Article
‘News for Everyone?
Perspectives of Young
People and Journalists
on Political Reporting
in UK Television’
Young
22(2) 135–152
© 2014 Sage Publications and
YOUNG Editorial Group
SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, London,
New Delhi, Singapore,
Washington DC
DOI: 10.1177/1103308814521623
http://you.sagepub.com
Lesley Henderson
Department of Sociology and Communications, Brunel University, UK
Abstract
Numerous studies have focused on young people and the extent to which they are
politically (dis)connected; but we know far less about how ‘young people’ are perceived by journalists and editors who ‘make’ political news. This article reflects on a
qualitative study involving focus groups with young adults aged 16–24 years (n = 80)
and interviews with television news journalists and editors (n = 26). Young people
perceived television news as overly focused on youth crime and anti-social behaviour,
finding it difficult to connect mainstream political news with the lived reality of everyday life. Journalists are under considerable pressure to attract young audiences of
‘plugged in achievers’ and defensive of what they consider to be legitimate focus on
‘Westminster’ power. The views and occupational practices of political journalists
should be studied if we are to shed light on news values that underpin reporting and
identify opportunities by which inequities of access can be challenged.
Keywords
Journalists, politics, young people, news, television, inequality, participation, media,
audiences
Introduction
What are the links, if any, between the lived reality of young people’s lives and how
they are represented in political news? How do television news journalists perceive
their role in terms of representing and engaging with young adults? To what extent
are the answers to these questions useful in contributing to ongoing debates concerning young people and the role of the media in their (presumed lack of) political
engagement and representation? For some time now the perceived crisis concerning
young people’s apparent declining interest in the political process (Buckingham,
2000a), their low levels of knowledge and poor opinion of politicians (White et al.,
2000), have featured heavily in debates that circulate in academic, political and
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broadcast arenas. It is often claimed that young people are more likely to vote for
reality TV contestants rather than in a general election (Lewis et al., 2005b). Young
people are largely critical of institutional politics (Henn et al., 2002, 2005) and are
less regular viewers of news (Hargreaves and Thomas, 2002). New media offers different ways of engaging audiences (Livingstone, 2007) but the plethora of deliberative measures designed to encourage active citizenship and participation have been
criticized for offering a reductive ‘top down’ approach to political participation.
Indeed some groups from low socio-economic status backgrounds are even less
likely to participate in civic websites (Geniets, 2010). This lack of participation compounds existing inequalities and is often overlooked in more celebratory accounts of
the democratizing potential of the Internet. At the same time many young people
engage in single issue politics (lobbying for change around world poverty, the environment, animal rights). Research with young women identified their interest in
political issues though not necessarily ‘politics’ (Briggs, 2008). It seems that young
people engage in different forms of politics in their everyday lives (Bentley and
Oakley, 1999; Coleman and Rowe, 2005). Indeed some suggest that we are simply
witnessing a retreat from formal politics and move towards other forms of social and
political participation (Riley et al., 2010). Survey research highlights connections
between socially conscious consumption and political participation amongst young
people in the United Kingdom, but cannot reveal how websites are used or young
people’s perceptions of civic and political participation (Ward and de Vreese, 2011).
Young people as a generic grouping are often envisaged in specific ways (by academics, politicians, broadcasters) and much is assumed about their relationship with
news media and politics. While the studies noted above are mainly concerned with
young people, politics and citizenship (Cushion, 2007) there has been far less attention paid to the role of journalists and editorial decisions related to young people
and political news. In this article I take a more holistic approach to examine how
different groups of young people connect with TV news, current affairs and politics
and compare their perspectives with news journalists. Drawing on focus groups with
diverse groups of young people and interviews with journalists I aim to identify
possible ‘gaps’ or indeed commonalities in understanding (e.g., concerning issues of
(mis)representation together with political power and trust). A related aim is to reengage with contested questions of apathy and alienation, as well as inequalities of
production and representation. First, I briefly discuss study methods before presenting key results from the research sessions in relation to (a) media representation of
young people, (b) perceptions of ‘politics’ and political reporting and (c) the desire
for change in the nature of political news provision.
