Children and the media

Lesotho’s media has little space for children. When they publish or broadcast stories about children, they make little or no effort to make the information child friendly. Children mostly feature in the news when they are in disadvantaged situations, such as suffering abuse or having their rights and freedoms violated.

In order to improve reporting for and about children, MISA Lesotho has been running a project focusing on children and the media since 2010 under the motto: “Nothing for us without us”.

Project activities 2017-2018

This year with the support of UNICEF, MISA Lesotho’s Children and the Media project will focus on the following activities:

  • Mini research on the use of social media amongst children in Lesotho. The research will provide information to a larger project about children’s handing of social media and how they use if for information, education and entertainment.
  • Sensitisation meeting with children, editors and journalists. By bringing together media professionals and children, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of children’s needs and an improvement in media coverage of children issues in Lesotho
  • Media production on World Children’s Day on 20 November. The activity will help promote World Children’s Day in Lesotho through radio programming and newspaper content.

The project builds upon previous MISA Lesotho initiatives, including:

  • Focus group discussions on media and children in Lesotho
  • Commemoration of 25th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child
  • Media productions including the Children’s Voice newsletter in collaboration with World Vision and Lesotho Child Counseling Unit
  • Regional conference of editors and children in the SADC region held in Namibia
  • Training local journalists how to report children’s stories
  • Production of radio programs on the commemoration of UNICEF’s 70th anniversary
  • Contribution to the production of In The Zone, an international newsletter on children and the media.

Children in the media from our chapters

For a better tomorrow in Lesotho, let’s all invest in children

For a better tomorrow in Lesotho, let’s all invest in children

MISA Lesotho, with the financial support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Lesotho, brings you the second edition of Children Speak Out – a special newspaper exclusively reporting about adolescents’ issues. The first edition was published in December...

Children Speak Out Lesotho: News written for children by children

Children Speak Out Lesotho: News written for children by children

Between November and December 2019, the Media Institute of Southern Africa – Lesotho Chapter (MISA Lesotho) trained 30 children on media, child rights and how the children can use media platforms to discuss their issues of concern. This was made possible with support...

Survey on Children’s Use of Social Media in Lesotho

Survey on Children’s Use of Social Media in Lesotho

With objective to inform development of programs to respond challenges around the use of social media amongst children in Lesotho, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Lesotho) is conducting a survey on the use of social media among children in Lesotho. The...

Children meet editors and journalist on fair reporting

Children meet editors and journalist on fair reporting

Local editors and journalists with interest on children news met with children to discuss ways in which the media can best report kids stories. Participants who are members of MISA Lesotho’s Children in Media project told editors and journalists that their issues are...