Press Release

Minister for Children launches Stereotyping of Young People Resource Pack

Wednesday 12 March, 2008
Equality Authority of Ireland, Clonmel Street, Dublin 2

Brendan Smith TD, Minister for Children, expressed his concern about the inequality experienced by young people as a result of stereotyping. The Minister was speaking at the launch of the Stereotyping of Young People Resource Pack, jointly commissioned by the Equality Authority and the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI).

‘The resource pack was developed as a result of the findings of Inequality and the Stereotyping of Young People(2006), which identified significant barriers to equality for young people and also contained a strategy to address these barriers. This report, which was also published by the Equality Authority and NYCI, set out and analysed a disturbing consensus among young people about how they are stereotyped by so many of the adults with whom they come into contact’ stated the Minister. The Minister noted that the resource pack is an important tool in highlighting that young people are not a homogenous group and possess different identities and life circumstances.

Minister Smith went on to say that an important way to ensure that children and young people are respected and not stereotyped is to give them a voice in the development of policies and services that affect them. ‘My Office (the Office of the Minister for Children) consults with children and young people to inform many areas of our work. Goal 1 of the National Children’s Strategy states that children will have a voice in matters that affect their lives. The OMC receives vital inputs from the young people we consult, which has resulted in more effective and user-friendly policies that actually meet the needs of young people’ continued the Minister.

‘Dáil na nÓg, the National Youth Parliament of Ireland, is the responsibility of my Office and gives young people, aged 12-18, the opportunity to represent the views of those under the voting age of 18. One of the top statements from Dáil na nÓg 2007 was that teenagers are negatively portrayed by the media. The Dáil na nÓg Council, who are responsible for following-up the recommendations from the parliament, set up the Fairsay campaign to monitor the portrayal of teenagers in the media. I am pleased to share this platform with four young members of the Fairsay campaign’ said the Minister.

Teenagers, Thomas Atcha, Fiodhna Horan-Murphy, Maria Kelly and Stephanie Kelly from Dáil na nÓg Fairsay spoke about their campaign to eliminate stereotyping, discrimination and patronising attitudes towards young people found too often in the media. ‘We are asking the media to give coverage and recognition to serious and positive activities in which teenagers are involved and not just the negative stereotypical headlines we frequently see’ stated Fiodhna Horan-Murphy.

The key recommendations from Fairsay are:
• Give more balanced coverage to stories about teenagers;
• Ask teenagers for their opinions when doing stories;
• Appoint a teenage correspondent;
• Talk directly to young people who can be easily found through student councils and local Comhairlí na nÓg in every city and county;
• Eliminate stereotyping, discrimination and patronising attitudes towards teenagers often found in the media.

‘I would like to commend the Fairsay campaign on its excellent work. The media is a powerful communicator of images and ideas that can too often reflect stereotypes in distorted and misleading ways. By treating young people as problematic and difficult, the media is reflecting negative stereotypes and maintaining the unequal relationship between generations’ continued Mr Smith.

‘This Resource Pack is an important step in stimulating debate to help eliminate stereotyping and eliminate its associated stigmas. I believe it will help young people to recognise when they are be



'The g-string round your ankle if you're up for sex'. Have we got your attention yet? When journalists splash headlines like this across the front page of newspapers that's exactly what they are trying to do: shock readers at the expense of young people. But it's not just the more outrageous headlines that are harmful. Journalists often talk about the 'Bebo Generation' as though we are wild and out-of-control group of people to be either feared or patronised. To read and hear about us in the national media you'd think we were an alien species from the freakish and never-to-be-trusted Planet Teen.

This article was inspired by one of the main recommendations from Dáil na nÓg 2007, that the media needs to improve the way it portrays teenagers. At a Dáil na nÓg council meeting last June we agreed something had to be done about the unfair misrepresentation of young people in the media. We were sick of talking, we wanted action. It was at that meeting that the 'Fairsay campaign' was formed and this article marks the launch of our campaign.

We felt strongly that the media was misrepresenting teenagers, we just needed to prove it with research, a method we felt adults would respect. Many of the delegates at Dail na nÓg 2007 expressed the opinion that teenagers were negatively portrayed in the media coverage of Junior Cert celebrations so we decided this period should be the focus of our main research. For a week before the Junior Cert results day and a week after, we monitored every national and local newspaper in Ireland, with the help of a media research expert and a media monitoring company.

