below:
Graph 19: Percentage of stories that protected children’s rights
3% 3% Rights rrespected espected Rights Rights n
not ot rrespected espected Rights 97% 97% The evaluation of whether rights were respected or not in stories was made according to a pre-designed list.
During the data collection period in Zambia, which was prior to the launch of the guidelines, there may not
have been wide awareness of the principles of reporting of children. While these are all based on principles of
good journalistic practice, children do challenges that media professionals had not considered. Nevertheless, the
various media should get 100 percent for respecting children’s rights, which they did not, faring slightly poorer at
97 percent than South Africa’s 98 percent.
The example below is a story about child rape that was deemed to have violated the child’s rights, as it did not
adequately protect the identity of the girl and violated her rights to privacy. The story named the school as well
as the suspect, which could easily lead to the victim being identified by her peers and community members. This
could lead to the victim being ridiculed, stereotyped or even discriminated against. This story was one of the 3
percent that violated the rights of the child.
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Example 8: Zambia Daily Mail, 23 December 2011, p.2
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6. Conclusion
This study of media coverage of children in South Africa and Zambia has shown great contrasts between the two
countries. It has also shown an unprecedented amount of good, diverse coverage of children in South Africa. In
contrast, Zambia lags behind in terms of both quantity and quality of stories.
Media in both countries should be commended for mostly protecting children’s right because only two percent
of the stories violated the children’s rights in South Africa and three percent in Zambia. However, media should
strive to ensure that all children‘s rights are protected by all means possible to protect them from any possible
harm that can be caused as a result of violating ethical journalistic practices and guidelines.
Despite this report not being aimed at assessing the interventions of MMA in South Africa, it is clear that the
continued interventions are making an impact on coverage. In particular, examples of good coverage have come
from The Star, which is part of the Independent Online group of media, who have adopted the guidelines and
The Star has consistently sent staff on the Reporting on Children in the Media training course co-hosted with the
University of the Witwatersrand. MMA would like to encourage other media to also adopt these guidelines in
both South Africa and Zambia.
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Appendix 1: Topic code list
Code
TOPIC LIST
1 Economics: Includes business, corporate news, finance issues, trade agreements
2 Politics (International): and Diplomacy efforts, political news from outside Namibia
3 Disaster/Accident: earthquakes, famine, typhoons, accidents, tragedy
4 Conflict, Political Violence, Demonstration, Protests, War
5
Crime: includes murder, robbery, hijacking, theft, Corruption-bribery, fraud at both government and
corporate levels
6 Justice System: court rulings, constitutional issues, legislation, bills, amendments, judicial system
10
Namibian National Politics: Includes Namibian Govt. & Parliament-national government, national
issues, parliament, national politics
11
Provincial & local govt: Includes municipalities, policies affecting only certain provinces, local
government finance
12 Housing: Includes policies, lack of housing, government initiatives
13 Social welfare: policies on welfare grants, pension, child grants
14 Poverty: rate, policies
15 Health: general health issues, diabetes, cancer, nutrition, excludes HIV/AIDS
16 Development-policies, projects
17
Environment/ weather patterns and climate: pollution, extinction of animal/plant species, heat, hail,
rain, global warming
19 Entrepreneur/SMME: people who make an effort to start their own business
20
Media and Arts: new media, freedom of expression, entertainment, culture-theatre, lifestyle issues,
