Lauren Higgs looks at 2008's winners.
Fed up with biased and negative stories about young people in the media, Young People Now magazine decided to take action. An independent study was commissioned through Mori, which found almost three quarters of all stories written about young people in the press portrayed them in a negative way. Armed with compelling evidence and an agenda for change, the Positive Images campaign was launched.
That was more than three years ago now and since then Positive Images has gone from strength to strength. The campaign, which encourages fair representations of young people in newspapers and on the television and radio, has gathered support from MPs, media organisations and youth groups across the UK.
However, stories that describe young people as "yobs" and "hoodies" are still popular tabloid fodder. Many newspapers continue to vilify teenage parents and focus on youth crime rather than youth achievement.
Despite the success of the campaign to date, positive portrayals of young people in the media are under-reported. And that's where the Positive Images Awards come in. Now in its fourth year, the awards exist to publicise and reward the work of the media and young people who successfully combat the negative stereotypes.
Members of the media, young people and youth organisations are invited to submit examples of their work, demonstrating how they contribute to the aims of Positive Images. Then, a panel of leading youth sector figures and young people judge entries based on how well they promote fair depictions of young people and how clearly they communicate young people's voices.
This year, the awards were split into nine categories. One of them rewards a television programme for positive coverage of young people. The other categories recognise local and national newspapers, radio stations, youth magazines and the best use of broadcast, interactive media and publicity campaigns by youth groups. For individuals, there is also a category that celebrates the best involvement of a young person in promoting positive media portrayal.
All the winners were presented with certificates at a ceremony in Westminster on 12 June. Among those in attendance last week to voice their support for Positive Images was Cabinet Office minister Ed Miliband, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Affairs Dawn Butler, and chair of the government's Youth Task Force Anne Weinstock.
Earlier this year, the UK Youth Parliament demonstrated just how important media portrayal is to young people, when a group of its members proposed that they start a national campaign against unfair and negative representations of young people. A booklet for young people in schools is just one of the campaign successes so far.
Ravi Chandiramani, editor of Children & Young People Now, says: "Young people in this country continue to get a horrendously unfair press. The spate of knife crime attacks over the past year and a half has served only to exacerbate the British media's stereotyping of young people as ferile youths. Quite often, it's easy, lazy journalism that prevails.
"Positive Images not only challenges these stereotypes but allows for fair representations of young people to be showcased and to triumph over the negativity and abuse."
- See Editorial, p19
BEST MAGAZINE PRODUCED BY YOUNG PEOPLE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
WINNER: Voice 21
Sandwell-based youth magazine Voice 21 stole the top prize in this competitive category of 11 first-rate entrants. The glossy A4 magazine is published monthly and distributed free to all 13- to 19-year-olds who live in the Borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands, although it is particularly targeted at hard-to-reach young people. Voice 21 aims to promote awareness of issues like health and wellbeing, but also includes celebrity interviews with pop stars such as McFly, Usher and Lily Allen. Young volunteers are responsible for writing, designing and producing the publication, which aims to set a national benchmark for best practice in creative arts work.
What the judges said:
Richard Turner: "Voice 21 has an excellent mix of real life and celebrity stories. It is very readable but also covers some serious issues in depth."
BEST PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN BY A YOUTH GROUP
WINNER: UK Youth Parliament
Are You Getting It?, the campaign for sex and relationships education in schools by the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP), stood out in this category thanks to the sheer volume of media coverage it attracted. Its members made the headlines in both local and national press and appeared on BBC News.
In 2006 and 2007 UKYP surveyed over 20,000 young people to assess how well sex and relationships education was being delivered in schools. They found most of what young people were receiving was inadequate and incomplete. In response, the UKYP decided to launch their campaign calling for compulsory, regular, good quality sex and relationships education. They recommend schools employ more specialised teachers, that the implications of teenage pregnancy are made clear to all students and that Ofsted should focus more on inspecting these elements of personal, social and health education. In addition to the wide media coverage the campaign has attracted, the UKYP also started an online petition, calling on the government to take notice.
What the judges said:
Bill Badham: "This campaign was impressive because of its massive national coverage."
BEST RADIO COVERAGE OF YOUNG PEOPLE
WINNER: Wired radio show
Wired radio impressed the judges with its straight talking, articulate and intelligent show. However, young people in the Borders haven't always had the chance to air their views. Three years ago young people living in the area felt they needed to do something to counteract very negative reports about young people in their local press. They enlisted the help of the Scottish Borders Council and Radio Borders and set up the project for 12- to 18-year-olds.
Since then, Wired radio, which is produced and presented by local young people, has gone out live every Sunday night on Radio Borders between 7 and 8pm.
What the judges said:
Chris Heaume: "This really is young person-led. The content is good and covers a wide range of issues facing young people, from social to educational. The production values are also good, with a balance of anecdotal and expert views, a bright spirit and an active pace."
BEST INVOLVEMENT BY A YOUNG PERSON IN PROMOTING POSITIVE MEDIA PORTRAYAL
WINNER: Amienata Sillah
Amienata Sillah's knife crime DVD stood out because of its hard-hitting message and realism. After Amienata's friend Kiyan Prince was stabbed to death, she decided to do something about it.
Fed up with media coverage of youth violence, stabbings and murders she produced a DVD to educate her peers and the community about the reality of knife crime. She said: "My aim was to get youngsters who have been in gangs, or who have been the victim of a knife attack, or who have lost friends or family members to knife crime, speaking about their views on what seems to be like a never-ending increase in knife crime."
Amienata's DVD not only does that it also gives insight into the positive things young people want to do in their communities. She shows that she and her friends are the opposite of the "feral youths" so often described in the media. Amienata also helps to run a youth organisation on her estate in north London, which helps give young people alternatives to get away from the prevalent drugs and knife culture in the area.
