Broadcasting watchdog studies children's candid camera show

The Broadcasting Authority is looking into a candid camera programme aired on Family TV featuring children breaking into tears to establish whether it breached the law.

The programme, Issa ċ-Ċans, does not seem to have broken the authority's regulations on the protection of minors, which goes into the way children are treated but does not cover candid camera videos.

However, it may be in breach of the Broadcasting Act for failing to be in "good taste and decency", a provision that has to be respected by all programmes, explained Mario Axiaq, the authority's head of research and communications.

The authority is looking into the episode, aired on January 4, after the Commissioner for Children, Carmen Zammit complained it was distasteful, adding that children were bullied and provoked to tears in the name of entertainment.

The episode showed children being called into the Family TV's studios, supposedly for rehearsal purposes, and asked to sing a song. When they started singing, the music stopped at random and items, like a Christmas tree, a plant and a ladder, were dragged around them as they performed.

While some young singers laughed it off, others were clearly frustrated and their expressions clouded over when the serious voice of a man (in the background) was heard practically insulting them. Some were told they could not sing or that their clothes did not match or were stained.

Although some children played along, others ended up in tears with one of the girls crying uncontrollably.

"While it could be that some children would laugh it off, it can also happen that if some are very sensitive to failure or are experiencing other situations where they failed, they will probably add this experience to other ones leading them to find it hard to believe it was merely a joke," clinical psychologist and family therapist Roberta Zahra de Domenico said.

"For the child, this could represent another mere confirmation of his or her inadequacy. In a culture where we are already pressuring our children to perform in all aspects of their life, having to experience such a situation in the context of a supposedly fun situation adds stress, which is rather unnecessary," she said.

Ms Zahra De Domenico pointed out that the children would have had high hopes about appearing on television and the anxiety they experienced at being deemed a failure was not a joke or something that should entertain.

Besides, she said, the child could be left wondering what other children who watched the programme might be thinking after seeing them so distressed on television. It could happen that, if the child is at risk of bullying, such public display of distress could give the bully further ammunition.

When contacted, Family TV's managing director Andrew Farrugia insisted they did not breach the broadcasting law, adding that the station had approached the parents with the idea of a candid camera and all of them were present during the recordings.

Parents had even given the station tips on how to tease their children. This was confirmed by three mothers who spoke to The Times and insisted their children had actually enjoyed the experience.

One mother said her daughter asked for a recording of the programme for her to keep. Another mother said her daughters loved Family TV because it gave them the space to showcase their singing.