Children's Newspapers Told the Tsunami Story Like it Really Was - But with a Little Extra Care

This article describes how children's newspapers worldwide responded to coverage of the Tsuanami. Articles written for

children from all over the world were often gently crafted, emphasised facts of the situation, and suggested ways to help the

survivors.

The article describes the different ways that each age group was approached. For example, in France, Mon Quotidien, which

targets 9 to 13 year-olds, described their coverage to children in the following way. “One can say it all to children and even

show a dead body, but it must be done in a manner that doesn’t traumatize them” the deputy editor Olivier Gasselin told Agence

France-Presse. He then described the published image of a body with anguished Indian parents grieving over their dead child

but with only the top of the child’s head visible.

A French publication for children 7 to 9 years old photographs showed mostly destroyed houses, survivors and rescue workers,

with maps and infographics. L’actu, for age 14 and up, showed similar images but included details about the issues like the

threat of epidemics and the question of how humanitarian efforts could be affected by guerrilla activities.

A story in the Junior Inquirer of the Philippines was headlined "Kids around the world reach out" and showed "photos of a child collecting money from a rickshaw puller, a child praying at a special inter-faith service at a Buddhist temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a young girl in Hong Kong putting money into a donation box. " The story explained several ways to give donations to the Philippines National Red Cross.

In the Toronto Star, the news featured ways for young readers to be hopeful and offered suggestions for how take action.

Several images show children collecting money. One example was of a young girl in Hong Kong putting money into a donation box.

According to the article, Mon Petit Quotidien organised its own relief fund by publishing coupon-receipts to help children

collect money.

The author refers to Newspapers in Education (NIE) and suggests that their challenge is to "add" to the efforts of newspapers.
Göran Subenko, who runs the Newspapers in Education programme for the Swedish newspaper association stated “We try never to

compete with our employers, but try to inspire our readers to read and act in collaboration with them." The empahasis on

their website was to offer advice to teachers on how to use, and not use, the mass media with suggestions for how to talk to children about such difficult matters.