TATT`s 10th ICT Open Forum Protecting the Rights of Children The

TATT‟s 10th ICT Open Forum
Protecting the Rights of Children
The Role of Electronic Media
Wednesday 25th April 2012
Presenter: Ms. Kiran Maharaj
Every child comes with the message that God
is not yet discouraged of man.
~Rabindranath Tagore
Aims & Objectives of the TTPBA
• Has a responsibility to protect and preserve the right of the
people to know
• Holds within its portfolio the responsibility and undertaking
to encourage practices that will strengthen and maintain the
broadcast and publishing industry by improving industry
standards through education and acknowledgement of
organizations and individuals
• Is instrumental in the creation of a legal framework and
regulation by representing its members through discussion
and suggestions with governmental and other agencies
• Exists to encourage an exchange of information among
members that will assist the Association in making decisions
that affect the broadcast and publishing industry
TT’s Population - 2010
• Total Population: 1,317,714
• Under 15 years: 333,965 (25%)
• 15 to 19 years: 144,458 (11%)
Definition of Electronic Media
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Electronic media are media that use electronics or
electromechanical energy for the end-user (audience) to access the
content. This is in contrast to static media (mainly print media), which
today are most often created electronically, but don't require
electronics to be accessed by the end-user in the printed form. The
primary electronic media sources familiar to the general public are
better known as video recordings, audio recordings, multimedia
presentations, slide presentations, CD-ROM and online content. Most
new media are in the form of digital media. However, electronic media
may be in either analog or digital format.
Although the term is usually associated with content recorded on a
storage medium, recordings are not required for live broadcasting and
online networking.
Any equipment used in the electronic communication process (e.g.
television, radio, telephone, desktop computer, game console,
handheld device) may also be considered electronic media
Broadcast or storage media that take advantage of electronic
technology. They may include television, radio, Internet, fax,
CD-ROMs, DVD, and any other medium that requires electricity
or digital encoding of information. The term 'electronic media' is
often used in contrast with print media.
Electronic Media Landscape
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37 Radio stations
11 local TV Stations
Cable – 4 Cable Companies (over 300 channels)
Direct TV
Internet
Mobile / Smart Phones (offers SMS and Internet)
Tablets (IPad, etc)
Definition of “Child”
We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we
forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher, Artist
• “..young people up to the age of 18”
• But each child is different due to their socioeconomic background
• So let’s say a young person under the age of 18
who is in the developmental stage of life, i.e.
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Learning how to make decisions
Is influenced by what they hear and see
Learning what is right and wrong
Learning how to express themselves
Is building a perspective of their community and the
world in which they live
What are the Rights of Children?
Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.
~Neil Postman, The Disappearance of Childhood (introduction), 1982
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Refer to the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Children
(CRC) adopted at the UN General Assembly on 20th November
1989
– Protection (from maltreatment, neglect and all forms of
exploitation)
– Provision (of food, health care, education and social security)
– Participation (in all matters concerning children)
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Four Principles of the CRC
– Non-discrimination
– Best interests of the child
– The right to life, survival and development
– Respect for the views of the child
The Evolution of children’s exposure to
electronic media in the last century
Significance of Parents with the
development of Electronic Media
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The images children see
of other children and what
they see of the world they
live in, influence their
expectations of and for
themselves.
Parents have more work
to do as Parents
Media has to be more
cautious of what is
depicted and how it is
depicted
Examples of feedback
from children (Journal of
Radio Ref)
http://actagainstviolence.apa.org/mediaviolence/athome.html
Children are one third of our population and
all of our future.
~Select Panel for the Promotion of
Child Health, 1981
It is easier to build strong children
than to repair broken men.
~Frederick Douglass
The Hidden Radio Audience in Spain –
Study on Children’s Relationship with
Radio
• Study of children under the age of 14
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Showed they listened
They liked it
They enjoyed it
They were familiar with names of hosts and programmes
They enjoyed contests
• Hidden potential for
– Programme Development
– Advertising
– Audience development
UNICEF – Resource for Journalists
Guidelines for Reporting on Children‟s issues
A number of international organisations have developed guidelines for journalists to assist with the
reporting on children and children‟s rights.
Save the Children Guidelines
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Save the Children, an organisation advocating for children‟s rights globally, recommends the
following guidelines to:
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• help turn children from objects to subjects;
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• promote children‟s involvement in the media as subjects and creators;
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• encourage discussion on children‟s rights;
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• inform children and society of the rights and responsibilities of children;
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• increase coverage on the full range of issues which affect children‟s lives;
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• improve accuracy and diversity in the reporting on children.
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Appoint specialist reporters
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• Appoint specialist children‟s correspondents who understand the full spectrum of children‟s
rights (including the conventions and constitutional commitments made by government) and who
incorporate children into the reporting process.
Involve children
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• Get children involved in articulating alternative realistic and positive images of themselves.
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• Encourage children to speak for themselves, listen to their views and aspirations, rather than
presenting only adult perspectives on children‟s issues.
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• Create opportunities for children to write and produce their own electronic and print stories.
Cover the full spectrum of children‟s issues
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• Develop more story-lines that show children grappling realistically with the kinds of issues
young people face today, such as peer pressure, gender discrimination and sexuality. Stories
should also focus on children‟s successes at dealing with these issues and not only problems.
