About the series Part 1, Serial Storytelling
Part 2 – Hire Teenage TV Reporters
First, the reasons this is a terrible idea: They are not journalists. They don’t know how to perform on-camera. They have so little experience in life. They are not objective. They use drugs. They are rude. They are walking emotional wrecks. They want to tear down the system. They don’t even know about Gilligan’s island.
The reasons this is a fantastically great idea: See the paragraph above.
Local TV news needs to attract a younger demographic.
Teenage reporting can help provide you with social media buzz, as well as a new and more inclusive way to tell important stories about your community. Here are my suggestions.
What Kind of Teenagers to Hire Authentic, talkative, opinionated and camera friendly (not necessarily glamorous, but striking). Within that framework you will find endless possibilities.
I would like to show you a very successful example of youth reporting by the BBC. Obviously I am not recommending a BBC style, but this clip does show how young people might help pull a young audience.
JD Porter may now be too old for teens, but the wider point is that young people relate to young people.
Do You Teenage Reporters Need to Be Trained Journalists? Not necessarily, I say. The purpose is to connect with a young audience in ways they can trust and rely upon; one of their peers, not some younger version of a buttoned down adult. You can frame what they say within your own vetted editorial scaffolding, i.e. let them rant, but wrap that around your accurate journalism. These are not incompatible ideas.
But What About Your Own Station’s Journalistic Credibility? It will be stronger than ever. Here’s why. You will be using your teenage reporters as witnesses and experts about a section of our society that has been largely neglected by mainstream media. You will also be taking your adult audience into that world to explore news related issues directly affecting young people, thus affecting the rest of us in various ways. And you will supervise the editorial content, accuracy and production. In fact it is important that you are transparent with your audience on this. The teens are our guides, and you (the station) are the fact checker and editor. The teen reporters cannot work for you unless they agree that you are the editorial gatekeeper. Here’s how you harmonize those two forces.
An Example Your local politicians announce a proposed ordinance against young people using local parks late at night. The sub text is that politicians are campaigning against teenage sex. Teen reporterRhondatakes your news team (must include an editorial presence) to a park and talks to fellow teens. Rhonda is seen a lot on camera, and in on-camera asides, gives us insights into how and why fellow teens feel strongly about this issue. Let them swear all they want, the bleeps will re-enforce the point. Rhonda and her mates talk about the politicians, and the issue. Those scenes will yield follow-up stories. You might even start a Serial (see my Part 1) based on one or more of the teens you encounter.
Back in the newsroom. Your adult producer writes the scaffolding of the piece; the facts of the issue, etc. Rhonda narrates the scaffolding, and her interviews and asides are inserted. Expect, even desire, the piece to be rough edged. This is not polished TV. Or it might be, but above all it needs to be authentically edgy and engaging.
Awkward Gimmicks Can Kill This Idea If a station tries to make it all about itself listening to teens, those teens, your future, will reject it. How to handle that depends upon your individual circumstance, so I will not go into detail here. Personally, I would probably just have a soft rollout. Introduce a new reporter and play the piece. You’ll get free buzz.
How Many Teen Reporters? Again, it depends upon your community. You might want to rotate a series of various young reporters.
Will your Station Become a Teen Sweatshop? Of course not. Pay them a fair wage and obey local laws. Here is a good resource from the Dept of Labor.
Teenage reporting is a challenging idea. But it might be worth some thought.
