ETHICS OF REPORTING ON

SENSITIVE CATEGORIES SUCH

AS: CHILDREN, INCLUSIVE
EDUCATION.
FACILITATOR: RWANDA EDUCATION BOARD .

MEDIA TRAINER: HENRY MAPESA ANERIKO-

LECTURER: TV PRODUCTION, MOTION PICTURE
&FILM PRODUCTION, RADIO DRAMA AND
PUBLIC RELATIONS
AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF KABGAYI (ICK)
VENUE: FATIMA HOTEL MUSANZE.
6TH/NOV/2020.
 MY EDUCATION
BACKGROUND
 PhD CANDIDATE IN MASS
COMMUNICATION.
 MASTER OF ARTS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

AND MEDIA MANAGEMENT (CUU).

 BSC:MASS COMMUNICATION(IUIU).

 PUBLICATION: PHOTOJOURNALISM AS A

CORE JOURNALISM COURSE UNIT:

CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS. A
SURVEY OF SOME UNIVERSITIES IN
RWANDA
 DAY THREE,7TH/NOV 2020.
Ethics of reporting on sensitive categories such as: children, inclusive education.
TABLE OF CONTENT.
 Ethics in journalism.
 Who is a Virtuous Journalist?
 Ethical guidelines for reporting on children.
 Guidelines for interviewing children.
 Guidelines for reporting on children with special care.
 Ethical Issues in an education that journalist should avoid are.
 Back to school from Citizen TV among girls during COVID.
 Ethical consideration journalists followed in the story. Group Discussion 1.
 strengths and weaknesses of the story in relation to ethical consideration. Group Discussion 2.
 Introduction: Ethics
 Ethics: Ethics can be defined as a normative science of
journalism conduct which is concerned with the right
thing to do. Those who journalistic lead ethical lives are
generally regarded as “credible” journalists. (Josephson
Institute of Ethics, 2003).
 While law consists of the laid-down rules that guide

people’s behaviour in a state, the disobedience of which

attracts penalties, Ethics is the branch of law which
deals with judgement as to the rightness or wrongness in
a given professional like journalism or Public Relations.
 .
 Who is a Virtuous Journalist?
A virtuous journalist is the one who has respect for others
and tries to live by the cardinal virtues which Plato
prescribes in The Republic (Merrill, ibid). The cardinal
virtues which Plato prescribes in The Republic are:
wisdom, courage, temperance and justice.
 1. Wisdom: Wisdom can be defined as the correct

application of knowledge. It is what gives direction to

moral life and it is the rational, intellectual base for any
system of ethics.
 2. Courage: Courage is needed to resist the temptation

to do the wrong thing, that is, deviate from the path of

wisdom.
 Who is a Virtuous Journalist? Cont.
 3. Temperance: This is the virtue which demands
reasonable moderation. It helps people to avoid
fanaticism in the pursuit of any objective that, knows
where to apply the brakes. (Character).
 4. Justice: Justice is the virtue which considers a
person’s “deservingness”. It refers more specifically to a
person’s social relations.
Ethics of reporting on sensitive categories such as:
children, inclusive education.
 Reporting on children and young people has its special
challenges.  In some instances the act of reporting on
children places them or other children at risk of retribution
or stigmatization.
 UNICEF has developed principles to assist journalists as
they report on issues affecting children:
 1. The dignity and rights of every child are to be respected in
every circumstance.
 2. In interviewing and reporting on children, special
attention is to be paid to each child's right to privacy and
confidentiality, to have their opinions heard, to participate in
decisions affecting them and to be protected from harm and
retribution, including the potential of harm and retribution.
 Ethics of reporting on sensitive categories.
i.e Children inclusive education Cont.

.
3.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 child rights.
 4. When trying to determine the best interests of a child, the child's right to have
their views taken into account are to be given due weight in accordance with
their age and maturity.
 5. Those closest to the child's situation and best able to assess it are to be
consulted for any story to be reported about him or her.
 6. Do not publish a story or an image which might put the child, siblings or
peers at risk even when identities are changed, obscured or not used.
 Guidelines for interviewing

