June 07, 2012 The Broadcasting Council organized a debate on the topic of: ‘’Protection of minor audience: creation of quality contents for children’’

Skopje, June 07, 2012 – Editors from the biggest television houses in the country, representatives of independent productions, the Macedonian Media Institute, the First Children’s Embassy – Medzashi, the Consumers’ organization and other NGO organizations and public institutions from the domain of children’s protection, today at the premises of the Broadcasting Council (BC) have participated in the debate dedicated to protection of minor audience.

The debate officially started by the opening speech of the President of the Council, Zoran Trajchevski, by giving an insight on the tasks and the activities that the BC undertakes for protection of the minor audience: ‘’ We have discussed many times on the protection of the minor audience, therefore, I would like to briefly remind you of the most obvious tool for creating and maintaining the media’s responsibility towards the minor audience. I am talking about the Rulebook on Protection of Minor Audience from Programs that could Harmfully  Influence their Physical, Psychological and Moral Development, whose most recognizable section is dedicated to the marks for signalization that show for which age group the program is intended.’’

 

 ‘’The Council cannot order the media what kind and which program to broadcast – that would be interfering in theirs editor’s freedom. Therefore, the Council organizes such types of events that serve to present new insights, to exchange opinions and to ask questions, and of course, to get some answers – and especially, to have new ideas.’’ – pointed out Trajchevski.

The American Embassy in Skopje has provided the special guest – the main speaker at the event, the psychology professor, Sandra Calvert, from the American University of Georgetown from Washington, that has addressed the producers as well, with the message to pay more attention to the educational character of the children’s programs: ‘’ Create stories about children’s lifes, keep the plot very simple, reiterate the key elements, choose contents that are socially emotional and add more academic contents gradually as the children reach and come to the preschool age and  further as they go to school…’’

Despite the sanctioning of the violations that the broadcasters commit of the legal and by legal provisions on protection on minor audience, the BC in future, will continue to enhance the social dialogue for protection of minors from harmful contents in the media, through similar public events and forums, as a part of the measures for rising the degree of understanding of the importance of effective protection of minor audience from contents that could harmfully influence their psycho-physical development.


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