fashion, religion and tradition
21 Sport:news on sport events, reports, athletes, policies
22 Personalities/Profiles-features on prominent personalities or upcoming people
23 Cultural practices and traditions
30 Child Labour: exploitation of children for work as cheap labour
31 Child Pornography
40 Education General: where the codes below do not apply.
41 Policy related: state of schools, education policies, etc.
42 Events and Achievements: school fun days, awards etc.
43 Violence: levels of violence among learners and school related disasters and tragedies.
50 Science: reports about new inventions, technology
60 Human Rights: includes a variety of rights
61 Gender: where the central focus of the story is on a gender related element.
62
Racism & Xenophobia: incidents of racism & discrimination based on a person’s ethnicity or
nationality
63 Disabilities: mental or physical
70 Child Abuse-general when codes below don’t apply
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71 Physical Abuse: beatings, burnings
72 Mental & Emotional Abuse: verbal and consistently making derogatory remarks
73 Child Prostitution: use of children for sex work
74 Child Abduction/ Trafficking/ Slavery: abducting a child for sexual purposes or slavery
75 Kidnapping: taking a child ifor ransom purposes
76
Child Rape: non-consensual includes penetrative and non-penetrative sex with a minor includes
statutory rape
77 Sexual Abuse: the abuse of boys and girls and included indecent assault and sodomy
78 Child Neglect: failure to adequately attend to a child’s needs
79 Maintenance and child support: bills, divorce cases
80 Family: reports on values, the ideal family or focus on a specific family
81 HIV/AIDS: general when codes below don’t apply
82
"Aids Orphans"/children affected by HIV, where children have no parents/caregivers due to HIV/
AIDS
83 Sex Education: items on practicing safe sex in relation to HIV/AIDS and in STD’s
84 Treatment of HIV/AIDS: items relating to ARV’s or nevirapine or treatment in general
85 Funds: monies donated for the treatment of HIV
90 Teenage pregnancy
91 Substance Abuse: drugs and alcohol
92 Refugee children: asylum seekers, refugees rights,
100 Other: to be used as a last resort
200 Not Relevant: for Television and Radio only
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Appendix 2: Origin of stories
No.
1
2
3
4
5
5a.1
5a. 2
5a. 3
5a. 4
5a. 5
5a. 6
5a. 7
5a. 8
5a. 9
5b. 1
5b. 2
5b. 3
5b. 4
5b. 5
5b. 6
5b. 7
5b. 8
5b. 9
Province
International
Africa
National
Regional
Provincial
Gauteng
Western Cape
KwaZulu Natal
Eastern Cape
Limpopo
Free State
Mpumalanga
North West
Northern Cape
Central
Copperbelt
Eastern
Luapula
Lusaka
Northern
North Western
Southern
Western
Appendix 3: Depth of information
Code
CB
CI
Y
O
S
L
SH
CBI
Description
Context basic: Does it mention the basic details about what happened and how, where, who was
involved?
Context indepth: Is the story given greater context? Does it talk about the broader social
consequences? Does it talk about tragic accidents as recurring patterns?
Causes: Does the story explain the causes of the event?
Consequences: Does the story describe the consequences of the event or how it impacts on
broader society?
Solutions: Does the story offer any possible solutions or means of addressing the problems?
Relevant legislation: Does the story mention any relevant legislation or policy?
Self Help: Does the story provide information to help the reader eg: in a drug abuse story, does it
give information on where to go to get help for drug addiction, in terms of a sexual abuse or child
abuse story, where can anyone go or phone to receive help. Does the article provide tool bars (such
as columns, graphs or tables) to detect signs of child abuse/sexual abuse/drug abuse etc.
Does the story provide information necessary to make an informed self help story?
Child’s Best Interest: Is the story in the child’s best interest? Is the story beneficial to the child or
not? Is the child portrayed in a positive light?
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Appendix 4: MAD OAT Criteria
The headline is clearly in the best interest of the child
The headline clearly supports stereotypes about children
The headline is representative of the content of the story
The image is in the best interest of the child
The Image clearly supports stereotypes about children
The image is representative of the story
The article has brought attention to children’s rights and related issues
The article raises awareness of the prevention of drug abuse/child abuse/sexual offences and
or HIV among young people
The article is published in the best interest of children
Relevant sources, such as parents/guardian/welfare group have been used in the article
The privacy/identity and HIV status of the child has been sufficiently protected where in the
child’s interest
The child has been abused
Headline
Image
Article
Sources
Identity
Abuse
Appendix 5: Ethical principles
EU
Code
No.
