Youth and Media

Introduction to Youth and Media

 In 2007 just over 150 young people attended a youth conference to discuss issues and solutions facing young people in Christchurch City, a key topic for discussion was the role of media in relation to young people. Discussions at the conference put forward a sense of disempowerment at the hands of the media who are alleged to portray young people as a nuisance and as trouble makers!

Young people discussed the relationship between young people and the media making a series of recommendations to enhance this relationship, the discussions and recommendations outlined below.

Should you seek to be involved with progressing any of these recommendations please contact us at white.elephant@woosh.co.nz

Should you seek to study / progress your career in the media or journalism, you will be able to find the following information by perusing this section of the site.

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Youth in the media: what the young people said.

The workshop explored the relationship between youth and the media, providing an outlet for passionate and robust discussion. It was evident that there is a sense of tension within this relationship. Young people feel that they are negatively stereotyped, reported on and targeted by the media, and by The Press in particular. Fears discussed were that the power of media portraying a negative image of young people has a negative impact on youth culture. Young people are adopting and reflecting the negative traits reported on, which further alienates young people. A concern expressed by conference was the possibility that the tone of reporting in the media was reflective of the value (or lack thereof) placed on young people as members of the community.

Those involved in the workshops expressed a desire to build a stronger, more positive relationship with media with the intention of encouraging more accurate and constructive reporting on youth affairs Specific goals and strategies were put forward by conference to achieve this. Further, the conference outlined the importance of media and the need for young people to get involved and use media to their advantage.

Key Points

Key points of discussions included:

• The media feeds a view contrary to the fact that the majority of youth are respectful.
• The local papers focus a lot on business, farmers and adult issues. They do not discuss matters important to young people.
• National and local media feed the fears of parents and the widercommunity in terms of youth culture.
• "We don’t have the role models in the media that are appealing to a diverse group of youth."
• "No-one hears about youth achievements. We aren’t recognised. Only negative issues are pointed out."
• A call for more positive reporting on young people with a view that it will cause a ripple effect and promote pride and high performance and inclusion.
• Young people are wary of media, who often "lie and twist words".
• A call for more formal and productive contact with media and the establishment of a working relationship.

• We need a youth column in the local papers written by young people with support from reporters.
• "The media bias is always against youth."
• Even the celebrities and "role models" are doing bad things in the media.
• Media have parents convinced now that every party we go to is bad.
• Youth are treated badly in the media, worse than any other group. They wouldn’t get away with it with any other group.
• We need help from the media to organise ourselves and promote what’s available to youth.
• A call for media to attend youth events and gatherings, to get to know more young people.
• We need to get involved and take control of some media, contribute and use it to our advantage. We need to create our own media channels.
• They always showcase drunken teens causing havoc on the streets.
• "It’s the Press, every one reads the Press. we need the Press".

Discussion

Young people present had a range of views in regard to the relationship with the media and the portrayal of youth in media. The general tone of the discussion was that the media unfairly portray young people and contribute to the alienation of young people from communities.

It was put forward that events where young people do badly are highly publicised, as are poor performance areas such as youth crime. In comparison it was discussed that adult crimes and failures are not reported on as much as those committed by young people.

Young people were disappointed that the media portrayal was so negative. This was put down to the fact that bad news sells and that when young people mess up, it is exploited to make "good–bad news". It was put forward that although bad news is what sells, over coming years we can work together to change that culture into one where we can celebrate communities in the media. The community needs to be made more aware of youth achievements – the ways that young people contribute to the community –to accentuate the positive things young people are doing. A lot of the feedback did highlight that although there is a perception of bad reporting on young people, that these bad things actually do happen.

Indepth discussions showed that youth themselves take some responsibility for what their peers are up to. A strong common message stated that youth need to take pride in themselves and succeed in exceptional ways before other sectors of the community can take pride in them.

There was an identified need to build relationships with media to improve reporting and challenge current stereotypes and myths held by the community as a result of negative reporting. For the media this could mean access to young people for comments and to youth communities and issues first-hand, from a youth perspective. For young people this relationship could mean greater input and an ability to shape stories.

There was also further discussion that young people need to get organised to release local publications which highlight a more accurate view of what is happening. The concept was that young people from various schools with an interest in media and reporting band together to establish a local regular youth publication which keeps young people and key stakeholders informed.Key to the success of these ideas is that they receive backing from groups with appropriate infrastructure.

Young people identified that the education sector is a key stakeholder that could make a significant impact on media portrayal of youth. It was evident throughout the workshop that students have high expectations that schools should contribute to media, showcasing youth achievements and getting more involved in the community. Key issues voiced included a feeling that schools themselves create a lot of division in communities. This contributes to a negative youth culture and provid ing issues for media to report on.

Examples provided included that schools are not interacting socially enough without a competitive intent. There was a rugby game between two schools where Police had to attend due to the potential for violence. Another example is the rivalry between boys’ schools. Students are calling for more interschool social events which they put forward as being key to shaping media and affecting positive change for youth in the city.

Labelling and language in the media was another area of discussion, with the term ‘youth’ being used lump all young people together. Thoughts were that the term ‘youth’ was being used too broadly. This lumps all young people together, implying that all ‘youth’ are unruly. As a result of this broad term "when one person fucks it up, they fuck it up for everyone."

Recommendations

It was put forward by the conference that:

1. Youth get organised and call relevant stakeholders and passionate young people from a variety of schools together to establish a local youth media and promotion machine which includes
   1. Printed publications
   2. Youth radio
   3. Youth features in existing publications
   4. Online peer networking
   5. Features on TV / TV youth show (local)

   That these publications and media promote youth issues, achievements, social opportunities, community involvements and promote youth sport.

2. 2. Young people establish a media liaison group consisting of youth from various sub cultures and youth sectors to liaise with key media stakeholders on a bi-monthly basis with a view to:
   1. Strengthening relationship with media
   2. Influencing story lines and reporting culture
   3. Provide training
   4. Provide leads to good stories>
   5. A "know me before you judge me" campaign is promoted which will counter discrimination and targeting of young people. The concept in line with that of the Like Minds Like Mine campaign.
   6. Active steps are taken for schools to become more integrated with community and contribute to media to highlight student achievements.
   7. An interschool newsletter / print publication be established.
   8. Means to better inform parents with an accurate portrayal of youth culture be established.
   9. More inter-school, non-competition, social activities are promoted.
   10. A special liaison group be established with The Press to provide accurate information, leads and input.