What the judges said:
Jeanie Lynch: "A really outstanding entry. This is an excellent contribution from a young person."
BEST LOCAL PRESS COVERAGE OF YOUNG PEOPLE
WINNER: Scarborough Evening News
The enormous variety of coverage of children and young people in the Scarborough Evening News ensured the Yorkshire paper scooped this year's local press award. Judges were presented with masses of newspaper clippings featuring success stories and interviews with inspirational young people.
Articles in Scarborough Evening News focus on local people and the community, ensuring a balanced coverage of Scarborough's young residents.
Ed Asquith, editor of the paper, said: "We are keen to give young people a direct say, rather than just the standard fare of pictures of young people with a caption and a spokesperson. We publish letters directly from young readers and encourage their participation."
What the judges said:
Chris Heaume: "This paper contains a stunning range of positive images, everything from sport to volunteering, and lots to encourage young people to get involved in activities. Young people in Scarborough must have a good reputation."
BEST NATIONAL PRESS COVERAGE OF YOUNG PEOPLE
WINNER: Sugar magazine
Sugar magazine triumphed in the national press category this year despite initially appearing to be a controversial entry. At first glance some of the judges were concerned about the glossy image of the publication. However, Sugar proved that it places positive portrayals of young people at the heart of what it does.
Highlights included an article that celebrated inspirational young women, such as a young carer, a girl who had beaten school bullies and another who bravely fought crime. Other articles recognised young women for their personality traits rather than physical beauty and one told the story of a young girl who fought adversity to be a model despite losing her limbs to a disease.
What the judges said:
Tracie-Trimmer Platman: "Sugar provides really great coverage of hard-hitting issues and lots of positive images of young women."
BEST TELEVISION COVERAGE OF YOUNG PEOPLE
WINNER: The Baby Borrowers
This year's best TV coverage category was one of the most hotly contested but, and amid the stiff competition, it was The Baby Borrowers by BBC Three and Love Productions that impressed judges the most. The Baby Borrowers put five teenage couples aged between 16 and 19 in a social experiment that explored the reality of looking after a family and maintaining a relationship. The couples looked after babies, toddlers, pre-teens, young teenagers aged between 12 and 14, pets and elderly people over the age of 80 in the space of just one month. Although the young people in the programme are faced with difficult challenges, they are portrayed learning valuable lessons in an honest and realistic light.
What the judges said:
Francis Haffner: "The Baby Borrowers is really educational and shows what really happens when young people are given the responsibility of having a baby."
BEST INTERACTIVE MEDIA PRODUCED BY YOUNG PEOPLE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
WINNER: G2K
Lambeth's colourful G2K website not only triumphed in this category, but judges were unusually unanimous in scoring it the highest entry in the category.
G2K is designed for young people in care by young people in care and boasts both a public site and a private login area for young people. The site aims to answer all the questions a young person might have about being looked after and includes information about health, leaving care, education, social workers and much more.
Highlights include the Have Your Say section, which explains young people's rights and gives advice on how to lodge a complaint and who to contact for help. In the private login area for young people, users have the opportunity to access interactive games and express their views through online polls and forums.
The website also contains a jargon buster section to help users to debunk commonly used words and phrases that are related to the care system.
What the judges said:
Priya Patel: "The fact young people were involved in every step of developing this website is very impressive. It's good because they managed to turn what could have been seen as a negative situation into something really positive."
BEST BROADCAST PRODUCED BY YOUNG PEOPLE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
WINNER: Safestop from Film It!
Safestop, a hostel in Manchester run by Depaul Trust, provided a lively and alternative look at what it's like as a young person living in a hostel.
Contrary to popular stereotypes, the young people in the production focus on all the positive aspects of hostel living. Using an upbeat rap, they take viewers on a tour of their home, and explain the highs and lows of their experiences, from becoming homeless to finding somewhere safe to live.
The film, Hostel Life, is intended to be an honest and open insight into a world often hidden from mainstream society and it reflects the young people's infectious enthusiasm for life. It was produced when young people at the hostel took part in a project with Film It!, a national charity that aims to engage and educate hard-to-reach young people using the creative arts.
What the judges said:
Terry Ryall: "I really liked Safestop because it showed young people talking about the good parts of their lives. It said we're the same as everyone else, and we have the same hopes. A great rap and a great portrayal of spirit and optimism."
THE JUDGING PANEL
- Bill Badham is participation national programme manager at The National Youth Agency. He was also behind standards frameworks Hear by Right and Act by Right.
- James Cathcart is the chief executive of The British Youth Council. He previously worked at The Prince's Trust for ten years.
- Francis Haffner, 19, completed The Prince's Trust Sound Live programme in 2007. He also runs youth organisation At Risk of Offending and hopes to set up a music label.
- Chris Heaume has worked in London youth work settings since 1975. He is chief executive of Central London Connexions.
- Jeanie Lynch is manager of Barnardo's children's rights service in Southampton and has worked in roles across the children and young people's sector.
- Rupon Miah is head of service at youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, where he leads its housing management strategy.
- Priya Patel, 16, has just finished her GCSEs and starts A-levels in September. She is working on a campaign to promote positive role models to young people in London.
- Susanne Rauprich is chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, which advocates for voluntary youth organisations.
- Terry Ryall is chief executive of youth volunteering charity v and has worked at The Prince's Trust and The Guide Association.
- Tracie Trimmer-Platman is a youth work consultant and lecturer in youth and community studies.
- Richard Turner is the chief executive of the children's befriending charity Friends United Network.
