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 Anti discrimination unit Minimize

As part of the Media Monitoring Project’s daily work, we undertake monitoring based on issues of discrimination.  Falling under the Anti Discrimination Unit, it includes daily monitoring activities, which are most often presented as comprehensive analyses of media coverage of particular issues. These regular analyses highlight the presence of discriminatory reports, as well as reports that are exceptional in their challenging of stereotypes and discrimination.

The primary focus of the unit is to monitor human rights-related issues, including race, gender, children, poverty, HIV/AIDS, crime, disability and stories relating to Africa.

The aims and objectives of the Anti Discrimination Unit are:

  • To highlight discriminatory reporting in a clear and understandable manner
  • To promote debates and constructive discussions by working with the media to provide practical suggestions for improvement
  • To defend the freedom of expression and human rights
  • To extend and entrench a human rights culture within the media to better inform both the public and representative public bodies of human rights issues in the media
  • To promote ethical journalism, by pointing out and helping to eradicate instances of unethical journalistic practice
Please browse through our past updates.


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Articles from April 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Naming and shaming the ‘Freestate Four’: Privacy, dignity and the public interest
By MMP @ 3:35 PM :: 436 Views :: 0 Comments :: Media freedom and performance, Race

Media reports about the abuse of cleaning staff by students at the University of the Free State got horrified responses from various quarters. In this climate of public outrage, the print media had the choice of whether to make the identities of the offenders and victims public, or not. Most media seemed to have decided to publish the identities of the perpetrators, some media even added to the initial infringement on the victims’ dignity by revealing their identities. This article explores the ethics and reasons around this decision.

 

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Friday, April 25, 2008
MMP a friend of the court
By MMP @ 2:47 PM :: 382 Views :: 0 Comments :: Children

The Media Monitoring Project is now a friend of the court in the Sunday Times’ application to the Constitutional Court for an order declaring that section 12 violates the constitution.

Read the full story by Business Day

 

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Friday, April 11, 2008
Guinea pigs and the frantic search for the AIDS vaccine gel
By MMP @ 6:06 PM :: 406 Views :: 0 Comments :: Gender, HIV

The coverage of Microbicide trails in 2007 the following findings showed the following patterns:

  • The stories were afforded significant prominence in some of the newspapers monitored.
  • Just over a quarter of the content items dramatised the issues.  This included using phrases such as “frantic search”, describing the volunteers as “desperate” or “pleading”, the use of exclamation marks, different font sizes and capitals to emphasise controversy, and the use of unnamed sources who make allegations that are not substantiated in the items monitored;
  • Most content items analysed show a clear bias either in favour of the HIV and AIDS researchers, or against the researchers.
  • In contrast, the volunteers are treated ambivalently and even in a demeaning way in several content items.
Read More..

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Please browse through our archive of past articles. If you are looking for particular articles, look under our programme areas.

 
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