| YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN CRIME
Is there a balance between reporting on problems and highlighting positive efforts and success stories related to youth crime? Looking at traditional media output in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, stories are dominated by incidents of youth crime and violence as opposed to success stories and positive efforts. In Grenada 27% of stories are about positive efforts and St. Vincent & the Grenadines falls significantly behind with only 5%. As such, St. Vincent & the Grenadines is the least balanced and has the most room for improvement.
Reporting in Barbados is the most balanced demonstrating a higher level of emphasis on positive efforts and interventions at 45-50% which seems to reflect a corresponding higher level of initiatives there.
It is also important that when NGOs and programmes are dynamic, doing new things and releasing interesting information regularly makes a substantial difference in coverage. Otherwise, there is nothing newsworthy and different for media to report, limiting coverage, reporting and exposure. It is observed that the more dynamic NGOs and other stakeholders were, the more presence of positive efforts and success stories appeared in the media. Impact on Public Perception and Policy: A proper impact assessment would have to be done to determine the impact of media on public perception and policy and that is beyond the scope of this report. Listening to the interactions on the call-in radio programmes, the public is willing to engage bringing multiple perspectives to the issues which, in turn, should impact on public awareness and thereby perception. While there is some evidence of responsiveness of authorities to incidents, the actions have typically been to address issues at hand and this study cannot determine the extent to which policy, which by nature is long-term, has been impacted. Diversity of Voices: Whose perspectives are included in the reporting? Most stories give perspectives of the security forces, victims, family, and community members. Reports from Barbados go a step further leads the way with more voices from youth advocates, and experts consulted to provide broader understanding. Is there a diversity of opinions and experiences represented in the coverage? Yes. Upon examination of the stories, they come from a diversity of sources and therefore experiences and opinions. Contributions are made by reporters, editorial staff, security forces, social workers, churches, Ministers, the legal profession, NGOs and even reformed criminals. This was most apparent in Barbados with Grenada and St. Vincent following in that order.
46 A Media Analysis of the Coverage of Youth Involvement in Crime and Violence and Trafficking in Persons (June 2021 to June 2023) in the Eastern Caribbean
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