Focus Groups with Young People
This article explores key issues generated by 12 focus group sessions with 80 young
people (aged 16–24 years) living in London and South East England.1 These took
place in youth/community centres, university premises and participants’ homes. One
session was held in a remand centre with young offenders. Sampling was purposive
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to cover demographic characteristics such as age, ethnicity and social class. Participants
in mid–high income groups and some low income participants were attending
University or Sixth Form College. Groups were ‘naturally occurring’ friendship
groups who met in the context of school or community-based social activities. Media
are discussed in everyday life and focus groups were designed to capture participants’
views concerning TV news and politics but also importantly to tap into the jokes,
banter and anecdotes that typify discussions between groups of friends that are traditionally very difficult to reproduce within a research session (Carter and Henderson,
2005). Holding a focus group in a convenient location with friends helped facilitate a
more relaxed session with ‘hard to reach’ young people. Participants completed an
individual questionnaire designed to capture demographic details, their media consumption, political interest and voting intentions.2 They then worked in smaller groups
and produced a story they might expect to see on the news using screen grabs. Each
group then presented and discussed their news reports and wider issues concerning
representations of young people, politics and media coverage. This format has been
used to explore public understandings of industrial disputes, international conflict and
social issues (Glasgow Media Group, 1976, 1980; Philo, 1990; Henderson, 2007).
Creative group exercises work well with young people who may have literacy issues
or low confidence as stories can be discussed orally and a willing participant can take
on the role of presenter. This exercise allows us to examine both what participants
‘bring to’ their reading of news as well as perhaps more importantly to explore ‘what
they take away’. Sessions were tape recorded with permission and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed and key themes were identified across the transcripts.3
Interviews with Journalists
A range of broadcast news personnel took part in semi-structured interviews concerning young people, news and politics (n = 26).4 The sampling was designed to
address different perspectives with interviewees from major news organizations
including commercial and public service broadcasting (PSB). Spokespeople from
diverse political news programmes are represented from ITN, BBC and ITV including Channel 4 News, Sky News and BBC Newsnight, News 24, Question Time.
Interviewees reflected on whether there was in fact a ‘youth disconnection crisis’,
how young people were envisaged in decision making and current political news
provision. As with the focus group data these transcripts were analyzed using a variant of grounded theory and key themes were identified across the transcripts (see
Green, 1998).
Results
Young People and The Problem of (Mis)Representation
During the ‘story exercise’ participants invented typical news items based only on
television screen grabs taken from news reports that featured young people.5 This
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allowed us to examine the extent to which certain phrases, images and themes that
appear frequently in news coverage may be recalled and reproduced. Indeed, it is
striking that a number of recurring motifs in these invented news stories closely echo
actual news reports involving young people in their focus on crime and anti-social
behaviour (see Wayne et al., 2010). Thus, whether or not participants claimed to
watch television news on a regular basis they were nonetheless able to reproduce
themes, phrases and imagery very quickly and in some detail. When these were analyzed their content was found to be remarkably narrow in scope. Story themes
focused on gang-related crime including stabbings or guns (n = 10); date rape (n = 4)
and binge drinking (n = 4). Policy orientated stories included political ‘strategies to
get youths off the streets’ (n = 4); attracting the ‘youth vote’ (n = 1); cuts to youth
project funding (n =1). One group produced a story concerning conflict in the Middle
East – a topic that was mentioned spontaneously by the research participants in
every research session.
Participants believed that young people are represented within the news media
disproportionately in stories concerning violence and disorder. Across all groups
regardless of social class, gender or ethnicity their responses were remarkably
uniform. Examples of typical negative stories include: ‘vandalism, murder, assault’
(G1); stabbings (G2); crime, ASBOs (G6); gangs, drugs (G9); binge drinking, vandalism, drug dealing, knives (G10). Few participants could think of more positive occasions when they might typically see a younger person depicted in news
because, ‘It’s all about like ASBOs, people causing trouble’ (Male, G3, State School
Students).
Though there has been significantly less research concerned with fear of crime
amongst the young as compared with older people it is possible that such media
stereotyping does have an impact. For mid–high income participants who had little
direct personal experience of violence in their local area then the iconic image of a
youth wearing a ‘hoodie’ on TV symbolizes criminality:
M1: when you think of a stereotypical kind of person—if someone got mugged—then you
think of a picture of the mugger it would be ...
M2: a youth ...
M1: quite a big person, like eighteen [years old] with a hood up, like a lurking drug addict.
(G10, Male Grammar School Students)
It was interesting that young people who had more personal experience of violence
saw the ‘hoodie’ as a stereotypical symbol of troublesome youth which also reflects
anxiety about crime. As one participant living in a low income suburb of London
explains, ‘The reason why people wear hoodies is because they don’t feel safe’
(G3). Policing initiatives such as ASBOS (anti-social behaviour orders) were considered to feature heavily in news reporting of young adults and frequently formed
the basis of banter. The initiative was discussed as a failure with several young
people observing that ASBOs have been re-appropriated by some people they
knew as ‘a sort of medal’. Just one participant admitted to having received an
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ASBO and most of them were keen to disassociate themselves from those featured
in television news:
When I think of the media (and) young people I don’t group myself in with that group
because it’s so negative (laughs) [...] it’s either gang culture, drugs, binge drinking, ASBOs.
