Introduction | Theoretical Framework & Assumptions | Methodology Putting the monitoring into perspective | Key Findings | Media's coverage of children   Theoretical Framework and Assumptions   The Media Monitoring Project (MMP) draws on contemporary media theory, including both qualitative and quantitative methods, and employs discourse and close content analyses. . The MMP’s extensive media monitoring experience, international media monitoring practice, as well as a thorough literature review, has informed the development of the theoretical framework applied to this particular project. The MMP operates within a framework of human rights and advocates for balanced, fair, accurate, and informative media coverage, as well as the promotion of a culture of human rights. s.   MMP operates on the following assumptions:   • The discourse of news is generally negative, where “bad news” usually makes “good news” (or is regarded as newsworthy)     • The media has the ability to shape and influence perceptions, and therefore, has a responsibility to inform the public     • With regard to children’s rights, children deserve special treatment. Children form the most vulnerable sector of society, and as such, are afforded special protection in line with instruments such as the South African Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This protection is extended to the media’s treatment of children so that their rights are upheld in reporting on or about children in the media     • Reporting on children in the media is difficult; it presents the media with some of the most difficult ethical questions. Children are often associated with innocence, purity and vulnerability, but at the same time, children are often exposed to the worst treatment and human rights violations. This explains to some degree their newsworthiness but covering such items has the potential to further expose children to secondary trauma     • The MMP encourages the media to continue to highlight issues that affect children, however, every effort must be made to ensure that the best interests of the child are not compromised.   For the purposes of this study, the MMP has considered a child to be any person under the age of 18 years, as defined by the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the South African Constitution.