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Journalists as agents and language as an instrument of social control: A child protection case study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Chris Goddard  and
Bernadette Saunders
Chris Goddard
Affiliation:
Child Abuse & Family Violence Research Unit Department of Social Work Monash University Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic 3168. Email: Chris.Goddard@arts.monash.edu.au
Bernadette Saunders
Affiliation:
Child Abuse & Family Violence Research Unit Department of Social Work Monash University, Victoria, 3168.
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Abstract

In recent years there has been considerable analysis of how the media create images of crime. The relationship between child abuse and the media has also been subject to greater scrutiny. This article examines the role of one newspaper in a child protection case. The part played by the newspaper in the court case led to an examination of the language used by the media in their representations of children. The researchers found that a child may be objectified in language even when the child’s gender is previously identified. The ‘gender slippage’ may in extreme cases lead to the ‘textual abuse’ of children, where child abuse is rewritten to lessen the impact on the reader. The authors conclude that the actions of journalists and the language they use require more critical analysis.

Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , 2001 , pp. 26 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

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