Analysis: Policy - Positive Images - Media still has a long way to go

In 2004, when Young People Now conducted research into the portrayal of young people in the media, almost three out of four (71 per cent) articles were negative. For the same period the following year, YPN found the figure had dropped to 57 per cent. It is not that newspapers have been converted to the brilliance of youth - only 12 per cent of stories about young people were wholly positive, about the same as in 2004. But the number of stories classed as "neutral" has doubled, from 15 to 30 per cent.

That is a significant rise, says Sarah Castell, research director of Ipsos Mori, which conducted the research for YPN. "Stories can be classed as neutral because they are informative about education or lifestyles, with no bias," she says. "But a new style of writing is in evidence since the last study. Stories are neutral because they portray young people negatively and positively, leaving the reader with an impression that can be more ambiguous but more balanced."