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• Avoid portraying children primarily in stories dealing with violence, abuse, guns, drugs and
victimisation. Invest reporting resources in substantive coverage of other issues, which impact
children‟s lives, such as the Budget, how the Convention is being implemented, where it is failing
and so forth.
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• Promote and develop stories on achievements of local children with positive images and role
models that will make African children of all cultures proud of their identity.
Unicef – Resource for Journalists continued
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Avoid stereotypes/Reflect diversity
• Avoid stereotypes and misconceptions, particularly when focusing on children from poorer communities.
For example stereotypes that parents in poorer communities and developing countries do not value their
children; that girls are inferior to boys and that children are drawn into vice through their own fault.
• Provide ethnic diversity in children‟s stories. Avoid stories, which reflect ethnic stereotypes and
stereotypical gender roles. Increase the number of female subjects in stories.
• Avoid stories which reflect disabled children in a disrespectful way, recognising that they are an integral
part of the community.
• Give careful consideration to the language used to describe children, to avoid patronising or demeaning
words.
The WHO guidelines for media professionals covering health issues were devised by PressWise and
adopted by the European Region of the WHO at its Moscow Convention in 1998. They recommend the
following:
1. First, do no harm.
2. Check facts, even if deadlines are put at risk.
3. Be careful not to raise false hopes, especially when reporting on claims for „miracle cures‟.
4. Beware of vested interests. Ask yourself “who benefits from this story?”.
5. Never disclose the source of information imparted in confidence, unless compelled to do so under
national law.
6. Be mindful of the consequences of your story. The “subjects” will have to live with it long after you are
gone.
7. Be sensitive to situations involving private grief.
8. Respect the privacy of the sick, and their families.
9. Respect the feelings of the bereaved, especially when dealing with disasters. Close-up photography or
television images of victims, survivors or their families should be avoided wherever possible.
10. If in doubt, leave it out.
Children‟s rights activists also recommend:
• the orientation and training of parliamentary and court reporters on child rights to ensure constructive
coverage;
• the incorporation of issues involved in the coverage of children‟s rights into media and journalist training
courses;
• locating stories on children within the context of children‟s rights, the CRC, the Constitution and the
commitments made by government to address these issues.
What does Electronic Media Have to
do?
• Set internal guidelines for coverage of issues
related to children by thinking through the ethical
isssues
• Stress the significance of sensationalism versus
investigative reporting (insert the opinion of
children where possible, bearing in mind their
rights to privacy, etc)
• Be sensitive to the needs of children at different
stages of their development and what their
general outlook on life is at their different ages
• Highlight the good about children too
My experience –
A Case Study: Radio 90.5FM
• Radio 90.5FM
– On Air
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Kids on Air
Who Wants Money Game Show
Kids Joke Segment
Mother‟s Day and Father‟s Day Greetings
– Peripheral Activities
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Easter Kite Flying Contest
Cook Out
Prayer Cards
Chhote Bache and Colour me Kids Books
Create a Coconut
Design a Card
Christmas Toy Drive
Giving Children Confidence
• “Children should not be victims or villains”
• Children should be depicted as imagineers,
little people with opinions, extraordinary.
* What it used to be:
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TTT‟s Rikki Tikki with Uncle Ian
Aunty Kay
Twelve and Under
Children of Mastana still airs
Committee on Rights of the Child –
Recommended Actions
1. Preparation of a Best Practice dossier on child participation
in the media
2. A child forum on the internet
3. Documentation and Dissemination of experience of active
child libraries
4. Encouragement and furtherance of media literacy
5. State support to media for children and advice on
implementation
6. Agreements with media companies to protect children
against harmful influences
7. National plans of action to empower parents/networks of
media watch groups
8. Specific guidelines for reporting on child abuse
9. Materials for journalist education on child rights
10. Service to child rights correspondence
Issues affecting children now
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Bullying
Sexual exploitation
Sexting
Drug Abuse
Physical and Emotional Abuse
Suggestion
Generally, some may be of the opinion that electronic media
does not do enough to support social causes so how can
media be encouraged to give more support?
TATT or other Governmental bodies can grant interim
incentives.
Example – for every 1,000 PSA‟s aired each year, a
concessionaire can get a percentage off of fees for that
year.
A body to generate those PSA‟s should be formed.
Example: In the US there is the Ad Council
Conclusion
• We need to realise that it still takes a village to
raise a child
• Necessity for parents and teaches to be educated
on how to raise children (we can‟t take it for
granted)
• Media to be more sensitive and proactive on
issues affecting children
• State entities to become more involved in
dissemination of information and implementation
of best practices
• NGO‟s to be more proactive with ensuring the
issues are properly addressed
Bibliography
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Child Rights and Putting Children in the Right by International Federation of
Journalists
UNICEF, CRC/C/50 , Annex IX, 13th Session, 7th October 1996
Act Raising Safe Kids:
http://actagainstviolence.apa.org/mediaviolence/athome.html
Journal of Radio & Audio Media, Volume 18, Number 2, November 2011
Children‟s Rights and the Media, A Resource for Journalists by NCRC
Trinidad & Tobago CSO online