UNICEF Awards Armenian Media For Coverage Of Child Issues
The awards were presented to journalists in recognition of their role in highlighting issues that impact the welfare of children in “Violations of the rights of children, and issues related to children’s safety, education, health, social welfare and exploitation are important questions for investigation and public debate in Armenia, as in all countries”,. Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative in “Through your work, you can encourage governments, the public and civil society to affect changes. You are uniquely placed to help people understand how to stop violence against children,” Yett said, addressing Armenian media representatives. Initiated by UNICEF, media monitoring was carried out by the Armenian Public Relations Association (APRA) and involved all major print and electronic media outlets. A jury composed of NGO representatives, journalists and professors from the department of journalism at “The objective of the project was to understand how local media were covering issues related to child rights and recognize those journalists who were covering these issues responsibly and ethically. We found that many journalists had a poor understanding of the professional practices that should be followed when covering issues related to children, such as their right to privacy.,” Ara Saghatelyan, president of APRA stressed. The award was given to 6 journalists representing TV and newspapers, 3 TV companies, one daily and one weekly newspaper based on criteria developed by UNICEF jointly with APRA. “For me as a journalist, it is a special award. It puts on me additional responsibility. As a mother of one child I only had a responsibility for my child. Now as a journalist recognized for covering child-related problems, I bear responsibility for covering issues in a way that protects children,” Ruzan Arshakyan, a journalist from the “Aravot” daily emphasized.
Congratulating recipients of the award, Sheldon Yett noted that too often media focus on horrific, one-off cases that sensationalize and don’t put events or issues in the proper context. “Actively learn about child rights, challenge those who fail to carry out their promises to meet these rights, ask questions, be fair and ethical and be sure to listen to children themselves.” UNICEF Representative stressed. UNICEF is working with media organizations inEmil Sahakyan Information & Communication APO UNICEF Armenia tel: (374-10) 523-546/580-174/543-809 fax: (374-10) 543-810 e-mail: esahakyan@unicef.org
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