I’m not saying that you know it obviously doesn’t affect me, because it does.
(F4, G6, University Students, North London)
Against this swathe of negative reporting it is hard for young people to think of positive stories that could act as a counterpoint to these powerful negative images. The
exception to this would be a ‘fluffy’ story that might refer to school exam results.
Indeed research participants considered themselves to be both marginalized and
homogenized by those who work in the media in ways that they thought would be
unlikely with other social groups:
I think (journalists) generalize more with young people [...] it’s because we don’t really get
a say on anything. We don’t really have the power to argue back whereas middle class
ladies, they have the ability to argue back and then they also have the vote as well.
(F2, G3, State School Students, Uxbridge)
UK journalists were believed to pursue a news agenda that consistently associates
young people with failure in terms of social policy whether it be high rates of teenage
pregnancy or child poverty (as compared with other European Union countries). As
one described, ‘the government have made pledges on halving teenage pregnancy, but
yet we’re the worst in Europe, it’s the worst country in the world to be a kid’ [Murmurs
of agreement] (M3, G2, Youth Group, West London). These remarks of course are very
far from suggestive of an apathetic youth. Indeed they suggest precisely the opposite—
that young people are ‘connected’ and do ‘care’. Some participants were directly
involved in local issues. One youth group had won an award for a successful community project. Despite their best efforts, however, this news had failed to generate interest from the local media. This was in contrast to the high level of media attention
awarded to a spate of local (teenage) stabbings. Their personal experience supported
the view that crime and young people will always fit a national news agenda that is all
too willing to emphasize the dangers of (urban) modern life. As one boy pointed out,
even those involved in crime can be driven by fear and a desire to be ‘left alone’:
You see the people that stabbed (a teenager) down the road? […] a lot of them would be
proud to say they’re part of that gang so that they’re left alone […] it’s all down to fear
really. (It’s) scaremongering and it’s like playing on people’s fear and their perceptions
[…] trying to make a movie out of real life basically.
(M4, G2, Youth Group, West London)
The exceptionally high levels of negative representation were believed to be internalized by some people as a disincentive to ‘to do anything good’ because ‘if you do
something bad then you get all this publicity and all this big drama’ (F3, G2, Youth
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Group). Images and messages that consistently align young people with frightening
violent crime do appear to have had some impact on the everyday experience of
young adults:
Young people don’t really come on the news for something they’ve done well (at, when)
there’s been a knife crime then people get scared of us so obviously the people in those
pictures are our age so we get that image as well so we get scared of them because they’re
portrayed like that by the media.
(F2, G3, State School Students, Uxbridge)
There have been periodic debates in the UK media concerning the implications of
what has been termed ephebiphobia (fear of young people). The high profile psychologist and TV presenter Tanya Byron has been particularly vocal on these issues
and in particular has argued that UK society sees children as pestilent. She cites the
predominance of violent and aggressive images of crime as playing a role in this
hyper anxiety (The Guardian, 17 March, 2009). Research in other countries has
identified similar prevailing discourses concerning youth crime and the potential for
media to contribute to the social construction of fear of youth crime (Faucher, 2009).
In the section that follows, I turn to examine the views of journalists and editors
concerning their reporting on young people.
Journalists Desperately Seeking the ‘Right’ (News) Audiences
Journalists and broadcasters accepted that young people were regularly misrepresented or at least represented in skewed ways, but almost none saw this as problematic. The dominant view identified in these interviews was that there are many other
groups who might rightly believe themselves to be marginalized in television news.
As one editor asked, ‘does that make [young people] any different to any other interest group? People in Scotland might feel the same way that they only get mentioned
when there’s trouble’ (Interview 6). Another suggested, ‘you could also argue why is
it old people tend to be [shown] in nursing homes being slapped by care workers?’
(Interview 4). The underlying assumption was that these representations are simply
inevitable given that the nature of news is to reflect ‘the grim stuff that happens in
life’ (Interview 3). The exception was one interviewee who had experience of different areas of media and was at the time responsible for ‘radio news’. He suggested
that we (adults) consider how it feels to be berated and told that:
you were socially irresponsible, responsible for crime, that standards of your working
practices had been falling readily, that you were having sex too young, that you were consuming too much alcohol, that you’re the worst in Europe?
(Controller, Radio, PSB, Interview 26)
This interviewee believed that we are living in ‘anxious times’ and ascribed the
fear of the young as reflecting a wider societal anxiety concerning technological
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change. As he concluded, ‘The fear of crime [and] the fear of teenagers is very
tangible’.
