Broadcast Media: Screen Stereotypes

This article, published in Young People Now, explores trends in the way in which young people are portrayed in television and radio shows in the United Kingdom. Featuring quotations from young people sharing their perspectives on youth representation in the media, the article explores the development and implementation of several TV and radio projects that aim to include diverse voices and images of young people.

Excerpts from the article follow:

"...Last spring [2004], the National Children's Bureau (NCB) carried out a consultation with 100 young people in London and Omagh on behalf of the BBC to find out what they thought of the broadcaster's output. Lots of positive feedback came out of that, says Janine Shaw, head of participation at the NCB.

'A lot of young people can really relate to the young people they see in the media,' she says. 'The fictional characters they liked most had a balance between good and bad.'

'They could relate to a lot of characters, but often they thought they were too extreme,' says Shaw. 'It's the bully and the victim, and you don't get to see many like the majority of young people. It doesn't make good storylines.'...

One significant piece of feedback in the NCB consultation was that young people wanted to see more positive news stories about young people. It is common for news items about young people to be about antisocial behaviour or teenage pregnancy rates. James Weeks, a producer at Sky News, says young people's issues are covered, but denies coverage is always negative...

Weeks agrees that it's important to interview young people where relevant, but admits it isn't easy. 'Relevant young people are very hard to find in a hurry,' he says. 'But we've built relationships with local schools, and we work with young journalists from Children's Express, who create material from their own perspective that gets broadcast alongside our material.'

The BBC's Newsround also tries to give a voice to young people. It has a Press Pack: young reporters who are sent out to cover stories for the programme. There can be five in a week, and the scheme is going to be expanded in the New Year to allow young people to be editors for a day...

You might think radio would be more accessible than TV. Student radio stations are common, and mainstream radio stations often have phone-ins...

But Titus Lucas, who set up a radio station for young people in London called Issue FM, disagrees. 'When young people call radio programmes, they are usually disregarded,' he says. 'If your point doesn't tally with the station's ethos, you don't get on.'

Media Education in Edinburgh has run an annual Festival Radio project since 1994 that gives 30 young people aged 12 to 18 free access to Edinburgh Fringe shows and allows them to become reporters for a week. They're provided with training in interview techniques, recording equipment and audio editing to produce their own broadcasts, which are aired on radio stations throughout the UK...

Iain Shaw from Media Education says young people jump at the chance to have views aired, but predicts a long struggle before they get a fair representation.

'Getting young people to present their ideas is not just a matter of placing them in front of the camera or microphone and pressing record,' he says....Young people, says Shaw, must be provided with the support and resources they need to communicate the ideas they want in the way they want..."