Hauptreport (hauptreport.de) treats coverage of minors with the highest care and additional editorial scrutiny. This policy explains the principles we follow to protect children and young people in our journalism. It complements our editorial policy and fact-checking standards. Melanie Winter, our fact-checking lead, reviews every piece that names or identifies a minor before publication. For our full editorial standards see Editorial Policy, and for details on our team see Our Team.
Why does Hauptreport have a separate safeguarding policy for minors?
Children and young people are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of public exposure. Publishing their names, images or personal details can affect their safety, development and future. Hauptreport therefore applies stricter editorial checks whenever content involves anyone under 18. This policy ensures we balance the public interest against the minor’s right to privacy and protection, in line with Swedish and international child protection norms.
Our approach is guided by the Swedish constitution, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and best practice among serious news organisations. We do not automatically assume that a child’s identity must be disclosed, even when reporting on newsworthy events. The default position is to protect anonymity unless a compelling public-interest justification exists and the minor’s consent (or that of a parent or guardian) has been obtained.
Who is responsible for oversight of content involving minors?
Melanie Winter, our responsible editor for fact-checking and source verification, is the designated standards lead for all content concerning minors. She reviews every article, photograph or video that names, shows or identifies a child. Michael Schulte, Chefredaktör, retains final authority over publication decisions, but any content flagged by Winter requires her sign-off before it can go live. For more on our fact-checking process see Fact-Checking Policy.
The newsdesk is instructed to alert Winter as soon as a story involving a minor is commissioned. She may consult with the journalist, the editor on duty, and where necessary legal advisers. This layered review is designed to catch potential risks early, such as unintentional identification through details like school, neighbourhood or family circumstances.
What specific steps do we take when covering children?
We apply a presumption of anonymity for minors. Their full names, exact ages, addresses, schools and identifiable photographs are not used without explicit permission or a strong public-interest reason. Where consent is required, we seek it from a parent, guardian or relevant authority, and document it in writing. Every piece is reviewed by Winter, who can demand redaction or removal if safeguards are insufficient. For any questions our team is listed at Our Team.
In cases where a child is a victim, witness or accused party, we generally withhold all identifying information. Exceptions are considered only when the child’s story is essential to a matter of overwhelming public interest and the potential harm to the child is outweighed. Even then, we consult with the child’s legal representative and consider alternative approaches such as using a pseudonym, blurring images or omitting specific locations. We also avoid sensational language that could stigmatise or stereotype minors.
What you can expect from us
You can expect that Hauptreport will never publish content about a minor without a clear editorial justification and at least two layers of human editorial review. Every article that mentions a child is flagged in our editorial system and automatically routed to Winter’s queue. If you see a piece involving a minor that you believe breaches these standards, you have a clear route to raise concerns. Our commitment is to correct errors swiftly and transparently, as set out in our Complaints Procedure.
We also train all editorial staff and freelancers on this policy. The training covers legal obligations, ethical dilemmas and practical scenarios such as interviewing children in schools, covering family court proceedings or reporting on child welfare cases. Review of this policy is part of our annual editorial audit, and any updates are communicated to the whole team.
How do we handle concerns or complaints about content involving minors?
Concerns should be sent directly to our dedicated complaints address: complaints@hauptreport.de. Your message will be handled by Melanie Winter and Michael Schulte. We aim to acknowledge receipt within 48 hours and provide a substantive response within 10 working days. If the complaint relates to a specific article already published, we will assess whether it meets the standards outlined here and, if not, issue a correction or removal. For full details of our complaints handling see Complaints Procedure.
Questions or concerns?
If you have any questions about how we cover children or wish to discuss a specific case before publication, please contact our editorial team via info@hauptreport.de or reach Melanie Winter directly at emma.sandberg@hauptreport.de. For formal complaints, use complaints@hauptreport.de. Our full contact page is at Contact.