Media Coverage of Human Trafficking and Its Prevention Progress and Challenges 2005-2008

Media Coverage of Human Trafficking and Its

Prevention

Progress and Challenges 2005-2008

Media Coverage of Human Trafficking

and Its Prevention 2005-2008

AIM OF MEDIA MONITORING:

• To provide a systematic review of available reporting patterns on human trafficking.

• To determine whether current reporting reflected all aspects of the phenomenon in an accurate, responsible, comprehensive and in-depth manner.

• To formulate recommendations on “journalistic best practices” to help raise public awareness about the issue.



REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

Introduction

Overview of major monitoring results

Analysis of illustrations accompanying stories on human trafficking in Moldova

An editor’s perspective on human-trafficking coverage

Overview of results of a focus group with readers

Conclusions and recommendations



NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS MONITORED:

Timpul—five issues per week with a total circulation of 46,750 copies

Moldova Suverana—four issues per week with a total circulation of 18,500 copies

Nezavisimaia Moldova —four issues per week with a total circulation of 18,950 copies

Jurnal de Chisinau—three issues a week with a total circulation of 28,000 copies

Moldavskie Vedomosti —twice weekly with a total circulation of 19,000 copies

Novoie Vremia—weekly with a total circulation of 10,500 copies

Saptamina —weekly with a total circulation of 13,400 copies



REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS MONITORED:

Cahul Expres—weekly with a total circulation of 5,400 copies

Observatorul de Nord —weekly with a total circulation of 7,200 copies

SP—weekly with a total circulation of 6,000 copies

Vesti Gagauzii —weekly with a total circulation of 4,300 copies



TOPICS ANALYZED:

•trafficking for the purpose of prostitution•trafficking for forced labor •trafficking for begging•trafficking for petty crime •trafficking for organ harvesting•activities/projects designed to combat these phenomena and to provide new opportunities to vulnerable population segments



STORY TOTALS:









THE USE OF GRAPHICS:

•Most of the images did not contain captions or credits and were downloaded from the Internet. •Many so-called “symbolic” images were used, many of which promoted various stereotypes.



JOURNALISTS’ PERSPECTIVE ON TRAFFICKING COVERAGE:

When they read about trafficking every day, news consumers may not find it as upsetting, and some may even start perceiving trafficking as something inevitable. In order to avoid this type of perception, it is imperative that human trafficking coverage be “individualized” and focus on individual fates of victims, whereas statistics should be utilized only to complement those stories with a human face.



JOURNALISTS BELIEVE THEY SHOULD FOCUS ON:

prevention (by promoting hotlines and trainings that provide information on ways to generate income, find employment, or even go abroad safely, while also stressing how to mitigate potential risks);

rehabilitation (by publishing information on institutions providing support services);

reintegration into society (by publishing articles on opportunities such as those provided by the project “New Perspectives for Women,” that assist women in starting their own small businesses).



READERS’ PERSPECTIVE:

Readers are aware of the problem of human trafficking They know fairly well what they want to read in the papers on this issue. They do not care for media “soap operas,” “thrillers,” and “police-action” reports. They expect to see in-depth analyses of the phenomenon, solutions to the problems of vulnerable populations and a variety of “new perspectives.” Since quite a few of them have considered going abroad, especially to pursue studies, they want to get “news they can use.”



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS:

•Newspaper coverage of trafficking in Moldova frequently fails the test of accuracy, depth and, consequently, awareness-raising.

•Stories on these issues are overwhelmingly generated by press releases of the interior ministry or other government officials, whereas the perspectives of other major anti-trafficking organizations and experts are vastly underrepresented.

•The use of illustrations in stories about human trafficking generally fails to meet universally-accepted professional standards.



RECOMMENDATIONS TO EDITORS:

•Provide regular training to staff•Assign the beat to one reporter in the newsroom •Keep archival databases•Adopt basic newsroom guidelines on the coverage of relevant issues•Utilize editorials and columnists to provide perspectives on breaking news stories •Establish rapport with readers and solicit regular feedback on the stories published



RECOMMENDATIONS TO PHOTO STAFF:

•Hire a photo or graphics editor•Give basic training to newspaper staff who work with images in any form •Encourage editors to make a concerted effort to find appropriate pictures•If no picture can be found to represent the story, then use no picture at all •Give intensive training to whoever handles the images, and restrict the use of Photoshop only to those who have been properly trained



RECOMMENDATIONS TO SPECIALIZED NGOs:

•Actively monitor press coverage and provide feedback •Inform the media about anti-trafficking activities •Make the issue of trafficking compelling•Facilitate journalists’ field visits or attendance at media events •Recognize good reporting



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Media Coverage of Human Trafficking and Its Prevention Progress and Challenges 2005-2008