"When children are victims of violence, journalists have a responsibility to report the truth with compassion and sensitivity. Kids aren’t mini-adults; they deserve special consideration when they end up in the news. Yet few journalists have experience interviewing children for routine stories, le
...
t alone when tragedy hits. What ground rules apply? Is it OK to interview children huddled outside a school after a classmate has gunned down a teacher? At the hospital after a car accident? Should you name child abuse victims in news coverage? Juveniles who commit crimes? How do you balance children’s right to privacy with telling compelling stories? Exposure to violence affects children and adults differently. But kids are just as vulnerable to post-traumatic stress and other emotional consequences of violence and tragedy. Journalists can write stories that help educate parents about how to recognize emotional trauma in their children. They can foster community healing by interviewing families putting their lives back together after a disaster. Editors can weigh the impact of graphic visual images on young readers when deciding what to publish or broadcast." (Page 2)
more
"El presente manual pretende dar un vistazo general al problema del trabajo infantil, las causas y las consecuencias del mismo; así como desmentir algunos tópicos sobre lo formativo del mismo, dar respuesta a las preguntas más frecuentes que sobre este tema surgen, y presentar unas breves directr
...
ices sobre las que apoyarse cuando se va a abordar esta situación." (Presentación)
more
"The critical issue is to raise awareness among journalists. There needs to be an awareness of child rights generally but as journalists we must also understand the consequences of our reporting. The way media portray children impacts not only on society’s attitude to children; it also influences
...
the way adults behave. Sensational coverage of abuse and exploitation of children does not tell the full story and, by exploiting a serious problem, can do more harm than good. While sensationalism might catch the attention of the reader and viewer, we must ask ourselves: Does it provide useful information and analysis in a way that can contribute to improving the situation for children? So how do we raise awareness? To answer this we need to look at the way we work as journalists. The IFJ has been working with journalists around the world on the issue. This includes the development of the first international guidelines for journalists covering children’s rights, developed from the experience of journalists from over 50 countries and since endorsed at two world meetings of journalists held in Recife, Brazil, in 1998 and in Seoul, Korea in 2001. As well as commentary on the human rights of children and insights into the problem of child exploitation, this handbook looks at the principles behind journalist’s guidelines and provides practical advice on how to tackle the challenging job of reporting on child protection and child rights." (Foreword)
more