Principle
Description
11
Even where you are trying to tell people
about harm to other children or another
children’s issue or promote children’s
rights you always need to respect the
best interest of the individual child.
Is the story in the best interests of the child?
Does the story explore children's issues but fails to act in
the child's best interests?
Does the story directly or indirectly protect or promote
the best interests of the child?
12
Always respect children’s dignity and
well being.
Does the story respect the rights and dignity of the
children in the story?
Does the story subject the child to potential humiliation
or rejection?
Is the child referred to in the story by demeaning names
likes idiot, monkey etc.
3
13
When interviewing a child, respect their
privacy and confidentiality and make
sure you protect them from harm and
potential consequences.
Does the story protect the child from potential harm and
retribution?
Have identities/names of children been revealed. Has an
effort been made to prevent harm to the child? 4
14
Children have a right to have their views
heard on matters that affect them, so try
and include them.
Are children accessed in the story?
Does the story seek children's views on issues that affect
them? 15
When doing a story on children ask
those who know or work with them,
or are experts on the issue about the
potential consequences of telling their
story.
Does the story access a range of experts on a children's
issue?
Are there any clear potential political, social and cultural
ramifications in telling the story and have these been
mediated by experts/those in the know?
Always hide a child’s identity where the
child might be at risk.
In abuse stories, has the identity of a child been revealed
directly or indirectly?
Has an effort been made to prevent harm to the child?
Has an effort been made in the story to minimise harm?
1
2
5
6
16
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17
Children involved in legal proceedings
need even more protection, and are
at greater risk so make sure to always
protect their identity.
8
18
If you want to name or show a child,
make sure you are allowed to do so by
law, that you have informed consent
from the child (and guardian) and that
you still protect them from potential
harm.
9
19
Make sure to protect a child’s HIV status.
If in doubt leave it out.
20
Challenge negative stereotypes about
children and conventional roles children
occupy in the media (e.g. helpless
victims) whenever you can.
Does the story challenge stereotypes on children based
on race, gender, culture, class or sexual orientation?
Are children afforded agency or shown in an empowering
manner?
21
Treat girls and boys the same in your
stories, with equal care, dignity and
respect.
Does the story perpetuate gender-based stereotypes?
Often the gendered aspects to a story, including how
events, policies, decisions or programmes affect girls are
neglected, is this evident in your story
When doing a story on a vulnerable child
make sure to be extra careful.
Is the story dealing with a sensitive issue? Are there
potential political, social and cultural ramifications for the
child?
Have those closest to the child or those who are
knowledgeable on children's issues been consulted?
Does the story subject to further harm, trauma;
humiliation, embarrassment and distress?
23
Do not show children in a sexual manner.
Are children portrayed in a sexual manner?
Are sexual images of children used in the article?
24
Do not make promises you cannot keep
and don’t try bribe children for your
story.
7
10
11
12
13
15
22
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Is the identity of a child involved in legal proceedings
revealed in the story? Does the story indirectly or directly
identify child witnesses; child offenders; children involved
in divorces cases or maintenance disputes?
Is the journalist allowed to identify the child? Is there
clear informed consent, from guardians or lawenforcement officials in the story?
Does the story directly or indirectly reveal the HIV status
of a child?
Does the story subject the child to possible stigmatisation
linked to HIV? Does the story clearly indicate that the child has been
paid by the journalist in order to get the story?
40
Appendix 6: Children’s roles
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Appendix 7: Children’s Monitoring Form
Date: ____________________
(What is the date of the newspaper you are monitoring?)
Newspaper: ___________________________
(What is the name of the newspaper you are monitoring?)
NB: You have to monitor one children’s article per monitoring form. (There is probably more than one children’s
story in the newspaper, so make sure you read the whole newspaper and monitor all children stories you read
on a new monitoring form for each story!)