Other concerns raised by participants in the focus groups were also dismissed by
the majority of journalists. Thus the regular depiction of young people in hoodies
was justified on the grounds that this was for pragmatic reasons to ‘protect’ rather
than to ‘demonize’ individuals. As a presenter argued,
You know very well about the restrictions on kids’ faces in TV so we would obviously try and
protect individual kids. Often we talk to people in their hoodie and maybe that’s why everyone
wears hoodies [on TV] we’re always asking them to mock up for our anonymous interviews.
(Newsreader, PSB, Interview 11)
In their view, young people are marginalized within news stories partly because it is
difficult to use them as sources due to the additional time required to secure informed
consent, ‘It’s not easy to get kids voices. You’ve got to get teachers or parents’ permission and the kids themselves are not very confident about doing it’ (Controller,
PSB, Interview 16). An important issue here may be the increased time pressures for
journalists. Many explained that it is swifter (and easier) to use sources to personalize case studies that have been put forward by lobbying organizations.
In a similar vein perceptions of a larger crisis were largely dismissed as well because
while it was difficult to attract (young) viewers to political news it was assumed that
other groups are also hard to reach. In terms of any link between misrepresentation and
disconnection journalists expressed the view that the news quite simply reflected those
who make it. Given that very few people in the newsroom are likely to be 18 years old,
it is inevitable that ‘broadcast bulletins are put together by people who are older and
clearly they’re going to see the world in a different way’ (Editor, PSB, Interview 3).
At the same time, however, declining news audiences and attracting younger
audiences were issues of serious concern. Most journalists had some sense of their
demographic reach and many described participating in research, specifically targeting younger people. While focus group participants did not consider television news
as being diverse this was in contrast with the views of journalists. Over and above
programme identity and reputation were strong ideas concerning diversity of news
brand and image. Thus Channel Four news with its reasonable share of viewers aged
18–24 years was considered to have ‘attitude’, an ‘irreverent’ take on daily events.
A key member of the C4 news team described their approach, ‘We aim at what is
going on but also if people are talking crap we’ll try and expose them as talking
crap. That’s what (young people) like seeing, somebody mauled for being an idiot!’
(Commercial Channel, Interview 12). Another interviewee described the findings of
market research in which teenagers ascribed ‘personas’ to different channels:
So Sky One is pretty cool, a lot of technology around them, they’d probably be on the
decks. Channel 4 would be on the couch, life of the party. And BBC1? Kind of like the
newsman, outside with my parents!
(Head of Project, Interview 26)
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In addition to this, however, it was clear that there is considerable pressure to attract
the ‘right type of audiences’. Sheer numbers are simply not enough if they do not
possess the correct demographic background.
I want what’s called segment ones to watch my programme who are what we call plugged
in achievers, they’ve got a slightly younger profile, they’ve got disposable incomes and
from a commercial point of view it’s incredibly dangerous not to have young people
watching your programmes. If all you’ve got is old people or poor people who have got no
commercial spend then the network won’t love you.
(News Editor, Commercial Channel, Interview 10)
The economic challenges of attracting and maintaining young adult audiences for
news are certainly vitally important. Other senior broadcasters admitted to their
organization being ‘obsessed with 16–34 year olds’. This was not because of weighty
public service broadcasting responsibilities but because ‘a 16–34 year old pair of
eyeballs is worth seven or eight times what a 55 year old pair of eyeballs are to our
advertisers’ (Controller, Commercial Channel, Interview 8).
It is easy to assume that these are pressures solely for commercial channels
who must cater to powerful advertising interests; but those working in public
service broadcasting highlighted other constraints. One of these was the challenge
of providing ‘news for everyone’. While this might sound unrealistic it was considered vital by those working in PSB that the organization had universal appeal
and so ‘everyone has somewhere where they connect to one of the services you’re
offering’ (Newsreader, PSB, Interview 11). Clearly it is difficult to provide a news
service that caters for all so that if you are a ‘university professor or a doctor of
medicine or a council worker […] you’re getting something out of the (organization)’. This was considered to be a near impossible challenge by journalists who
were required to reflect diversity while at the same time preserving an identifiable
brand.
Young People’s Perceptions of Politics and ‘News from Westminster’
Political coverage in UK media has been regularly critiqued on the grounds that it
marginalizes the public, neglects contextual information in favour of ‘horse race’
politics and allows political elites to dominate (Brookes, Lewis and Wahl-Jorgensen
2004; Philo, 1995). These are important issues that were explored within the focus
group sessions.