children
1. Do no harm to any child; avoid questions, attitudes or
.
comments that are judgmental, insensitive to cultural
values, that place a child in danger or expose a child to
humiliation, or that reactivate a child's pain and grief
from traumatic events.
 2. Do not discriminate in choosing children to interview
because of sex, race, age, religion, status, educational
background or physical abilities.
 3. No staging: Do not ask children to tell a story or take
an action that is not part of their own history.
 4. Ensure that the child or guardian knows they are
talking with a reporter. Explain the purpose of the
interview and its intended use.
 Guidelines for interviewing
children.
Cont.
 5. Obtain permission from the child and his or her
guardian while recoding her with a recorder, video
camera or photographs for news.
 6. Pay attention to where and how the child is
interviewed. Limit the number of interviewers and
photographers. Try to make certain that children are
comfortable and able to tell their story without outside
pressure.
 Guidelines for reporting on children with
special care.
 1. Do not further stigmatize any child; avoid
categorizations or descriptions that expose a child to
negative reprisals - including additional physical or
psychological harm, or to lifelong abuse, discrimination
or rejection by their local communities.
 2. Always provide an accurate context for the child's story
or image.
 3. Always change the name and obscure the visual
identity of any child who is identified as:
 (a) A victim of sexual abuse or exploitation.
 (b) A perpetrator of physical or sexual abuse.
 Guidelines for reporting on children with special
care. Cont.
 (c) HIV positive, or living with AIDS, unless the child, a
parent or a guardian gives fully informed consent. This is
applicable on a child who tested positive with AIDS or
COVID 19.
 (d) Charged or convicted of a crime.
 4. In certain circumstances of risk or potential risk of harm
or retribution, change the name and obscure the visual
identity of any child who is identified as:
 (a) A current or former child combatant.
 (b) An asylum seeker, a refugee or an internal displaced
person.
 (c) In certain cases, using a child's identity - their name
and/or recognizable image - is in the child's best interests.
 Ethical Issues in an education that
journalist should avoid are:
 Sycophancy: A sycophant is a “person who tries to win
favour by flattering rich or powerful people”. Such
excessive and insincere praise is a common ethical problem
in journalism.
 Character Assassination: When the press makes
statements that damage a person’s reputation, the press is
guilty of character assassination.
 Pressure: Pressure is any force or influence, which causes
a journalist to feel strongly compelled to act in a manner
desirable to the source of such force or influence.
 Bribery: In journalism, the ethical problem of materialism
is manifested in the form of bribery and acceptance of gifts.
 Ethical Issues in an education that
journalist should avoid are: Cont.
 Sensationalism: When a newspaper or any other mass
medium presents news in a way designed to arouse a quick
and excited reaction, it is said to be guilty of sensationalism.
 Moonlighting: To make ends meet, journalists sometimes
take two jobs, by working for competing employers,
moonlighting is the act of holding two different jobs
simultaneously and being paid for both. This creates room
for conflict of interest and divided loyalty, which constitute
fertile grounds for unethical behaviour by journalists.
 Ethical Issues in an education that
journalist should avoid are: Cont.
 Brown Envelope Syndrome: It is not only reporters
who receive money from news sources; sometimes,
news sources receive money from the news media to
give out exclusives.
 Self-Censorship: This is a socially irresponsible and
unprofessional act. It is a situation whereby a journalist
believes that writing or publishing certain stories would
be offensive to his or her employer or the certain
authorities of the day and therefore refuses to write or
publish the story, even without external pressure not to
do so.
Pregnancy among girls during COVID 19 as they
resume schools. Citizen TV news.
 Group discussion & presentation
 Group 1: Ethical consideration journalists
followed in the story. Group Discussion 1.
 Strengths and weaknesses of the story in
relation to ethical consideration. Group
Discussion 2.
 Analysis of news story from Citizen TV in Kenya
about pregnancy among girls during COVID 19 as
they resume schools.
.
The story should answer 5Ws & 1 H.
 Name of medium/media outlet (branding),Name of the reporter

for accountability.
 Korokocho slum in Nairobi, Parents..

 Children with babies, Data from community health organizations

eg 30,0000 young girls sought antenantal care in Jan-June.

 Counselors and Report from the Ministry of Health .

 Community leaders (citizens).

 Suspects (men) who defiled children. Eg 25 years denied the

responsibility for pregnancy.

 .
 Critical issues under the guise of Ethical
consideration while reporting on children, inclusive
education.
 The victims who were pregnant were covered as
anonymous.
 Names of the suspects who pregnanted children were
withheld.
 Names of the schools from where children were studying
are kept confidential.
 Names of the babies born by young students are kept
confidential.
 Names of the Government officials are mentioned.
 Identities (face) of the victim’s pregnanted are withheld.
Thank you very much for paying
attention
END !
GOD BLESS YOU.
BY HENRY MAPESA ANERIKO.
+250787301882
+254759992805
Email:mapholuo@gmail.com
Jesus Christ is my Lord. Philippians 2:9-11