Reporting by domestic media on children: Negative, unprofessional, and without children.
Marginalized topic, increasingly exploited for sensationalism and without including children as the most important actors in journalistic stories. This could be a brief summary of the findings from the research "Media Image of Children in Serbia 2025," which was presented today by the Center for Professionalization of Media and Media Literacy (CEPROM).
The research was conducted from June 1 to August 10, 2025, and covered nine daily newspapers (Politika, Danas, Večernje novosti, Blic, Kurir, Informer, Srpski telegraf, Alo, and Nova), the central news programs of five television stations with national frequency (RTS 1, TV Pink, TV Prva, TV B92, TV Happy), as well as the 20 most visited online portals. The results were announced at today's presentation of the publication highlighting the most significant findings of the research, accompanied by a panel discussion with experts organized by CEPROM at the Press Center of the Journalists' Association of Serbia in observance of International Children's Day.
Media Indifferent to Children, Focusing on Negative News
The media's indifference to this social group is best illustrated by the fact that each television station with national frequency broadcasts a segment about children only once every five days on average (0.18 segments per television station daily), while daily newspapers publish an average of 1.4 articles per edition. The unlimited space on online portals has resulted in an average of 5.3 articles per online media outlet on a daily basis, but a higher number of publications in print and on portals does not imply a better situation compared to television since their content points to much more serious issues than the indifference toward children as a topic.
As much as 71% of articles about children in online media have a negative connotation, as well as 57.5% in daily print media, which means that cases of child abuse, accidents, violence, and various incidents are typically the topics prioritized by the media. The situation is somewhat better only in the case of television, where just under a third of the segments have a negative connotation, specifically 30.2%. The successes and achievements of children are practically reduced to the level of statistical error, especially on portals and in daily print media, creating an extremely unhealthy media climate that negatively affects both children and their public perception.
Record Violation of Journalistic Code
One of the most problematic findings relates to the record violation of the Journalists' Code of Serbia. In every fifth article on portals and every tenth in daily print media, professional and ethical standards are violated when reporting on children, while violations are not recorded in television reporting.
Revealing children's identities, violating privacy, disrespecting dignity, and publishing sensationalist content are the most common violations of the Journalists' Code of Serbia when reporting on children. Sensationalist reporting is particularly noticeable on portals where children are often used as "bait" since every incident involving children is exploited as a story trigger due to the audience's heightened sensitivity toward this social group.
In their reporting, the media neglect the "best interests of the child" as one of the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is best illustrated by the frequent practice of secondary victimization since the way of reporting often causes additional harm to children who have already suffered violence, abuse, or accidents. This is most often done by revealing details that compromise the dignity of the child, as well as unlawfully disclosing their identities, typically indirectly, i.e., by publishing details that allow the child to be recognized, such as photographs of homes, information about parents, schools, or places of residence.
The Children's Voice Remains Unheard
The research reveals that children are extremely rarely featured as interlocutors in the media, meaning their opinions are not treated as important in the media space, even when the topics directly relate to them. Typically, parents, teachers, representatives of state institutions, or experts speak about them and on their behalf, while the children's voices remain unheard. For instance, in every fifth television segment, their voices are heard, and a similar situation is recorded in print and online media.
Therefore, it is not surprising that reporting on children generally lacks adequate analysis and context necessary for understanding the topic, as the media rarely investigate the causes and consequences of the issues they report on, and even less often possible solutions. Based on this, it can be concluded that the media do not report on negative events to initiate positive changes and improve the position of children in society; rather, children are exploited in such cases for sensationalism.
Summary of the Most Important Findings of the Research
• Children are insufficiently present in the most influential media in Serbia.
• The majority of content about children has a negative connotation and features topics from "dark chronicles," while children's achievements and successes are almost invisible in the media.
• In every fifth article on portals and every tenth in daily print media, the Journalists' Code of Serbia is violated in reporting on children.
• Revealing children's identities, violating privacy, disrespecting dignity, and publishing sensationalist content are the most common violations of the Code.
• Children are extremely rarely featured as interlocutors in journalistic stories, leaving their voices unheard in domestic media.
• Reporting on children generally lacks adequate analysis and does not provide the context necessary for proper understanding of the topic as the media rarely investigate the causes and consequences of the issues they report on, and even less often potential solutions.
• Sensationalist reporting about children is particularly noticeable in the case of portals since children are often used as "bait" for the audience and exploited for sensationalism.
• The media neglect the "best interests of the child" as one of the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is best illustrated by the frequent practice of secondary victimization since the way of reporting often causes additional harm to children who have already suffered violence, abuse, or accidents.
• This year records even more negative and problematic reporting compared to 2018 when CEPROM conducted its first research on media reporting about children, showing that negative trends are intensifying year by year.
Source: CEPROM