First, there was little doubt that for many young participants the notion of
‘politics’ and ‘politics on TV’ were interchangeable and entirely focused on
‘Westminster’. Thus the House of Commons was considered to reflect where
‘they all just have a go at each other and don’t get nothing done’ (G1) and to
represent, ‘power and money’ (G7). Indeed the views expressed would suggest
that TV news with its emphasis on Westminster serves to divide politics from the
everyday lived experience of most participants. Thus in research sessions a screen
grab of a House of Commons debate frequently prompted widespread recognition
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and derision with MPs and their debates swiftly dismissed as ‘punch and judy’
and ‘pantomime’:
I just thought how Parliament can sometimes be a bit of a joke. It’s just a big pantomime.
Like people will watch it for entertainment value (politicians are) just always trying to get
one up on each other and don’t really address the issue.
(F3, G8, Friendship Group 2, Brighton)
The links between popular entertainment, politics and citizenship are documented
(van Zoonen, 2005), and most journalists described their desire to make gripping
factual coverage that reflected the ‘drama of news’. Several participants recognized
that there was entertainment/drama in the news but saw it as simply bickering as one
might witness in a TV soap opera. As one boy explained, ‘You’re watching like
really posh, upper class people arguing, and it’s just not as interesting as EastEnders.
[Laughter]’ (M1, G3, State School Students, Uxbridge).
The iconic House of Commons debate thus appeared to symbolize what many
participants saw as precisely the problem with political news—the significant
divide between government and people—where ordinary and indeed younger
voices are absent. Indeed it was notable that very few young people even attempted
to include the House of Commons photograph in the news story they produced.
Some just said they could not ‘fit it in’ with a story they wanted to tell, ‘Writing
about something with the House of Commons in it, you’ve got to write about something quite in depth and complicated’ (G5). Parliament and television news coverage
of politics were considered to be one and the same:
It’s all based on what happens in Parliament and The Politics Show and Newsnight boil
down to being very similar to parliament and Prime Ministers Questions because they are
just two sides arguing.
(M2, G8, Friendship Group 2, Brighton)
Other absences in political representation were noted. As one female grammar school
student pointed out, ‘I’ve never seen a Black man talking in the House of Commons’
(G12. Some MPs were singled out as being particularly privileged:
M2It’s the characters in politics as well […] someone like David Cameron, it’s like he
went to Eton. It’s like ‘what the fuck?’
F3 Yeah, you want someone you can relate to.
M2 What would he know about me and you?
(G2, Youth Group, West London)
Young people expressed a desire for politicians to remain ‘true to their convictions’ and
not to simply follow the ‘party line’. Authenticity is of course intertwined with trust for
many young people who are used to critiquing fakery in popular culture and wary of
politicians who they think attempt to generate easy popularity (Street et al., 2011).
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The vast majority of participants thus simply saw politicians and news media as
representing the interests of older people with families or those who were middleclass and/or in higher education. As one student explained:
I don’t think you’d take on a prime minister’s job if you were just in it for the money [...]
(it’s) really difficult for (MPs who attended Eton) to relate personally […] you know someone who’s living in a single family and they dropped out of school really young and they’ve
got involved in a drug culture or something like that—I don’t see how they can be
represented.
(M2, G11, Friendship Group/University Students)
In other words, those who did feel represented also understood that other groups of
young people were inevitably excluded because ‘there’s certain connotations which
go with people that (politicians) don’t want to represent’ (Male, G11, Friendship
Group/University Students). This was considered to be because the educational and
social class divide between MPs and some members of the public was simply insurmountable. It is worth noting that more highly educated and affluent participants
trusted the motivations of politicians particularly those involved in local government
which was perceived very differently to central government (for discussion of ‘trust’
and the political process see Fisher et al., 2010).
Ethnicity, Disenfranchisement and Disconnection
It is also worth noting that two groups who took part in the focus group study
seemed to be particularly ‘disconnected’ from mainstream media and national
politics. First, there was a marked lack of engagement evident in the research sessions conducted with young British Muslims. These young people talked about
MPs in very negative terms such as ‘evil people, they represent themselves and
what they want only’ (F, G5). Other participants within the same session were
suspicious of those in Government and cynical about the quality and accuracy of
information that was available in UK mainstream media. Members of this group
talked about their anger with the British Government concerning military intervention in Muslim countries. This in their view has had a serious negative impact
on their experiences as young British Muslims:
The English Government and the American Government made it really hard for Muslims
living in this country and America. Before any bombing happened we might as well say
we were living in peace. But the minute September the 11th came, that’s it—the world
had their own view about Islam and now it’s a religion that’s evil basically to everybody else.
(F3, G5, Community Group NW London)
Members of this group mistrusted mainstream media accounts of anti-terrorist operations. They questioned the veracity of information and preferred instead to consult
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specialist/conspiracy websites. They felt that they were not being fully informed and
particularly questioned the origins of conflict such as Al-Qaeda attacks. One said,
‘No one’s really going to take innocent lives just for the fun of it. They’re obviously
going to do it because there’s a reason’. Others have found that young British
Muslims have been affected by the media–security nexus, and have experienced
disenfranchisement in legal, political, social and cultural domains (O’Loughlin and
Gillespie, 2012: 116).
