A group of 15- to 18-year-old Young NCB members held focus groups with young people, interviewed journalists, ran an online survey and monitored media coverage.
They found that four in 10 young people thought almost all news coverage of young people was negative, while the same number thought that most coverage was negative. Three quarters of survey respondents thought the most common news story involving young people was knife crime.
Naushin Shariff, 18, one of the young researchers, said, "Negative media coverage affects young people's opportunities in life when they are judged by how they look, are treated differently and subjected to stereotypical views."
Young people were asked to picture a young person from their own point of view and that of the media. Researchers found that an inner-city group included negative images on both pictures.
Their report said: "It is evident from the London group that some of the negative images and stereotypes portrayed in the media had arguably begun to shape some of their own perceptions of young people."
The project was supported by the National Youth Agency's Young Researchers Network.
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