NEWS AND YOUTH

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32636, 18 June 1971, Page 10

NEWS AND YOUTH

The changes by the mass media over the past few years in news gathering and presentation, and the subsequent effect on young people, was criticised by a former Minister of Education and headmaster of Cashmere High School (Mr T. H. McCombs) in Christchurch yesterday.

In his youth newspapers presented a good deal of news, In depth, with sufficient background, Mr MeCombs said. However, this was not the same today, the mass media offering only snippets of the exciting things.

They have learned to present only the striking sentences and phrases of stories, lifting these out for special emphasis, said Mr McCombs. Such procedures offered a difficult situation for young people, he Mid. Mr McCombs was addressing the Christchurch branch of the New Zealand Institute of Administration as part of a series of talks entitled "Youth in Revolt.”

He said that the presentation of radio and television news made worse the present trends. They would say in 30 seconds what the newspapers would present in 1000 words.

"During this process of condensation from 1000 words to 30 seconds the story tended to lose most of its meaning," he said. Mr McCombs also criticised the process of collecting news which he said gave a very distorted view, particularly with the use of television.

During live news telecasts the camera would pick out a particultf group without pre-

senting the complete picture. Such summarising was distracting, especially when livecasts were unable to be edited.

He also criticised newspaper pictures—the majority of which were staged—many taken some hours after the actual event had taken place, he said.

“In our time we got our knowledge from the printed word; the youngsters today obtain it from the picture.” He also criticised the "exploitation” of youth by adults, especially in the field of fashion and pop music.