"[...] This setting directly underscores the challenge Latin America confronts as the most unequal continent on earth. It also reinforces the regional news media’s critical role in monitoring government action and fostering debate on public policies aimed at guaranteeing and promoting the rights o ... f children. This publication is designed to assist the media on these two fronts. The pages below are based on a study conducted by the Brazilian News Agency for Children’s Rights (Agência de Notícias dos Direitos da Infância – ANDI) and the member agencies of the ANDI Latin America Network (Rede ANDI América Latina) of the news media’s coverage in 12 countries from 2005 to 2007. A total of 795,000 stories were reviewed covering a diversity of topics related to the rights and quality of life of the youngest age groups. The results point to progress, particularly in the number of published articles, a development that is both promising and reveals, in relation to the previous survey, a growing interest on the part of the media in issues connected to the social agenda. At the same time, the analysis indicates the need to foster a more pluralistic and contextualized approach through more indepth consideration of the phenomena affecting children and of the proposed solutions to the challenges confronting them." (Introduction) more