A second group of participants, offenders on remand, expressed deep suspicion
and cynicism with regard to politicians. Sessions with young offenders saw politicians as full of ‘lies and deceit’. These participants expressed the view that their
MPs offered no better role models than their (criminal) peers. As one young man
explains, ‘I can go get that with my local crew. I don’t expect it from the people
who are running this country!’ (M5, G9, Young Offenders). The lack of confidence
in the political classes is widespread amongst younger people (Henn and Foard,
2012) but the lack of trust in authority figures expressed in this session were linked
by participants to issues of disenfranchisement and overwhelming feelings of powerlessness, lack of representation and opportunity. One young man described his life
circumstances as, ‘not necessarily criminal it’s just a way of surviving’ (M, G9).
The participants on remand were taking part in prison education schemes but it was
evident that none felt connected to those in power. They claimed not to be interested
in ‘politics’ because politicians were not interested in them and were bitter about
their lack of life chances:
(politics) would interest us if they took our feelings into consideration and our opinions
into consideration. But because they don’t do that […] you just tend to (think) ‘well I don’t
really want to know nothing about politics’. The majority of these fucking Government
people was brought up with a silver fucking spoon in their mouth.
(M3, G9, Young Offenders)
If these young people are not engaged in formal politics and mainstream political
news, then it would seem that equally they are not part of the desired audiences targeted by politicians or broadcasters.
Issues But Not Politics: What Needs to Change?
Though many young people claimed not to be interested in politics, perhaps paradoxically most participants were willing to debate political issues with a great deal
of passion and conviction. In every session there were points raised spontaneously
about military conflict and vigorous exchanges of opinion about war and public
protest:
F1people did used to care. I think after years of just seeing that caring who you vote for
got you nothing and didn’t actually make the differences you expected …
F3Like the war’s the perfect example.
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F1Exactly […] And they just didn’t listen.
(G8, Friendship Group 2, Brighton)
Military intervention in the Middle East and war in Iraq seemed to symbolize a
watershed when mistrust in the Government and media coalesced. Indeed many participants identified this as a central turning point in the decline of public trust in
Government. Again there is little evidence here of apathy or lack of interest. Protests
by young people were of course largely marginalized in news media (Cushion,
2007). There were also problems with reporting of longer running disputes such as
the conflict in Israel/Palestine but many White British participants claimed not to
understand the origins or nature of the conflict:
Things like Israel and Palestine, I just zone out when that comes out (because) I don’t
really know the background story.
(Male, University Student, G11)
This highlights a serious problem whereby younger audiences are not being informed
by television news. Participants’ lack of knowledge is linked entirely to lack of interest (Philo and Berry, 2004). Television news is considered to be a medium that
requires participants’ sustained attention. Indeed some assumed that broadcasters
‘expect their viewers to watch every single day’. Many participants highlighted that
consistent and regular viewing over time must be necessary to be able to fully comprehend key long running disputes:
(broadcasters) assume knowledge which is actually lacking so people don’t bother watching
it ‘cause sometimes they just don’t understand. If you haven’t kept up with what’s going on
and then [...] it’s quite specific about a really complicated issue, you just switch it off.
(M4, G10)
Some participants suggested that audiences need contextual knowledge that in their
view is entirely lacking in most news reports. A few even offered clear ideas of how
best this could be addressed:
I would try and trace a line of the divide between the West and Al-Qaeda. I’d try and show
things as the myth and as the propaganda that they are [...] maybe if there was just a bit
more honesty and less propaganda people would see the whole thing.
(F1, G6, University Students, North London)
The perception of news stories unfolding over months or years and the implication
that infrequent viewers could never catch up was a key theme across the focus groups.
One young woman described feeling as though ‘I’ve just opened a book in the middle
(but) I have to get to the beginning’ (F3, Friendship Group, Brighton, G7).
In addition to lacking context, the mainstream news was also criticized by some
younger participants who expressed a desire for less formality in news presenters in
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terms of style of dress and tone. Others highlighted the desire for a news media that
was more inclusive:
I don’t expect them to suddenly start wearing hoodies but generally it’s only older white
middle class men and you’ve got to think about why more females aren’t getting involved
and more ethnic groups aren’t getting involved.
