Visuali ty is one of the key features of digital media. The importance of developing the ethics of visual communication of journalists, and the visual literacy of digital media audiences has therefore never been more important. This thesis explores the importance of ethical standards and visual literacy in the context of children's television reporting. By reviewing appropriately selected thematic television reports about children in the news programs of public (HRT) and commercial television (Nova TV) in Croatia, the paper detects and offers an overview of various forms of reporting on children from the news programs of the said televisions. The role of visual literacy of the media audience in the reception and interpretation of children's television shows is emphasized, and the importance of the ethics of visual communication and visual literacy in television reporting is highlighted so that it is in the best interest of the child. The paper explains the basic terms of the ethics of visual communication, visual culture, visual framing, as well as the role of media audiences in understanding and distinguishing the media representation of social reality from the reality constructed by the media. The scientific contribution of the work will be reflected in the additional awareness of the need to insist on media ethical television coverage of children within the framework of informational programs and by emphasizing (as a contribution to existing research) the importance of knowing the ethics of visual communication and visual literacy among media audiences with the aim of realizing the primary role of journalism that would should have acted in the interest of the public and the preservation of democracy.