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8 EDUCATION GEORGIA TODAY

DECEMBER 2016

When I Meet a Journalist


educational sphere, and you try to
BY TAMAR KURATASHVILI,
Info Box
answer, putting all the experience,
PUBLIC RELATIONS knowledge and examples you have
MANAGER AT PARTNERSHIP into it, analyzing carefully and
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS then suddenly the journalist tells
you that youre adorable or that Several articles of the UN Child Convention relate to the

C
an you repeat Hydro youre a little angel and the impor- media and childrens rights:
Electro Station? tance of your answer gets lost, Article 12 of the UN Child Convention states that chil-
Were asked this because with an assessment like
dren have the freedom of right to express their views on
question often, as that, youre labeled a child that is
kids enjoy hearing more adorable than intelligent and, any subject related to them.
adults mispronouncing the long accordingly, no attention is paid to Article 13 is about childrens right of free self-expression,
word [in Georgian]. Sometimes we your opinions. And dont forget that granting every child the right to gain or spread any infor-
laugh with them, other times we many people are watching you and
mation or views orally, in written or printed form, in the
get angry. Then the same kids go you become important for them,
on TV and participate in the kind too, because youre adorable or form of art or any other form available, according to his
of programs where children have cute. or her choice.
to explain words and adults have Journalists often ignore childrens
to guess what words they are, based mental abilities, not giving them a rights- see the Info Box! nalists present them in the process
on the description. This process chance to seriously discuss topics These rights not only help to form have an impact and influence on
brings more laughter. that are interesting and important a well-informed citizen, but also the attitude of society towards them.
allow the voices of youth to be heard
in the media more frequently. At

Whats That? the same time these rights give us


clear messages that children not
only have to be presented in the
Mispronouncing - saying badly, in the incorrect way media, but they have to be active
Self-confidence how positive a person feels about them- participants, and the ways the jour-
selves
Labeled given a name, titled, called
Victims people who suffer because of other people Food for Thought
Harsh hard, difficult, severe
Harmless not serious, not causing harm When was the last time you got to express your opin-
Ignore not pay attention to, disregard ion and people listened to you?
Violate do something against Why should the voices of youth be heard?
Ask your teacher to run a writing competition where
Journalists often like to introduce for them and in that way, they vio- you discuss topics important to you- the teacher can
kids as small, funny, adorable crea- late childrens rights to express
choose a winner and you can have your article printed in
tures, and in so doing push certain themselves and their thoughts freely.
stereotypes. Those stereotypes can And dont doubt you hold those GT Education!
then affect the self-confidence of
a child. Media researchers have
labeled such stereotypes applied
to children by journalists as the
seven deadly stereotypes (Chil-
dren Express 1998).
It appears the media often presents
children as victims, victims of the
environment around them, weak,
unprotected humans in a harsh
world. Youll hear stereotypes like
cute kids, little devils, kids are
brilliant, kids as accessories, Lit-
tle Angels, and kids these days!
All of these may seem harmless
at first but when a journalist doesnt
think of a child as an individual who
may have opinions on certain top-
ics, it is wrong.
Imagine a journalist asking you
about the problems you see in the

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