SEARCHING FOR YOUTH

March 2002
		How are media organizations changing the formats of their news to appeal to a younger audience? CNN Headline News anchor Robin Meade and Carl Gottlieb of the Project for Excellence in Journalism respond to your questions.

Forum introduction Will the increasing speed of news delivery diminish communication? How are young people responding to news? How can news organizations keep from watering down their content? Will the push for a younger audience spark more media convergence? What can news organizations do to better appeal to young people?     Online Special: Media Watch March 1, 2002: News organizations' attempts to woo younger viewers. May 10, 1999: Worries about violence in the media and their effects on youth.

C. Keisler of Cary, N.C. asks: I think appeals to the "youth market" amount to little more than a dumbing down of news. So long as the U.S. continues along the path of increased concentration of wealth and power I suspect the "dumbing down" trend will continue across all markets. How can news organizations keep from watering down their content while still pushing for a younger audience?   Carl Gottlieb responds: The first thing news organizations can do is get away from the insane idea that young people demand a more dumbed-down news. There is no evidence I've seen that shows young people are shallower, dumber or are not interested in important events. In fact, in my experience I've found each generation to be a bit more engaged in world and national events than the last. If the idea is to dumb down the news to reach a larger audience, then news providers may be killing the golden goose. Even if we look at news as a "product" why would anyone want an informational product that doesn't provide information? If you watched a sitcom that didn't entertain you, would you watch again? If you bought a pair of shoes that ripped after one or two outings, would you buy those shoes again? Dumbing down the news makes no sense.   Robin Meade responds: In these days of a continuing war on terrorism and conflicts in other regions as well as concerns at home, many of our viewers -- young and old alike -- find our solid news coverage interesting and compelling because so much of it has the potential to affect their everyday lives. But to your point more specifically, I don’t believe that considering the interests of our viewers results in "dumbed-down" news. For example, we cover popular entertainment and technology news -- both of which particularly appeal to our younger viewers. We also offer other coverage that might be more appealing to older viewers -- it’s a mix.

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