(M1, G3, State School Students, Uxbridge)
Young people are familiar with more interactive media formats and saw political
news as lacking audience participation. Some participants felt programmes could
simply be less about ‘hearing what they’re doing and never having your say’. Given
that young people also believed they were misrepresented or marginalized in news
accounts this is not surprising. Those who have high interests in celebrity have low
political interest (Couldry and Markham, 2007); but younger participants have
grown up with the genre of factual entertainment. Hybrid reality programmes where
celebrities experience the lives of others were identified as a way of bridging the
gap. We cannot necessarily assume that these calls for more ‘user friendly’ television
news are also a desire to dismiss more traditional formats entirely. Some participants
identified a need for a more fundamental shift within the political class before significant change could begin take place:
F3:[...] there’s so much spin and stuff now that people don’t … if you have interviewed
a politician you don’t believe what they are saying anyway. Or the general consensus
is that they can’t be trusted, so …
F2:It just seems so detached now doesn’t it?
F3:Yeah, it really does, and you don’t … I don’t feel like I can necessarily get a real
grasp of what’s going on even though I’d like to.
(University Students, North London G6)
As has been pointed out, it is assumed by journalists that ‘accommodating young
people equals popularization equals trivialisation’ (Costera Meijer, 2007: 113); but
this assumption needs to be challenged. The points raised above would seem to merit
serious consideration by broadcasters.
Reporting on Power and the Political Process
Many young people expressed a desire for change in news provision, whereas most
of the journalists felt that television news had already changed a great deal. This was
considered to be in response to the rise of celebrity, entertainment focused stories on
the Internet. Journalists and editors recalled how ‘soft’ or what they described as
‘feature-y’ ‘socially based’ stories dealing with the personal sphere of life have now
become part of the mainstream news agenda. The problem of ‘disconnection’ with
younger audiences was framed by journalists as a question of presentation. Younger
presenters were assumed to be able to ‘connect’ unproblematically with younger
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people. ‘News on demand’ was believed to be an obvious resolution to any problems
with existing provision. As one editor explained ‘the type of news that people want
is not so much the issue, it’s more about the way they consume it’ (Editor, Commercial
Broadcasting, Interview 3).
The focus on politicians and power of Westminster was recognized by all of the
interviewees but again this was not seen as a problem. In fact this was considered
to be entirely legitimate. As one editor explains, ‘Politicians and Ministers appear a
lot on the programme but it is we would say story driven and issue driven’ (Editor,
Public Service Broadcasting, interview 7). There is a clear acceptance that political
news concerns power. One political editor explained that, ‘political power resides in
Westminster it doesn’t reside anywhere else’. Concerns voiced by the young people
that protests do not receive sufficient attention from politicians or journalists were
largely dismissed on the grounds that journalists should be positioned in close proximity to where power resides:
I report on power and those people didn’t have it […] that was the correct reporting of who
had power. And they wouldn’t have had power just simply because I reported on them, by
the way. You know, if only I’d reported on the marches more they wouldn’t suddenly have
changed the position. They still wouldn’t have had power.
Journalists defended their view that Westminster should dominate coverage. As one
described, ‘just because (young people) are not interested in the parliamentary process does that mean we shouldn’t cover anything along those lines?’ (Presenter,
PSB, interview 4). At the same time this seems at odds with the strongly held view
amongst most journalists that there is a clear civic role for media and they have a
part to play:
If you believe that media contributes to a functioning democracy and you believe that
democracy and politics can only function properly if people are informed about what the
choices are and what the policies are and what things are in front of them and have those
held to account then it matters of course. It would be quite worrying if you had a whole
section of the population who not only didn’t vote but had no knowledge or interest in it.
(Editor, PSB, interview 7)
It is difficult to envisage how such a gap between those who are making political
news and younger audiences who (potentially) consume it, can be bridged without
journalists’ recognition that there is a problem with the substantive nature of their
political coverage.
Discussion
The study identified that many young people reported a distinct lack of interest in
formal politics which were closely associated with party politics. This was expressed
in different ways that reflected the participants’ educational and socio-economic
background. The ‘business of politics’ was considered to be intertwined with the
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Westminster village, populated by White male, middle to upper class men and consisting of a privileged insular world of ‘punch and judy’ debate. At the same time,
television news and current affairs were considered to be so linked into this arena
that there was little to guide younger audiences in terms of analysis or critique or
even to make an informed decision concerning voting. This may reflect that ‘young
people’s lack of interest in politics is merely a rational response to their own powerlessness’ (Buckingham, 2000b: 172). This lack of power was felt most keenly in
terms of how young people believe they are represented in television news (as marginalized voices and consistently associated with crime and public disorder). Despite
claiming not to know much about ‘politics’, certain topics, particularly international
conflict generated very strong responses from those from quite different social and
ethnic backgrounds. This suggests that, ‘young people’s thoughts about power and
its effects are an integral and routine part of their culture’ (Coleman and Rowe, 2005: 5).
