Perspective
THEY DESERVE BETTER
Photo: Prabir Das
Megh was only five years old when he woke up one day to find the bodies of his parents lying in a pool of blood in their apartment. A small child had just lost his parents to the most gruesome of crimes, something that could cause immense psychological trauma. But instead of trying to help him cope with this tragedy, police officials, politicians, the media, and every person who deemed him mature enough to question him about his parent's murder did so with as much gusto as they could muster. Ironically, even though both Megh's parents, Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, were journalists, their colleagues didn't think twice before submitting their child to a second round of torture and trauma by asking him about his feelings, questioning him repeatedly about his parents' death, making him relive the ordeal again and again.
The media in this country, unfortunately, has been somewhat negligent about child rights issues. News about children is often deemed unimportant, almost insignificant when compared to other more 'pressing' matters. Stories relating to children are often relegated to lesser important news space. Most of the time, reports on children's issues are just one-off stories with little analysis, as reporters don't find the news interesting enough to warrant a follow-up article.
A baseline study titled 'Children in Bangladesh News Media' by Unicef finds that even though the media covers “prominent daily events concerning children and children's issues,” they fail to do it in a “focused, planned, proactive, and in-depth reporting” that would ensure the welfare of children as well as secure wide ranging support for issues concerning them.
“The number of children related articles are few and far and between,” says noted television presenter and social activist Muhammad Jahangir. “We can't be talking about ethical journalism in a country where media houses are not willing to even focus on children's issues in a more in-depth, comprehensive manner.”
A four-year-old, taking a bomb in the yard of a neighbour's home to be a ball, started playing with it before it exploded in his hands. Some reporters snatched the opportunity to question him about his feelings, thrusting the mike to his mouth for a satisfying response while he was still in the hospital. When the child was traumatised enough to start crying, the reporters concluded that he was still in shock. Of course he would still be in shock; he had survived a life threatening incident only to be swamped by seemingly insensitive adults, questioning him about his “feelings” regarding the episode. Any sensible, sensitive journalist would realise that a child is inherently vulnerable. In their innocence, children believe that when they are caught up in traumatic, life-changing events, they will be protected by adults from further harm. Instead, they are subjected to incessant scrutiny, and insensitive and intrusive questions, all in the name of exploitative, sensational news coverage.
“You can only take a quote from a child with express permission from his parents or guardians. We often see pictures of children published in newspapers or telecast in e-media. Journalists don't even think about seeking permission to use these pictures as part of the news reporting. They don't realise that such coverage could hamper a child's present as well as their future at home and outside,” says Dr Fahmidul Haq, Associate Professor, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism.
In their competitive urge to get better bytes than other media houses, some TV channels often exploit children to the extent of sickness, says Haq. “As print media has been there for much longer than electronic media, their reporting is more or less consistent. However, with increasing competition, some TV channels are ready to forgo their ethics in favour of covering news in a way that tantalizes rather than sensitises viewers,” he adds.
There is a fine line between detailed, extensive reporting that could help an individual, and exploitative journalism that can wreak havoc in a person's life. Photo: Prabir Das
Children are often portrayed in the media as either passive victims or as troublemakers. Reporters are often seen asking close-ended questions, trying to direct the child to a reply that would suit their purposes. They are treated with disdain, as if their opinions and thoughts bear no significance in the greater scheme of things. Children are either seen as vulnerable, dependent, submissive sufferers or threatening, out of control, menacing law breakers. This, sadly, is not just a media projection but an idea perpetrated by the society as a whole. The Western media, our more 'civilized', 'developed' counterparts, are also not immune to this kind of unethical journalism involving children. Often times, journalists from the developed world search for stories in developing countries where children are shown as helpless victims. Instead of focusing on a wider spectrum, these journalists are eager to re-establish the clichés surrounding certain societies. Thus, children are stripped of their individuality, their humanity; they become just one of the many faces without a voice. “It is unethical to publish or telecast a gory, violent image of any person, be it an adult or a child, as these just add to the discomfort of the audience and is an intrusion into an individual's private life. Unless and until these pictures can be used as evidence in the court or to help legal procedures, reporters and media houses have no right to use them just to titillate their target groups,” says Fahmidul Haq. We don't hesitate in terming children as the future of the country. They will take our country forward, we cry. We should ensure their safety, we scream. And yet, when it comes to action, these concerned adults are content to leave the 'future of the country' to their own devices. Countless seminars are conducted on issues that concern children and yet, there is no shame shown in using children for selfish political or corporate purposes. Children can be used as tools to pursue political gains, they can be exploited to think that if they don't follow a particular path they will be punished. However, little has been done to stop involving children in politics. Be it a Gonojagoron Moncho event or a Hefajat rally, children are heavily used to make a point. When Monir, a 14-year-old school boy, sustained burn injuries after picketers set his father's covered van on fire, and then later succumbed to his injuries, the whole country was shocked. Such incidents had happened in the past but perhaps the reason for such an expressive condemnation from all over the country was the graphic picture of the badly burnt boy, sitting in the midst of a crowd that was published in most major newspaper and shown in leading television channels. This disturbing image probably shook the country in ways that even the most evocative words couldn't. This holds true for 11-year-old house help, Aduri, as well. We have read, heard or watched countless news stories of minor house helps being tortured or mistreated. But it's Aduri's name that will forever remain stuck in our national conscience. The image of a battered, beaten, and starved Aduri with her hair shaved off, shown in several news channels and newspapers, was the main reason for such public outrage and denunciation against her employers. There was also a follow-up story, with pictures of a healthier Aduri, detailing that the DMP Commissioner expressed his desire to give a piece of land and a new house for the young girl. Could we have witnessed such indignation, fury and interest amidst the public if these stories didn't show in graphic details the utter horrors inflicted on these poor children? Would we have felt the same amount of sympathy and righteous anger on behalf of these children if we didn't see with our eyes the extent of torture their young bodies suffered? There is a fine line between detailed, extensive reporting that could help an individual and exploitative journalism that can wreak havoc in a person's life. It's particularly important for journalists to identify this line and ensure that they are not responsible for destroying a life. “Instead of just placing blame on the journalists, we should also hold the media houses responsible for their reporters' lapse of judgement. A report can never be printed just because it has been recorded. It goes through three rounds of supervision before it is allowed to be published or aired. The reporter might be young with limited experience; it's up to their superiors to make them understand their follies and help them rectify their mistakes instead of enabling them by airing or publishing unethical news items,” says Muhammad Jahangir. It's extremely important for journalists to internalize the do's and don'ts of ethical journalism and they can only do so in the first few months of their induction in their workplace, says Jahangir. “Every media house should introduce a six-month long foundation course for newcomers. Journalists would, thus, be taught how to be ethical in their reporting, a training that is currently missing in our formal education system,” he says. Jahangir further proposed that a journal should be published every six months listing the best and worst practices in print and e-media. The media needs to understand that children too are a segment of our society. We cannot use them as just a means for drawing attention or as a reference point to other issues. We cannot play with their future just because we are required to submit sensational news items. As journalists, we would do best by abiding the words of noted professor of communications, George Gerbner, who said, “Drama is fiction by creation. News is fiction by selection.”
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