:00:07. > :00:13.Hello, welcome to Newswatch with me, Samira Ahmed.
:00:14. > :00:16.School children around the country tried their hand at reporting the
:00:17. > :00:19.news on Thursday. But how does BBC News serve this age group as an
:00:20. > :00:22.audience? We'll hear some teenagers tell the
:00:23. > :00:24.Head of the BBC Newsroom what they want from the Corporation's news
:00:25. > :00:33.service. Are teenagers interested in the
:00:34. > :00:35.news? If not, does it matter? And what do they actually consider
:00:36. > :00:39.newsworthy? It could be a problem for the BBC if there's a generation
:00:40. > :00:43.growing up without the habit of accessing news on its various
:00:44. > :00:46.outlets. We saw some examples of that generation, not just consuming
:00:47. > :00:50.news, but making it, for Thursday's BBC School Report Day. More than
:00:51. > :00:53.30,000 children from over 1000 schools created content online, on
:00:54. > :00:56.radio and on TV, including an interview with Michael Gove in which
:00:57. > :00:58.he demonstrated his rapping skills. We asked some of those School
:00:59. > :01:00.Reporters from London's Richmond Park Academy to tell us what they
:01:01. > :01:20.think of BBC News. A lot of the time it is sort of
:01:21. > :01:27.aimed more at adults. It hasn't got a lot to do with teenagers.
:01:28. > :01:34.Most of the things aren't really for our age group. It's quite hard to
:01:35. > :01:39.understand what it's all about because I'm not very into the news.
:01:40. > :01:43.In a typical day, I wouldn't really watch news programmes or look at the
:01:44. > :01:46.BBC website. I get my news from the Metro.
:01:47. > :01:49.I don't really enjoy the news that much. It doesn't really target me.
:01:50. > :01:50.In a way, I think it's just something my parents should know
:01:51. > :01:59.about. That lack of engagement with
:02:00. > :02:04.traditional news bulletins represent a challenge for the broadcasters.
:02:05. > :02:07.But the BBC News app and mobile and online news in general are embraced
:02:08. > :02:11.more enthusiastically by these teenagers.
:02:12. > :02:15.With the app, it's really easy because you can choose which variety
:02:16. > :02:17.of news you want to read. UK news, international news, education and
:02:18. > :02:24.health news. You get to choose what you want.
:02:25. > :02:29.For School Report, these students have been making TV, radio and text
:02:30. > :02:31.reports on subjects such as exam pressure and homophobia, filming and
:02:32. > :02:40.editing them themselves. And there is more evidence that this is a very
:02:41. > :02:44.media`literate generation. I took part in a scheme where we
:02:45. > :02:48.managed to create an app and design an advert for it. We also did an
:02:49. > :02:52.advert for the sixth form. I studied digital media for a year, so that
:02:53. > :02:55.helped. I think that now, my generation do have to know about
:02:56. > :03:03.media because everything relates around it.
:03:04. > :03:08.No surprise then that they know their way around different media
:03:09. > :03:11.outlets. If I had to focus on the news
:03:12. > :03:15.changing and laws changing and things like that, I would normally
:03:16. > :03:18.watch BBC free speech. Because they tend to have a lot of opinions going
:03:19. > :03:22.about. It has debates and people get to project their opinions about what
:03:23. > :03:28.is going on. How they feel the news is maybe biased sometimes.
:03:29. > :03:32.Unfortunately, the debate programme "free speech" is on BBC three, which
:03:33. > :03:35.will become an online`only channel with reduced content next year. And
:03:36. > :03:40.there is another problem for this group. The way teenagers are
:03:41. > :03:42.represented on broadcast news, in reports like this.
:03:43. > :03:46.REPORTER: the teenage killer, here wearing a baseball cap...
:03:47. > :03:55.They are portrayed in a really negative way. There isn't much good
:03:56. > :03:57.news about them. Most news is about fights or someone getting stabbed
:03:58. > :04:07.and it's mostly teenagers doing it. But actually, it's just a minority.
:04:08. > :04:13.They are not taking into account the other teenagers who are actually
:04:14. > :04:15.doing something with their lives. The desire for more inspirational,
:04:16. > :04:18.positive stories, featuring role models such as Malala Yousafzai,
:04:19. > :04:25.reflects a wider discontent with the subject matter of TV news.
:04:26. > :04:30.They focus on one thing in particular. Then they string it
:04:31. > :04:34.along for too long and don't really move on. Adults think that things
:04:35. > :04:38.like celebrity gossip isn't news but it still kind of is and that is what
:04:39. > :04:45.my age group mostly read or listen to.
:04:46. > :04:49.I guess I'm just more interested in what is happening around me, so
:04:50. > :04:57.politics, anything that could affect my life.
:04:58. > :05:01.Plenty to ponder then, for executives and editors, who want to
:05:02. > :05:08.ensure that this doesn't become a generation lost to BBC News.
:05:09. > :05:12.Two of the School Reporters featured there, Rose and Tippi, join me now
:05:13. > :05:20.in the studio, along with the Head of the BBC Newsroom, Mary Hockaday.
:05:21. > :05:25.We asked you to look at a bulletin from Wednesday. It featured energy
:05:26. > :05:28.companies and the cultural separation and the teacher strike.
:05:29. > :05:35.What did you make of it as a piece of news?