Page Number: where the story appeared in the newspaper ________________
Write down its headline: ______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Give a summary of the story you are going to monitor: _____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
________________(Here we need you to tell us a short version of the story you have just read)
Topic:
What if the topic is about an angry community because a little boy got kidnapped
but shows the picture of the little boy? How do you decide which topic to put it
under? You need to think if the story is mainly about the community or mainly
about the kidnapping. In this case it is the kidnapping that made the community
angry, so it is mainly about the kidnapping.
If the story you are monitoring talks about one of the following topics, please tick or circle the topic code
number. You may tick ONE box, but if you think another topic is relevant please tick it and then you can rate
how relevant that topics is, select (1) if the topic is most relevant (2) if it is slightly relevant and (3) if it is least
relevant. Please give an explanation for the choices you have made below.
Code
Topic
1
Children's celebrations
2
Children’s achievements /
heroes
3
Education
4
Environment
5
Children's rights (General
Only Use as last option)
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Explanation
The story shows children celebrating together and
getting along with others, e.g. birthdays, parties etc.
Children are shown winning awards, making
motivational speeches, rescuing people, or being
heroes.
The story may be about children and schools, or any
other educational story.
The story is about environmental issues (e.g.
pollution, litter etc) affecting children where they live
or go to school. It can be positive or negative.
The story is about children’s rights. It may be about
the right to protection; happiness, comfort, safety
and health or it may be about how these rights are
violated.
Rank
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
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6
Health
7
Citizenship/Social
development
8
Parenting
9
Responsible sex, teenage
pregnancy, abortion, child
support, maintenance
10
Homelessness
11
Love & respect
12
Kidnapping/missing
children
13
Child abuse/Rape
14
Safety, living in a happy
home environment
15
Drugs and Alcohol
16
Crime / violence
17
Politics and government
18
Race, racism and
Xenophobia
19
Poverty
20
HIV/AIDS
21
Disaster, accidents, war
(including car accidents)
22
Child sex work, prostitution
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The story is about health, for example it may be about
illness at schools or the importance of a balanced diet
for health.
The story is about children’s desires to understand
and feel effective socially and as citizens e.g. how
to get basic services like social grants, getting an ID,
accessing nearest clinic or library etc. You can also
use this topic for stories where children are doing
something positive for their country
The story includes the relationship between parents/
caregivers and children.
The story is about children facing medical problems,
mental illness and educational challenges when they
fall pregnant. They may also have become pregnant
as a result of abuse, lack of sex education. The story
might also mention abortion, adoption, maintenance
and child support.
The story is about homeless children, and the
negative consequences for them. It may be about
children who have left homes after being abused. It
may be about children who are simply neglected or
ignored by their families and caregivers.
The story is about the importance of loving, kindness
and respect of children to children or children to
adults.
The story is about missing, kidnapped children and
may show their picture.
The story is about child abuse including, sex abuse,
physical abuse, family violence, emotional and
psychological abuse and neglect.
The story is about safety of children at home, at
school and in the community as well, or how children
are unsafe..
Children are shown involved in dealing and
experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
The story is about any crime relating to children. It
may talk about crime performed by children on other
youth and adults or youth and adults committing
crimes against children. (except abuse refer to No 13)
The story is about politics and political parties and
whereby children are involved.
The story is about racial attitudes towards other
people or children. It may also be about racism and
xenophobia –which is the hatred of foreigners.
The story is about children living in poor communities
and the impact on their lives. It may also be about
hunger, lack of facilities.
The story is about children affected by HIV. It may be
about child headed households or orphans. It may
also be about preventing the spread of HIV
Tragedy of earthquakes, heavy rains or drought where
children are affected. As well as car accidents
The story shows the child/children being used for sexwork.
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
43
23
Justice system
24
Child Labour
25
Disabilities
26
Child Trafficking
The story involves children and the justice system,
includes court cases and legislature
When the story shows child/children being misused
to work as cheap labour . In such cases children can
be underpaid or not paid at all.
The story is about children with disabilities (physically
or mental).
