Magazine rapped over knuckles for identifying child accused

24 March 2014 - 14:30 By Dominic Skelton
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Local Afrikaans magazine Huisgenoot has failed in a bid to overturn a ruling reprimanding it for identifying a minor murder accused.

Earlier this month, the chair of the Appeals Panel of the South African Press Council, Judge Bernard Ngoepe, turned down a request by the magazine to appeal a Press Ombudsman ruling made in December.

The ombudsman found that Huisgenoot was in breach of the Press Code when it indirectly identified a minor charged with the murder of Deon and Christel Steenkamp and their 14-year-old daughter Marthella in Griekwastad in the Northern Cape. Even though the magazine did not state the minor had been charged with murder, the context of the article suggested the teenager was the accused.

The complaint lodged by Nadine Hamman, a journalism academic, claimed that Huisgenoot caused unnecessary harm when it named and published a picture of him on its front cover. The case of the triple murder, which made international news, continues this week.

The ombudsman included a sanction in his ruling directing the magazine to publish a front page kicker saying “Griekwastad: Press Ombudsman severely reprimands Huisgenoot,” as well as an explanation of the violation inside.

The ombudsman ruling deals with two sections of the Press Code that protect children in the media. Section 8.1 states: “The press shall exercise exceptional care and consideration when reporting about children under the age of 18,” and section 8.3 states: “The press shall not identify children who have been charged with a crime unless public interest is evident and it is in the best interests of the child.”

Huisgenoot argued that it was not a violation of section 8.3 as the cover page, even though it identified the child, did not state that the minor was charged with a crime.

Apart from the Press Code, both the Criminal Procedure Act and the Child Justice Act prohibit publishing any information that identifies child offenders, unless the presiding judge or magistrate permits it.

Director of Media Monitoring Africa, William Bird, hailed the decision.

“We welcome both the ruling and the decision [of the Appeals Board] for the simple reason that at the time the rest of the media were very careful to not identify the child. It shows that the new guidelines [in the Press Code] work.”

This week Carina du Toit, an attorney from the Centre for Child Law, said: "This decision sends a clear message that the media should not try and circumvent the law through disingenuous word games.”

Huisgenoot editor Henriëtte Loubser said the magazine was studying the ruling and wasn’t prepared to comment at this stage.

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