I had an interesting experience today: seeing how the media works - and TV in particular - from the other end.
A bit of background first. I'm a print journalist of ten years experience, and over that time I have interviewed 100s of people, for stories. I also mentor at LIVE magazine, a project in south london that engages young people aged 13-21 and gets them involved with writing/designing/photography, and gives them social/work/office skills to take into the big bad world.
Anyway, UNICEF have released a report saying kids in the UK have the worst experience of any kids in the western world - our yout dem are top of the league when it comes to drinking, smoking, having sex and bullying, apparently. Even though this report covers a period ending in 1999. So I get into work at 945am, today, and get told a certain world renowned terrestrial TV News organisation will be coming to interview the young people at LIVE regarding this report at 11am. So they did, and broadcast that on the 1'0 Clock news.
Then they decide they want a round table discussion and young people to interview their peers on the report for the 6 o clock news. Except they don't really want the young people to give their real views, but salacious 'personal stories' on sex, drinking. drugs and the like. And of course all young people hang around skate parks, so off we traipse to Stockwell skate park to get some edgy, reality youth shots. Hmmm.
Put it this way it was very interesting to see the media - or TV - turn up with a premeditated angle/view, and extract that from their chosen subjects regardless of what the subjects really feel on the mattter. And then bugger off again. Job done. got what we need. who cares about the young people and their opinions really?
So we spent six hours for about 180 seconds of TV, and interviewed 8-10 people (I wager no more than 3 of the interviews will be used) that does not credit LIVE in any way, and wasted a whole day of magazine work/production. I can totally understand, it's great PR for LIVE. But it's the way that TV uses and abuses that sticks in the throat. Funnily enough the soundman heard my mutterings and was in complete agreement. I do hope, that I'm not so cold, manipulative and pre-meditated when it comes to interviews.
Another aspect of this that got me thinking is: how come it's taken a UNICEF report that is eight years old to focus media attention onto young people's experiences in the UK??? Radio 5, ITV and ALL Of the papers have been all over this today.
Yet young people being shot left, right and centre in Peckham and Brixton McDonalds, there stabbings all over the UK, not to mention gun crime amongst teenagers in Nottingham and Manchester that has been endemic for YEARS, or a recent IPPR report on how young people aren't engaging with older people and learning from them: yet none of these situations provides a valid reason to look at what is going on with young people in the UK today.
