Quest for Child-Friendly Media

"We will allocate much more space for children in the newspaper, radio from now on. We will make sure children participate in news."

The local reporters were saying the above after the training seminar on Children's Rights and Reporting on Children's Rights in Diyarbakir.

In the beginning, there were journalists who said: "Guilty children are brought to the court through the front door, and are released through the back door," "We don't have any other source, so of course we will use the information from the police." But there were clear dechanges in attitudes by the end of the seminar.

The second of the training seminars on Reporting on Children's Rights, jointly organized by "Establishing a Countrywide Network in Turkey for Monitoring and Covering Media Freedom and Independent Journalism" project - (BIA²) and UNICEF, was held in the province of Diyarbakir on December 17-18.

The most widely discussed issues were children who are pushed into committing crimes and the rights violations by the media about these children. The participants analyzed children's rights violations by using news clips as examples and by rewriting the news reports taking into consideration children's rights.

Some 50 local reporters, representatives of non-governmental organizations and lawyers attended the seminar in Diyarbakir. The Diyarbakir Deputy Governor Canan Hancer Basturk was among the participants.

"You have a great power in your hands," Basturk told reporters. "But this power should not be uncontrolled. You are doing a very important job."

Sema Hosta, the represantative of the UNICEF Communications Program, said the most important experience of the organization was to work locally.

She underlined that conditions can be very different even in regions that are geographically very close to each other. She said the local media has a lot of say, especially in campaigns for change. As an example, Hosta said that the local media is much faster and effective than the national media in campaigns launched, for example, to encourage girls to go to school.

Frequent violations of children's rights in the media

"There is a violation of children's rights even in news reports aimed at protecting children," argued journalist Ahmet Sik. He listed the most frequent violations:

* Revealing the identity of children who are victims of crime or who have fallen into trouble with the law

* Labeling the child as a criminal

* Talking with children without getting help from experts

Associate Professor Doctor Serdar Degirmencioglu, the coordinator of the Children's Rights Coalition, said children make up of about 40 percent of the population in Turkey. However, they are the least represented segment of society in the media, Degirmencioglu added.

Degirmencioglu argued that the media uses children as "objects of pity." He said that it is rare for children to appear in the media for doing something positive.

Onat: Children are active individuals of the society

Lawyer Yasemin Onat from the Antalya Bar Association talked about international conventions on children's rights. Onat said that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is still not ratified by the USA and Somalia, oversees four basic rights of the child: The right to live, develop, protect and participate.

Onat said that a child-centered perspective views children as active individuals, active members of the society. Onat said there is a very widespread belief that the parents carry all the responsibility of the child. But she stated that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child imposes equal responsibility to teachers, law and healthcare workers, state institutions, politics, budget, NGOs, media and international institutions and regulations. Onat said the system would collapse unless these segments fulfill their responsibilities.

Akco: All investigation that involve children are confidential

Lawyer Seda Akco from the Istanbul Bar Association said the following points should be questioned in news about children:

* Is the child being exposed?

* Is the child being labeled as 'criminal'? Not labeling the child prevents him/her from being pushed into committing another crime.

* Does the news report violate the notion that the individual is innocent until found guilty by independent judgment?

* Have legal concepts been correctly used?

Akco said when legal concepts are not used correctly, they legitimize rights violations. As an example, he talked about news reports that state that the children are being questioned:

"Law forbids the questioning of children under 18,"said Akco. "Children under 12 do not have criminal liability. They cannot be called 'criminal'."

Akco said that in general, all investigations that involve children are confidential. He listed the legal measures that can be taken when there is a violation of children's rights in the media:

* Filing a legal complaint against the media organization.

* The parent can sue for penalty or damages.

* If necessary, the bar association may appoint a lawyer for the child and his/her family.

Article 17 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child regulates the children's right to obtain information, documents and news from means of mass communication, said Akco. He added there are two main topics on the quality of the publications:

* Information and documents that comply with the needs of the child.

* The publications should not have a harming or labeling effect.

Akco also talked about what the media can do:

* The media can highlight and cover in detail the UN Millennium Development goals.

* Children's books should be published.

* Protective measures should be put in place to protect the child against information and documents that could harm the child's well being.

* The media should carry reports that reinforce the children's positive aspects in society. With such reports, the prejudice that children, who have been pushed into committing crimes are "dangerous," can be overcome. The media should get the children's consent in such reports.

In the "Role of the Media" workshop by Akco and Onat, the participants analyzed the expectations of children, families, society and media managers from the media.

Akco said it is very important for the media to be able to fearlessly criticize the system.

Tosun: Do you realize what will happen when you violate rights?

Associate Professor Doctor Gulgun Tosun from the Ege University said the media "edits information." She explained how the children are represented in the media through examples.

"Do you realize what will happen when you prepare news reports that violate rights?" asked Tosun. She argued that the media prepares reports on children's rights violations in such a way that legitimizes institutions and prevents them from being harmed.

She complained that there is no news in the media about violations of children's rights. "Take sides; be on the side of the rights. Relying on official sources is not being objective," said Tosun.

Tosun listed what the media can do:

* The media can cover the children's situation in the media.

* The media can search for ways to get children to participate in the media.

* A child-friendly media should be created. We should ask how we can protect the child from the harmful effects of the media.

Associate Professor Doctor Degirmencioglu, who said that participation is a basic right of children, talked about ways to get the children to participate in the media. Degirmencioglu underlined the fact that research reveals children and youth prefer television and the Internet as means of mass media. "There is no place for newspapers in their choices," said Degirmencioglu. "If the newspapers continue to exclude children, they will not have a future."

According to Degirmencioglu, participation means to have a say in and influence on the decision-making process, to have the opportunity to actively intervene and to be able to work with the adults. Degirmencioglu said working with children means "less filters, new ideas and creativity." She argued that the newspapers should embrace the attitude of making a difference instead of protecting the system and highlighted the advantages of the local media: "The national media, because of its sterile structure, is distant from the children. But the local media has many opportunities."

Degirmencioglu gave examples participation of children in the media. The participation of young people in the local "Bush Radio" in South Africa, the publication of the "Agustos" (August) newspaper by the young people who were affected by the 1999 earthquake, and the website storesoup.com, which is prepared by children and edited by adults in the US, are successful examples of "working together."

Eryilmaz: Powerless groups have a right to have their voices heard

Journalist Tugrul Eryilmaz talked about the representation of children, whom he described as "a powerless group," in the media. "The media has a social responsibility to help the powerless groups have their voices heard," said Eryilmaz: "Such groups have to be correctly represented in the media. These groups have a right to have their voices heard."

Sik: If the topic is children, ask them

Reporter Ahmet Sik talked about the principles of talking with children. The journalists should establish empathy with the children, said Sik. He listed the important points about speaking with children:

* Listen to children, and make them feel that they are being listened to.

* Make them feel that they are being taken seriously.

* Pay attention to get the opinion of children.

* If the topic is children, definitely ask children.

* Meet with children from different segments of society; pay attention to the effects of cultural differences.

* Allocate generous time for the meeting.

* Help the children relate to equipment such as the camera and the recorder that you are using.

* Pick a place where the children will feel at equal terms with you.

* Don't use their photographs or names if the children don't give their consent.

* Be careful to use simple language.

* Make the child to feel that he/she is in control. (TK/EK/YE)