13 C class notes for Teen Trouble documentary

1. The mainstream media’s portrayal,
depiction of ‘teenagers’ and young
people. (The representation of their
collective identity)
What are the effects of this?

2. Tabloid
The Sun, The Express, The Star,
Daily Mail, (News of the World)
The Sport, The Mirror
- More visual
- More ‘emotive’ & opinionated
- More celebrity, gossip,
lifestyle, human interest,
- Cheaper
- Less text (content)
Broadsheets
The Guardian, The Times, The
Telegraph, The Financial Times
The Independent
- More serious in tone
- More political, economic,
scientific coverage
- More factual
- More expensive
- More content (text)

3. Teen Trouble 2008
Sam Delaney
- How does the ‘mainstream/traditional’ media portray / depict
young people?
- Emotive language when describing bad behaviour (Tabloid press)
- Negative stories more likely to be covered than positive ones.
- “Queen of the Chavs” “Chav Scum” “Real life Vicky Pollard” –
demonisation
- Creates a public demand for negative stories. – Self fulfilling cycle.
- Rabid glee.
- Animalistic terms – feral, rabid, teens.
- What effects are suggested by the documentary?
- This leads to an exaggeration of the scale of the issue of teenage
crime/deliquency
- Minority that break the law create the identity for all teenagers.
- Adults have an exaggerated view of teen crime (some thought 80-90%
of ALL CRIME was committed by teenagers (actually 12%)
- Alienation – increased divide between adults and teenagers.

4. What theories can explain this?
Depiction
• Negative, exaggerated over
the top, emotive, press
coverage of teenagers
Effect
• Adults are scared of this
stereotype of teenagers –
think all are dangerous and
this way.
This would agree with the
Hypodermic Needle theory
This can lead to
a Moral Panic
Cohen (1972)
Althusser – Interpellation
The audiences beliefs are
created by powerful structures
such as the media.
Stuart Hall
This is a dominant or preferred
reading of a media text.