Female journalists urge media houses to remove content featuring minor

The Hindu

5 hours ago

Women in media under the banner of 'Collective of Women Journalists' have come together to condemn the media coverage of a journalist and writer's death by suicide, and urged all the channels to take down the content featuring her daughter who is a minor.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, senior journalists from various media said it goes against the law and ethics to reveal the identity of the minor, and if anyone chooses to seek legal recourse, editors and all the staff will be in the dock.
Women's activist and functionary of 'Bhumika Collective' Satyavathi Kondaveeti said she had already lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime unit, and the Child Welfare Committee, about the reportage of various media.
She said as per the The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, identity of minor children, their names, and their parents' names should not be revealed. However, in the present case, the girl's name, face and even the school she goes to is public information, because media channels did not observe discretion.
Raising serious concerns with the coverage, another journalist V. Krishna Jyothi cited guidelines issued by Press Council of India, to say suicide should not be considered a 'crime' anymore, and crime reporters should not use the word 'committed'. All journalists, including the copy editor involved in the coverage will be culpable if someone chooses to approach the court about the indiscretion with regard to minor child, she warned. Besides, the letter written by the accused has been openly shared, which goes against the law.
Senior media person C. Vanaja said reporting should be sensitive, ethical and more importantly should abide by the laws of the land. She also advised the police to stop addressing media conferences about the issue, and politicians not to politicise it. Another senior professional, Kavitha Katta urged the media to stop the character assassination of the victim.
Journalist Rajeshwari Kalyanam remarked that lines are getting blurred between voyeurism and journalism, and urged legacy media houses to immediately remove all the visuals featuring the minor child, as they have a greater reach.
Together, around 50 female journalists signed an open letter addressed to the editors and managements of media houses, expressing deep outrage at the irresponsible and insensitive media coverage of the incident. The use of lurid headlines, sensational narratives and thumbnails depicting a minor girl are egregious violations of journalistic ethics and human decency, the letter said.
They demanded immediate removal of images, videos and thumbnails showing the minor, a public apology for the distress caused to the family and journalist community, and a concrete commitment to retrain the editorial teams on ethical reporting, especially on issues involving women and children. If the demands are not met, they warned that all legal, regulatory, and professional avenues will be explored to hold the organisations accountable.