Recession creates stress and anxiety in young people

Recession Sessions Editor, Claire Houghton, explores the impact of the economic crisis on the welfare of young people.

The UK has sunk into “double-dip” recession – but what does that actually mean?

It was announced yesterday that in the first quarter of 2012 the UK economy shrunk by 0.2%, sinking the country into the first double-dip recession since the 1970s.

That means, in simpler terms, that in the first three months of this year, the country as a whole hasn’t managed to get any richer – in fact it’s made a loss, following on from the loss it made in the final three months of 2011(0.3%). When a country experiences negative growth for six months in a row (or two consecutive quarters) it is officially classed as in a recession.

According to the Office for National Statistics, part of the fall in economic growth is down to a decrease in construction output.

The UK economy was last in recession in 2009. When a country falls into recession twice within a relatively short time period this is classed as a double-dip recession, or a W-shaped recession.

For more information, look on the BBC article here.

Claire’s Newsround Placement: End of Week 2

So, having been working for CBBC’s Newsround for a fortnight now, one thing I have learnt is that shoots take a LOT of organisation and a LOT of time to set up. Aside from filling in Risk Assessment forms online, there are also Assignment Sheets to fill in so that the presenter and AP (Assistant Producer) involved can know exactly what the VT is about and exactly where and when it’s happening. As well as this you have to organise all of the logistics such as hiring a car, booking a train, finding a hotel for an overnight shoot – this is all done by the same person.

I’ve really enjoyed working in Planning though. Thinking of stories to pitch and then helping them materialise is improving my understanding of Newsround and the types of stories that kids who watch it are really attracted by. Sometimes a story which can seem really irrelevant to me can actually make it as a top-liner on the website; other times something I think is obviously newsworthy for kids doesn’t even get a mention. I thought last week they would definitely mention the news that A levels are apparently going to be made harder; just because, although the show’s target audience is only 6 to 12-year-olds, this story clearly affects them. But perhaps this story didn’t get broadcast because it is too ‘adulty’ (a new word I am becoming familiar with). On the other hand, the TV producers at NR have made a smashing attempt at explaining some of the most complicated headlines this week, such as the rocket in North Korea and the Burma story.

I was lucky enough to be the first to spot the story about the American kids who stopped their school bus (Wednesday afternoon) and that made the morning bull on Thursday, so I was very pleased about my contribution –  I also spotted the ‘Two Directions’ story on Twitter first. Just going to show that the social network can be as important a journalistic tool in the professional world as any news website.

But the highlight for me this week has to be Friday, when I got to go out on the shoot for the story I pitched about wild baby rabbits! The RSPCA keep getting wild baby rabbits handed in to them because people think they’ve been abandoned – in actual fact the mother rabbits are just around the the corner and the reason they’re left alone is to help them adapt to living in the wild by themselves. We went to the RSPCA in Nantwich to film them and boy oh boy were there some cute sights to see. As well as the cute baby rabbits we also saw some fox cubs and ducklings. Check them out…

The shoot went smoothly and the VT is gonna be on NR on Tuesday, so if you read this in time check it out! Working for CBBC has been a really exciting experience so far and I expect this week will be even better.. more stories to plan and on Thursday I am going to be checking out the Blue Peter studios when I go and do some shadowing with them in the afternoon. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes next week.

Until then, it’s ciao from me!

Claire

Join Channel 4’s exciting ‘Battlefront’ campaign

Channel 4 is renowned for the constant opportunities it offers, with a great ‘Kickstart’ section on its Careers website, offering a flux of work experience placements and internships throughout the year, as well as countless open days and Q&As via Twitter. But aside from all of this, there is also Battlefront – an exciting initiative run BY young people FOR young people.

That’s right. Channel 4 is hiring people aged 14-21 to run an online/TV project for a whole year. For the budding presenters out there, they offer four fixed term contracts and these individuals become the face of the Battlefront campaign and present all the packages which are online on the Battlefront website. For everyone else, there is the opportunity to get involved in planning and content-making and all the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff that will create the bulk of the project.

‘But what has Battlefront done before and why should I get involved?’ I hear you ask. Well, aside from the fact that it’s a great opportunity to get Channel 4 on your CV, it is also a fantastic initiative which in the past year has helped 1000 young people find work placements, it has convinced the government to take the issue of young people’s mental health far more seriously than ever before and it has encouraged more young people to become organ donors. Now that’s pretty impressive, right? Imagine what a great feeling you could have knowing you have made a significant change to so many people’s lives!

Well, this year it could be you. The focus for the next Battlefront is going to be THE issue of the moment which is, of course, youth unemployment. To find out more, and for details of how to apply visit the website here.

The Lowdown on economics from a real econo-miss

Do recession updates confuse you? Do you watch stories about the economy on the news and wonder what the FTSE 100 is or what a W-shaped recession could possibly be?? Do you squirm at the thought of trying to explain what exactly a recession is to anyone who might be so inclined to ask you for an official definition?!

If all or ANY of the above apply to you, then you’ll be happy to know there’s someone who can clarify things for you…

Miss Abi Adams, a PhD student in Economics from Oxford University (now teaching Microeconomics and Quantitative Economics at Oriel College) , has started a blog which attempts to explain the ins and outs of the recession in ‘layman’s terms’, so to speak.

Many of her blog entries focus on new progressions (or contractions…) in the economy in the Eurozone, explaining how things have got to the point they have and what might happen in the future. She writes on the basic economic theory behind current debates and controversy, as well as other things which just take her fancy!

This blog is highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn a little bit more about Economics in words which may be slightly easier to digest than if you just googled them.

Check out Abi’s blog here: http://abiadams.wordpress.com/

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Claire’s Newsround placement: End of Week 1

So I’ve finished my first week of work experience at Newsround and it has been so much fun! I have been especially lucky to be working there this week because it was the show’s 40th birthday on Wednesday, so I had the pleasure of seeing John Craven in person as he came into the studio for a special 5pm news bulletin.

I’m really enjoying the work so far, every day is different and I am learning new things all the time – I definitely don’t feel like I am being brushed aside because I’m the ‘work placement lady’, as they say.

Here’s a little info on what I’ve been getting up to on a day to day basis…

Monday – Most of the day was spent shadowing Sandy the runner. I discovered runners really do have a LOT of responsibility as they’re aexpected to do lots of jobs for lots of people and, consequently, do actually spend a lot of time running around!

Tuesday – This was the day I worked with Planning. We had a meeting about current ideas and discussed potential future stories. I suggested we go and film at the National History Museum because there are talks there at the moment about the benefits of eating insects – think they liked this story idea!

Wednesday – Today I shadowed Chris, one of the Researchers. It was really useful because I watched him editing an online guide to Easter on the website so I have a better idea of how CPS works now (the website system they use at CBBC). I helped him write questions for the quiz ‘How much do you know about Easter?’

Thursday – On this day I shadowed Will, another researcher. He was on ‘On the Day’ duty which is when you have to organise for the presenters to go out and report on the stories which have only just broken. This was really useful because he showed me how to fill in ‘Assignment sheets’ and look stories up from the archives which are both crucial things to do when you’re sending reporters out on a story.

Friday – Off! Because it was the Easter bank holiday weekend, but I’m looking forward to going back next week and hopefully the producers will take on more of my story suggestions. Who knows – maybe I’ll even get to go out on a shoot!

Look out for the next update,

Claire