Trawling through the Junior Cert articles early one Saturday morning, we really weren't sure what to expect. The first thing we noticed was the difference in the angle taken by broad sheet newspapers as opposed to tabloids. Broadsheets overall seemed to portray teenagers in a better light, concentrating more on the positive aspects of the Junior Cert results day. In fact, one of the most positive articles that we found, 'We don't need drink to have fun' was in the Sunday Independent and a very similar article which appeared in The Irish Times - 'I don't need to drink for a good night out' - also got the Fairsay stamp of approval. But before any pats on the back are handed out, we should tell you that the broadsheets weren't all on our side, with many articles giving far too much space to the issue of under-age drinking. It just confirmed for us the media's obsession with teenagers who binge drink as opposed to teenagers who don't drink or do so in moderation. We do exist but you wouldn't know it to read most newspapers.

Tabloids on the other hand were more provocative in their reports of Junior Cert celebrations. We found their headlines to be over-the-top, and worded purely for shock value. Headlines like 'the g-string round your ankle if you re up for sex' are obviously going to attract attention for all the wrong reasons. We were disgusted to read stories about sexual promiscuity on Junior Cert night which contained lewd descriptions and innuendo.

Sex wasn't the only hot topic. Along with the broadsheets, tabloid newspapers have a preoccupation with underage drinking and drug use. One particular tabloid article that stood out, although not for quality of writing, was the story whose headline alone caused a stir; 'Straight E's' was labelled as one of the most sensationalist articles by Fairsay. The article recounted how three young girls went to a dealer to buy Ecstasy to help celebrate their results. The article quoted what the journalist clearly thought was a reliable source. That source? A drunken homeless man who supposedly saw the whole deal takes place. The negative article was based on hearsay and personal opinions.

One positive tabloid article we found was from The Irish Sun, which gave teenagers a say on events around results day along with the positive opinion and congratulations

Calling all journalists: Tired of standing on cold streets searching for misbehaving teenagers?

Friday 14 December 2007

Not a day that goes by that a story is written in the paper, heard on the radio or seen on the television about misbehaving teens. ‘Even the word teenager conjures up images of drunken fifteen year old girls, falling around in their stiletto heels or stories of how young male drivers are the worst in the country. As with any group of society, we juveniles are getting tired of always being painted with the same brush’ said Stephanie Kelly, representing a new campaign set up by the Dáil na nÓg Council.

The Dáil na nÓg Council is responsible following-up the recommendations from the national youth parliament for teenagers aged 12-18 years. ‘We conduct research into the main recommendations from Dáil na nÓg and try to make changes for young people in those areas. One of the top statements from Dáil na nÓg 2007 was that teenagers are negatively portrayed by the media, particularly in the coverage surrounding the Junior Cert celebrations’ added Stephanie Kelly. The Council decided to set up the Fairsay campaign to monitor the portrayal of teenagers in the media and encourage media organisations to more often focus on positive achievements and aspirations of teenagers. Fairsay decided to focus on the coverage surrounding Junior Cert results celebrations. ‘For a week before Junior results day and a week after, we monitored every national and local newspaper in Ireland, with the help of a media research expert and a media monitoring company. We noticed definite differences in the angle taken by broad sheet newspapers as opposed to tabloids. The sources in most of the positive articles were teenagers themselves, being given the chance to voice their views on Junior Cert night. The negative articles used little or no reliable sources basing their stories mainly on hearsay and their personal opinions of journalists and included shocking headlines used to draw readers in at the expense of teenagers. We found that teenager’s voices actually being heard, has a positive effect on media coverage’ stated Maria Kelly, also of Fairsay. These findings are published, along with a teenager's point of view, in this Friday's Irish Times, which marks the beginning of the Fairsay campaign.

‘We are realists. We know the print and broadcast media have a duty to report that some young people choose to spend their Junior Certificate results night drinking and behaving in an irresponsible manner. But we believe that these young people are the minority and would question whether it was right to take advantage of young people who didn't celebrate wisely’ stated Stephanie Kelly.

‘The Fairsay campaign doesn't claim to represent the whole teen nation. There are teenagers who may disagree with us. There are still others eager to be heard who can be easily found through student councils and local Comhairlí na nÓg in every city and county’ added Maria Kelly.

Tired of standing on cold streets searching for misbehaving teenagers? Now you don't have to. Get the facts, a better story, and give teenagers a fair say.
By Triona Brick.

Media contacts:
Stephanie Kelly
Maria Kelly
fairsay07@gmail.com
Bebo site: http://www.bebo.com/FairSay-Dail-na-nOg
Web: www.dailnanog.i
Editor’s Notes

• Fairsay is a campaign, set up by Dáil na nÓg Councillors, to monitor the portrayal of teenagers in the media.
• Fairsay aims to encourage media organisations to more often focus on positive achievements and aspirations of teenagers.
• Fairsay wants to eliminate stereotyping, discrimination and patronizing attitudes towards teenagers often found in the media. We want the media to acknowledge the fact that we are a product of our society and our behaviour is heavily influenced by the example set for us by adults.