The story is about a child or children who have been
moved within a country or to another country, as a
result of force or fraud and are made to work as a
slave.
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
If you have chosen more than one topic please tell us why: _________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________
Is the story about a boy
OR a girl
OR a group of children
?
Can you tell us how many boys were in the story______ and how many girls were in the story______?
Can you describe how the children are shown? Tick one or more code from the following list: (Ask yourself;
what is the role of the child or children in the story?)
CODE
CHILD ROLE DESCRIPTION
1
Hero
2
Victim
3
Accused /criminal
4
Witness
5
Learner/pupil/student
6
Sex worker
7
Child Labour
8
Positive Active Citizen
9
Substance Addict
10
Children with disabilities
11
Just a child
12
Trafficked Child
13
Child Refugee
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The story shows a child/children as a hero. Child doing something
good for others
The story shows a child/children as a victim of crime/abuse/
neglect.
The story shows a child/children being involved in criminal
activities.
The story shows a child/children witnessing an event or crime.
The story shows a child/children in the context of education e.g.
unable to afford school fees or archived good results.
The story shows a child/children being exploited in the sex
industry.
The story shows a child/children exploited as a child worker.
The story shows a child/children being an expert in some area,
fighting against injustice or inequality.
The story shows a child/children abusing drugs / alcohol/
dangerous substance.
The story shows a child/children with disability, physical /mental.
The story shows a child/children as they are, they have no special
role in the story. They have only been mentioned
The story shows a child/children who have been trafficked and
they are being treated as slaves for labour and sex
The story shows a child/children who have escaped or have been
rescued from places where there is conflict or wars.
Does the story show children in a different way that is not listed above?
If yes, please write how are they shown _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________
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Do you think the story has been well reported
why? _____________________________________ _____
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
OR
Do you think the story has been badly reported
why? _____________________________________ ____
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
How does it make you feel? For this question, you can tick from the table below as many boxes as you like!
(Note: There are two ways of answering this question and you need to answer in both ways. First is to look at
how the journalist wrote the story and whether you are happy about it or not. Second is to tell us your feelings
as a result of what happened to the child or children in the story.)
Glad / Excited
Sad/ Scared
Angry
Mad/
Ø Why does it make you feel like that? ___________________________________________________ _____
___________________________________________________________________________
Choices made by Journalists, Editors and You
Do you like the headline? Yes
No
When looking at the headline please consider if the headline matches the story or is it a misleading headline.
Please tell us why you like it or don’t like it: _________________________________________________
Is there a picture? Yes
No
Do you like the picture? Yes
No
Please tell us why you like it or don’t like it:
When analysing a picture please consider the following two key points. First, is the picture violating or
protecting the rights to dignity and privacy of the child or children involved. Second, does the picture help the
article tell a better story in other words does the picture add important information to the story?
______________________________________________________________________________________
What children’s rights can you identify in the story? __________________________________________
This refers to general children’s rights like right to health, right to education, right to play, right to a family and
loving care etc.
Does the journalist clearly protect or violate the children’s rights in the way that they have written the story?
Explain _________________________________________________________________________
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This refers to the four main rights that relate to media; right to freedom of speech, right to participation, right
to privacy and right to dignity. You need to tell us whether you think the journalist, in the way he/she has
written the story has protected/promoted these four rights OR has the journalist violated/ignored these four
rights.
Ø Is there anything that you would change in the way the story is told?
No news story is 100% perfect. There is always something that can be changed in the story to make it better. In
your view what would the journalist need to do to make the story you are monitoring better?
I would change this: _______________________________________________________ __________________
____________________________________________________________________
AND / OR
I would leave this out: ___________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
AND / OR
I would put this in: ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
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www.mediamonitoringafrica.org.za
Tel: +27 (0)11 788 1278
Fax: +27 (0)11 788 1289
Cell: +27 (0)73 756 8461
Coordinator
Musa Oswald Rikhotso: [email protected]
MMA Director
William Bird: [email protected]
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