Are you interested in one week's work placement in The Irish Times? Transition Year students can learn first-hand about the workings of this newspaper if their submission is published in Media Scope's weekly Over to You column. Just send us a 200-word piece on a media-related topic.
Meg MacMahon, Teresian School, Dublin
Many of the reports in the media of this year's Slane Castle concert were dated and "age-ist".
Concert-goers and music lovers who read and heard news reports of the event were amazed at how so much attention was given to the few arrests of the day and the elaborate details of how far the tailback went along the Navan road. Wasp stings suffered by people in the crowd were suddenly national news. What we wanted to know was: did Robbie Williams deliver the show he is famous for to 80,000 young people that sunny Saturday evening?
The reason the reports were full of such negative and petty news angles is simple: many of the journalists covering Slane weren't lucky enough to be of our generation. It's not their fault - it's just been a long time since they were young.
Obviously they've come to shun and look down on rock concerts as they grow older. They expect trouble and only see the potential negative side of such events.
Another example of this is Junior Cert results night. Yes, there will always
be some kind of trouble - there always is. But this is no reason to stereotype and give out about us all. One broken window doesn't mean an entire generation of 15-year-olds is a write-off.
These over-the-hill journalists failed to see what we got from that day at Slane. We laughed, danced, chatted and had a day we'll be talking about when we're old and grey. Roll on, Slane 2000.
Gillian Kennedy, Manor House School, Raheny, Dublin
When booking a ticket for an upcoming event, I was startled by the cost of the ticket. Or should I say "angered" - by the £2 booking fee. Why do we have to pay this fee? People who choose to pay by credit card are being exploited; no matter if you pay £10 or £50, you are still forced to pay this astonishing extra amount. I know you may say £2 is not much - but they add up to give a tidy profit.
However, the extortion does not end there. No, quite the opposite. If you choose to buy two tickets in cash, there is still the illustrious service charge. Is the service really worth an extra £2? I doubt it, considering these companies are already getting money from the cost of the ticket. Judging by the long queues, I would say these "handling charges" weigh down the pockets of many a fat cat - and empty the pockets of the general public.
Write to media scope by posting your comments to Newspaper in the Classroom, The Irish Times, 11-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2, or faxing them to (01) 679 2789. Be sure to include your name, address and school, plus phone numbers for home and school. Or you can use the Internet and e-mail us at mediapage@irishtimes.ie
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media scope is a weekly media studies page for use in schools. Group rates and a special worksheet service (see `faxback', right) are available: Freephone 1800-798884.
