A report which analysed media coverage of women and children’s issues in Guyana recently has suggested that a code of conduct for journalists in keeping with established guidelines would impact positively on how the issues are reported.
The report, ‘Media Trends: Representations of Women and Children in the Guyanese Media- 2008-2009,’ found that there has been an expansion of negative stereotypical and harmful portrayal of women and children as victims and victimizers in the local press.
Dr Paloma Mohamed of the University of Guyana led a team of researchers, including staff from the Documentation Centre of the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), among others, in the study.
Released back in September, the report observed a rise in sensational news about women and the reporting of identifying information about women, but there was also a significant increase in the stories about women in leadership positions as well as placement of women’s stories on prominent pages of newspapers. The report said too that the sensational nature of most of the reportage creates a separate and perhaps unintended second effect. It referred to “too much detail” and “graphic images” of how crimes were perpetuated; victim’s pain and suffering being chronicled very publicly without consideration of their rights and “the lack of follow-up on apprehension and punishment” of perpetrators.
Based on the information collected, the researchers said that while most journalists demonstrate general understanding of many fundamental principles in ethical journalism, it varies widely. The majority of journalists polled in the exercise also indicated that they were never exposed to standard or formal codes but derived their knowledge from observation, personal morality and from editors and managers as well as other journalists with whom they worked.
Among the recommendations submitted, the researchers said that a code of conduct based on the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the UNICEF guidelines for ethical journalism on the Reporting of Children should be developed and incorporated into any general code that is developed for journalists.
The report pointed out that neither the CRC nor the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) explicitly provide for equal access and participation of women and children in the media.
The report also observed that at the level of policy, results from any indicative research done on the performance of the media include a dissemination plan through which this work can be transformed into self-knowledge for the media’s internal development.
Additionally, the report said that there should be mechanisms for training and support of the media in pursuit of sensitive and inclusive coverage. It made mention of key agencies responsible for the development and protection of women and children in the country, saying they need to “be in the vanguard of helping to produce and direct content that is woman sensitive, non-stereotypical and diverse.” However, it was pointed out this can only be done if trained journalists are assigned to these tasks within their organizations. It added that if this is not possible, key agencies should work hard toward cultivating journalists and media owners and editors who will develop specialized knowledge of women and children’s issues since this will contribute to deeper and more contextual reporting.
On the issue of training, the report found that many of the deficiencies in the media coverage may be due to the lack of knowledge and expertise. Data collected in 2009 for the study revealed that 91% of practicing local journalists in Guyana are untrained, and it was recommended that training be conducted in several areas. The areas include child sensitive reporting; specialized reporting of women and children’s issues; and managing media for women and children.
The report said too that given the rapid rate of staff turnover in the media, training programmes have to be programmed as ongoing, providing refreshers for those already receiving training and providing initiation for new journalists on a regular basis.
With respect to the research and how it was conducted, it was recommended that the data collection exercise should be expanded to include a survey of media operatives as well a representative sample of their subjects. It was noted that textual analysis of the texts produced by media about women and children would also help to properly contextualize some of the data.
