Annual Media Award
UNICEF Office in Serbia confers annual media prize for quality and ethical reporting on children and child rights BELGRADE, 20 November 2007 - In celebration of the 18th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), UNICEF Office in Serbia today conferred the annual media prize for quality and ethical reporting on children and child rights. The prize was established in 2004, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The prize recognises the efforts of electronic and print media in pursuing better news coverage of children's issues. The underlying principle of the award is that enhanced awareness of the practices already operating and those in the launching stage will help to make practical, tangible progress for children in Serbia. This year, there were 40 entries by 20 journalists from print and electronic media (radio and television). The Jury members were
The Jury has reviewed the entries taking into consideration the general journalistic criteria, including the investigative work, the writing style, public benefit, whether the approach was ethical, original, innovative and whether the media report incites positive changes in the society and change of social norms. Among the works broadcast in the electronic media, the Jury unanimously agreed that the best was the "Halted Childhood" TV story by Mr. Dejan Radulovic, aired by TV Avala. In the print media competition, the Jury agreed that “The Abusers” by Mr. Branislav Grkovic published in the VREME weekly magazine was the best. The Council of Europe (CoE) announced that the awarded journalists will be invited to attend the CoE General Assembly in Strasbourg in January 2008. The journalists will attend the session and also visit the Directorate for Child Rights to get acquainted with the work of this body.
STATEMENT OF THE JURY FOR THE Among the works broadcast in the electronic media, the Jury unanimously agreed that the best entry was the HALTED CHILDHOOD TV story by Mr. Dejan Radulovic, aired on TV Avala. It is a touching, but professionally high quality production on growing up under difficult circumstances, about poverty as an environment in which children’s rights are violated repeatedly. The story does not focus a personal plight or an incident, but social vulnerability and exclusion. It presents extremely adverse social circumstances of children in the Markovic family. The fate of children in this particular case extrapolates to fates of children in many other similar families. The stereotype is a story of personal misfortune, tragic destiny, and an occasional family drama where the society provides only a distant, disinterested framework. The “Halted Childhood” is not such a story. Quite the opposite, these children were fortunate enough to come to this world healthy, in a harmonious family, but under very adverse social circumstances. It is neither a bizarre mishap, nor a web of circumstances. Although they live in the capital, most of the things that the city offers are beyond their reach. This story contradicts the prejudice that it happens to “the usual others” from “typical” marginalized groups. This story also painfully reminds us on the plethora of unhappiness that accompanies the society in transition, and on the vast extent of vulnerability and exclusion of children from various social groups – the displaced, unemployed, poor … In spite of this, these children are diligent, responsible, curious and interested. Their qualities outgrow the circumstances in which they live. Owing to them and the author’s excellence, this bitter story has become a powerful document of the time in which we live.
In the newspaper article competition, the Jury has agreed that “The Abusers” by Mr. Branislav Grkovic published in the VREME weekly is the best. The Jury recognizes all features of good investigative journalism in this article. The story has many layers, the text provides abundance of information, and the author’s stile is very specific. The new topic has been courageously exposed and the author provocatively discusses the phenomenon that the society is still not ready to recognize. The journalist, Mr Grkovic, takes a more difficult perspective – he opted against description of misfortune and personal drama of children that are still fairly commonplace. Instead, he raises a topic with a power of reasonable warning that the society must not await this problem unprepared. The articles appeals to fight this form of crime and violence back by good preparation and adequate policies. This text and author’s achievement feature an additional quality: they show and prove that it can be done.
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