Thought Leadership

"When a newspaper photograph of ordinary lads wearing hooded tops, just standing around, is visual shorthand for 'broken Britain', it is clear that teenage boys have an image problem - and new independent research shows just how bad a press they are getting" stated the lead Dispatches item in The Guardian. "Teenage boys appear to be aware of this coverage. Out of 1,000 boys aged 13-19 across five UK regions, surveyed by Echo, 85% said newspapers give them a bad press with nearly three-quarters changing their behaviour to avoid other teens they don't know as a result. Echo's research found that the few good media stories of teens as 'model student', 'altar boy', or 'every mother's perfect son' were all about boys who had met an untimely death." Echo produced the media and impact study 'Hoodies or Altar Boys: What is media stereotyping doing to our British Boys?' for Women in Journalism's summit,to raise awareness and challenge media responsibility in this area.