We might then surmise that the ‘crisis’ can be tackled by taking some of this into
consideration. While media values continue to prioritize elite sources and
Westminster-based coverage, it is not surprising that younger audiences remain
excluded and many feel alienated. For those young people who possess less formal
education, less affluent social backgrounds or who come from minority ethnic
groups, then this marginalization in the political process compounds existing
inequalities. While TV news is not the only format that can generate ‘political talk’
(Graham and Hajru, 2011), we should not assume that younger audiences will seek
out alternative sources using new media. Indeed it is still unclear precisely how or
even if the Internet will displace traditional media formats (Fenton, 2010; Gaskins
and Jerit, 2012).
Journalists and broadcasters are well aware of the criticism that television news
misrepresents young people and marginalizes them as credible news sources. At the
same time they do accept the dominance of Westminster ‘party politics’ in political coverage. This is not considered to be problematic, but instead an obvious and
‘natural’ outcome of constraints on news gathering techniques, restricted access and
inevitable emphasis on those who possess political power. In short, there was little
evidence here of any desire for change. The underlying assumption is that political representation and participation is easily facilitated by new media alternatives.
Television news is still a key source and particularly for lower income young people,
Internet use has not replaced it. Even self-described TV news viewers found it difficult to comprehend key issues of the day and felt that the contextual background to
long running and important stories were absent. Interestingly although new formats
are assumed to challenge the problems of old mainstream news formats, this is not
necessarily so with possibly less rather than more contextual information available
(Lewis et al., 2005a). Media discourse tends to portray political dissatisfaction as a
problem of individual apathy or a problem of social class (or other characteristic)
such that young people’s culture is depicted as ‘problematic, inferior and even detrimental to the general good of society’ (Kimberlee, 2002: 87). Some news media
professionals expressed similar views. Those who make the news must be held to
account over the content and provision of their political reporting and develop some
creative and radical strategies for including the diversity of young people’s lives
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Lesley Henderson
in the mainstream news agenda. This is vital if they are to build audiences of the
future and fulfil their democratic function. The views and occupational practices of
political journalists’ should be studied if we are to shed light on the processes that
underpin inequalities of access. Without analyzing the news values and strongly held
assumptions that influence political reporting, it is not possible to identify opportunities for change.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, (Television News,
Current Affairs and Young People: The Problem of ‘Disconnection’, (2006–09). Thanks to
fellow Grant Holders Mike Wayne and Julian Petley as well as to project researchers Craig
Murray and Peter Keighron.
Notes
1. Most were 16–20 years old (n = 45) of mixed gender (male = 46; female = 34). Fieldwork
took place over several months in 2007.
2. Studies have identified a high use of Internet among UK young people (Livingstone et al,
2005) but most participants consulted television for news (53/80). Participants (male) from
affluent backgrounds were most likely to use Internet news. Some used the Internet for
news ‘most days’ (20/80) and others ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ (35/80). More than half watched TV
news ‘every day’ or ‘at least 3 days’ per week and the preferred channel was BBC (n = 41).
Half of the sample confirmed they would vote in a general election (42/80); but many ‘would
not’ (18/80) or were ‘unsure’ (20/80). Just one quarter (20/80) was able to state their voting
intention. A minority were ‘very’ interested in politics (n = 9) and a similar number were
definitely ‘Not’ interested’ (n = 14).
3. Sessions generated 283 pages of typed transcript material. Data were analyzed manually
using a coding framework in which numerical codes were applied across each group to
highlight variation in response. Key passages in transcripts were then marked according to
analytical themes using some of the principles of grounded theory, developing analytical
constructs which were then applied across the sample allowing us to confirm, reject or
modify concepts. The author and a researcher discussed thematic results to ensure cross
coder reliability. To preserve anonymity participants are identified by their transcript code
and where possible individual participants are referenced: thus a quotation attributed to
(M3, G9, Young Offenders) refers to comments made by male participant 3 in group 9
composed of young offenders.
4. For reasons of confidentiality the media personnel (television news presenters, editors,
controllers) are simply identified by a code and their role. The interviews were tape
recorded and transcribed in full.
5. Screen grabs included various scenes (two young Black men sitting in a community
park, an MP surrounded by young people, a debate in the House of Commons, a protest
march).
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Lesley Henderson is Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of CCMR (the
Centre for Culture, Media and Regulation) in the Department of Sociology and
Communications, Brunel University, London. Her research concerns audiences,
media, health and social problems. She completed her PhD in the Department of
Sociology and Anthropology, University of Glasgow where she was a researcher
with the Glasgow Media Group. She advises various organizations on media-related
policy including the Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, All Parliamentary
Media Literacy Group and is Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. [email: lesley.
[email protected]]
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