Borough Life Autum 2006: Do young people get the press they deserve?
Ashton Youth Action members Sean Rudd, Nikki Green and Steven Greenall
Hardly a day goes by without a media story that shows young people in a negative light. Locally, nearly half of all residents say that gangs of teenagers are a problem in their area. Now one group in Ashton is appealing for a more balanced picture after being labelled as drunken yobs. And they’ve even formed their own action group to fight for a more positive image. Borough Life asks….
When a group of Ashton teenagers found themselves in the headlines a few months ago for ‘causing havoc’ in their local park, their first thought was, why didn’t anyone ask us for our views?
In fact they were so annoyed that they kept the newspaper billboard that branded them as ‘yob menace’ and pinned it up in the community centre where they meet.
But rather than simply complain, it spurred the group on to do something about it. They have now formed Ashton Youth Action to get their voices heard and lobby for a better image and more facilities.
“We’re not really bothered what people call us,” says 17 year-old Ashton resident Paul Gregson. “But it would be nice to be asked what we think before we’re made out to be bad people.
“The park is just somewhere for us to hang out. A lot do have a drink at the weekend, but we’re not out to cause trouble.”
However, it seems not everyone agrees. When Wigan Council surveyed its citizens’ panel (made up of 900 local residents) earlier this year, 49% of respondents said they felt teenagers hanging around on the streets were either a ‘fairly’ or ‘very big’ problem.
One resident said: “While the majority might not be doing any harm, they can be quite intimidating, especially to older people. And when alcohol is involved, things can get out of hand.”
But the young people in Ashton say adults should not necessarily fear them just because they are congregating in large numbers.
“I have a lot of friends and we hang about in a big group because it makes us feel safe,” says Gemma Hughes, 13. “I was attacked once, so I don’t like to be out on my own.”
Wigan Council launched a youth safety awareness campaign at the start of July, after consultation revealed safety is a major concern for young people.
“The fears young people have about their safety will increase further if we continue to refer to large numbers of them as ‘yobs’ every time a few individuals are involved in a mindless incident,” says local resident Dave Gratton, who works with Ashton Youth Action.
“Labelling young people alienates them from the rest of the community. The overwhelming majority of these young people are just normal lively teenagers. People are constantly condemning them, but they need our support and encouragement.”
Recently Ashton Youth Action contributed to a fun day in Jubilee Park, putting on a range of activities including football and face painting.
Mr Gratton believes that community relations would improve greatly if the media could get a better balance in their portrayal of young people.
He adds: “Positive stories may not conjure up great headlines but at least people would feel less threatened if they were given a more realistic picture of what is going on.”
Wigan Observer and Reporter editor Gillian Gray argues: “I think overall there’s more positive coverage of young people in our papers than negative. We will never ignore their achievements in school, sport or charity work – and there are plenty of wonderful things to report.
“But at the same time if people approach us with concerns about anti-social behaviour we can’t ignore the reality. We know, rightly or wrongly, it’s a big concern for lots of our readers.”
- What do you think? Are young people unfairly demonised or is the bad publicity just an accurate reflection of public opinion? Write to Borough Life, FREEPOST NWW3502A, Wigan WN1 1XZ