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- Children also want to read more that touches on their daily lives presented in a way that is adapted to their level of understanding or, as one class put it
- Children appear to be motivated to read if they saw themselves reflected in the newspaper, by looking closely at their role in adult society, and by working in group
| 5.1 CONCLUSION
This research work builds on earlier studies from the United Kingdom (1998) and the United States (1996) – though newspapers were not partners in the effort then – as well upon a Nordic NIE Survey of 2002 and four previous studies of young people in the press carried out in Norway and Sweden between 1994 and 2000 (see: http://www.wan-press.org/article). The goals of the global project were to: increase consciousness about children’s diversity and examine the way children believe that newspapers reflect this. While acknowledging certain methodical limitations, such as the self-selection of classes, there were a number of important findings. The responses to the study reminded all those who worked for newspapers that children were as diverse as their adult counterparts, and that much remains to be done to satisfy their newspaper needs. There were repeated recommendations that newspapers should give wider coverage to children’s issues; in particular, "bad news" should be balanced with more examples of improvements in children’s lives. Children also want to read more that touches on their daily lives presented in a way that is adapted to their level of understanding or, as one class put it: "More about children, children like us." In addition, this project provides an example of teaching participatory media democracy. It sought responses from children and confirmed to them that they have a voice to be heard. After carrying out the study, with careful observation, some children expressed a desire to be better informed so as to prepare them for when they are able to write or publish their stories. Children appear to be motivated to read if they saw themselves reflected in the newspaper, by looking closely at their role in adult society, and by working in groups. Based on the findings above, the following conclusions are reached from the study conducted to find out respondents’ perception about creating a specialized children’s newspaper. 1. Young people would benefit from a more active, interpretive approach to journalism, when it is in a specialized format. Knowledgeable journalists with a background in their subject matter could offer readers insight into what events really mean and break through the superficial he-said/she-said balance that dominates coverage of serious topics.
We know there is a natural likeness for movies and an aura for shopping for leisure and entertainment, but no similar experience for news among children. Why not? Many young people are already personalizing their news independently through the internet or off-the-rack (social networks) means to ways it suits them. They manipulate what they choose to accept and what not to. To preserve a sense of community in news presentation, media outlets can combine personalized recommendations with audience participation for particular beats or genres of news stories with content editors to peruse them and probably re-work stories they feel is important. 4. Many young people express feelings of “too much information” in conventional news (even the online versions); finding sites overwhelmingly full of content choices and difficult to navigate. Most news media do a poor job of creating an experience that helps users organize content into manageable layers. For example, newspapers stories should be simple; brief and explicable; clearly indicate which content is most important or most popular; and guide the child reader seamlessly from one piece of content to related information or the “next” article. No one should ever wonder, “Where do I go next?” 5. The traditional story-and-photo approach to news coverage cannot be the best way to present the news in a children’s newspaper. This is particularly true for young audiences given what we know about how they consume news. 6. Surveys continue to find that children want to see more coverage of community, local and state issues in the news, especially as it relates to them. News outlets can tap this interest and build a new audience loyalty in the process by playing a more active role: combining serious, relevant reporting about local issues with hosting events and forums, engaging and sponsoring children-produced news, asking for input and content production from outside sources (such as journalism students and retired journalists). 7. Young people say they feel misunderstood by most media coverage of them and of issues that affect them. Many mainstream outlets report on these topics (education, cultural changes, technology, etc.) with an outsider’s perspective that is at best uninteresting, to young audiences. Newspaper organizations should feature more young people in interviews and as commentators. They should also hire more young people as content creators: as writers, photographers, and script editors. Young people do not need to see young faces to pay attention, but when done tastefully and in moderation adding a youthful touch to news content can make it infinitely more appealing (Stopher, 2011). 8. Newspaper organizations and schools should be partners in providing news to classrooms and in sponsoring children to learn the newspaper production process. Download 261.2 Kb. Share with your friends:
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