:05:36. > :05:38.The energy News will apply to me when I am older about it is not
:05:39. > :05:44.something that affects me at the moment. I have school to worry
:05:45. > :05:49.about. The teacher strike does apply to me. That is something I would
:05:50. > :05:57.like to know about. That affects my education. I am coming into your
:05:58. > :06:03.ten. I am more interested in the other side of it. The politics, so I
:06:04. > :06:09.was quite engaged with the gas story and the cuts story. If you care
:06:10. > :06:15.enough about the actual subject matter, I believe teenagers would
:06:16. > :06:24.also be engaged. It is interesting. We know that
:06:25. > :06:30.young people want celebrity news. Some adults really hate this. This
:06:31. > :06:33.is a dilemma. Programmes like the main bulletins
:06:34. > :06:38.have a broad audience which features older people as well. We're trying
:06:39. > :06:43.to do a summary of what we think are the main stories of the day. But in
:06:44. > :06:47.a way that we hope is interesting to a broad audience, including a
:06:48. > :06:51.younger audience. Howl about how young people are
:06:52. > :06:54.portrayed? There is a perception that you see teenagers wearing
:06:55. > :07:00.hooded tops and they have committed crimes. But we don't see positive
:07:01. > :07:05.portrayals. I would hope that across the range
:07:06. > :07:10.we do show teenagers in lots of different lights. Some examples
:07:11. > :07:16.recently where talking to young entrepreneurs, including a guy who
:07:17. > :07:21.made a new Zap aged 17 and has managed to sell it for huge amounts
:07:22. > :07:26.of money. I would hope that in the round, we are talking about the real
:07:27. > :07:31.lives of real young people. I would also say that as well as the main
:07:32. > :07:36.news, there are some services which are really for young people. You
:07:37. > :07:41.guys may be growing out of Newsround.
:07:42. > :07:46.What you think about specialised content? Newsround is aimed at those
:07:47. > :07:52.aged up to 12. There is also BBC Three's free speech. But of course
:07:53. > :08:00.that channel will become online. Is there enough content for you? I
:08:01. > :08:07.think it is unfair that the kind of skip out our age group. Newsround
:08:08. > :08:14.goes up to 12 years old and then... It is more celebrity or sports which
:08:15. > :08:17.might not appeal to our age. Then suddenly it goes to more serious
:08:18. > :08:24.content. There is a big space for our age. Unless they check online,
:08:25. > :08:30.they don't have something that they can watch.
:08:31. > :08:35.This idea that you should go online, there are different applications, is
:08:36. > :08:40.that the answer? That is a great way for people like
:08:41. > :08:49.me to access the news. But it would be nice if there were TV news shows
:08:50. > :08:56.specifically for teenagers. I agree that it kind of skips our age gap
:08:57. > :09:01.aged over 12. You offer a lot of platforms, but
:09:02. > :09:08.actually people want a bulletin aimed at them. They are neglected.
:09:09. > :09:12.You're not the first people to see this. It is interesting. We have
:09:13. > :09:15.been thinking hard about this. I think there is a gap between the
:09:16. > :09:20.Newsround audience and the main news audience. And then there is BBC
:09:21. > :09:28.Three. There is also news be, a radio service. We know that not all
:09:29. > :09:34.young people listen to the radio. We're looking at ways to take more
:09:35. > :09:39.of the Newspeak journalism, of which you are the target audience, and
:09:40. > :09:45.make it available not just on radio, but in video, on digital platforms.
:09:46. > :09:48.I think that we will be able to do that in the next few months. We
:09:49. > :09:54.should have something exciting. We're also doing something with
:09:55. > :10:01.putting new stories onto social platforms like Facebook and
:10:02. > :10:04.YouTube. We always leave you to tell us we're due are going in which
:10:05. > :10:08.platforms you spent time on. Thank you very much.
:10:09. > :10:10.And you can see stories from the students of Richmond Park Academy
:10:11. > :10:13.and other young reporters from around the UK on the BBC School
:10:14. > :10:19.Report website: bbc.co.uk/schoolreport.
:10:20. > :10:24.Just time before we go for a couple of your comments on this week's news
:10:25. > :10:26.coverage, which has featured prominently the ongoing and tragic
:10:27. > :10:29.saga of the missing Malaysian airliner. On Monday, the airline
:10:30. > :10:32.said their assumption was that the plane was lost, with no survivors,
:10:33. > :10:35.and news bulletins showed the reaction of relatives of those on
:10:36. > :10:38.board. Gillian Hugh`Jones was: "Appalled and incredulous that you
:10:39. > :10:41.keep showing video of the anguished and devastated families and friends
:10:42. > :10:43.of the passengers. You could have given them the dignity of privacy at
:10:44. > :10:51.this time." And on Wednesday there was news of
:10:52. > :10:54.the "conscious uncoupling" of celebrity couple Gwyneth Paltrow and
:10:55. > :10:56.Chris Martin, if "news" is the word, which ` according to Gill Brooks `
:10:57. > :10:59.it isn't. "Is this really so important to the
:11:00. > :11:02.British public?" She asked. "It certainly isn't to me. This is
:11:03. > :11:05.frivolous showbiz gossip. If every marriage break`up was reported on
:11:06. > :11:11.the news, there would be no room for anything else."
:11:12. > :11:16.Thanks for all your comments this week. You can share your opinions on
:11:17. > :11:18.BBC news and current affairs by ringing 0370 010 6676 or e`mailing
:11:19. > :11:20.newswatch@bbc.co.uk We're on Twitter and do have a look at our website,
:11:21. > :11:22.bbc.co.uk/newswatch. That's all from us. Join us again
:11:23. > :11:49.next week. Goodbye. Thunderstorms have kept going this
:11:50. > :11:55.evening across parts of the Midlands and stretching into other areas.
:11:56. > :11:56.Some hail being reported.