Dear Editor,

Who was the mastermind behind that interview conducted by Jennifer “Jenny Jenny” Small on HITZ 92 FM with the teenager who suffered the machete beating?

Let me be clear, I’m not privy to details of the lead-up to the interview so I can only speak of what was aired. With all due respect to Jenny Jenny, who has been broadcasting across the nation for a number of years, and her background in working with children, I honestly think that she erred in facilitating this interview with the child.

We live in a society in which everybody wants to be the first to break a story or to give first-hand accounts of people who are party to a current viral story that the morals and ethics of journalism are tossed through the window.

The video being circulated is almost a year old and the child is now 13; however, in law, she is still considered a minor.

At the time of airing her mother was still locked up and as such could not have been present to guide the interview; no mention was made about a child psychologist or even a police officer being present; and her sister is not her legal guardian and as such could not authorise this.

Jenny Jenny led that interview from start to finish and that should not have happened. The questions were out of place and too pointed. Then again, who interviews a complainant? Won’t this prejudice the ongoing investigations?

With an understanding of how easily affected and vulnerable children are, Jenny Jenny should have objected to being a party to this. If she wanted to offer some assistance same could have been done behind the scenes. No need to add to the trauma and ridicule being meted out. The child already has to deal with her peers and everybody seeing images of her mother walking around in her yard with next to no clothing.

Questions directed at the child in regards to the level of poverty faced on a daily basis or if she thought her mom was crazy were phrased in such a way that expected forthcoming answers can add to the breaking news. At this point in time, did the world need to know so much?

At the time of writing I have not seen any statement from HITZ 92 FM or Jenny Jenny, and that is just so sad.

By the way, did anybody notice the similarities to Stockholm syndrome? That’s for another day.

Endless Possibilities

endlesspossibilities3012@gmail.com