WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A TEEN: REPRESENTATIONS OF TEENAGERS IN NETWORK NEWS, ADULT-GENERATED NEWS FOR TEENS, AND TEEN-PRODUCED INTERNET WEBZINES by MELISSA ABBY WEINSTEIN (Under the Direction of Alison Alexander) ABSTRACT Communication scholars and media professionals recognize that young people are not paying attention to the news. There is little doubt that the often negative stories about young people shown on television news and in mainstream newspapers can lead young people to think negatively of their selves, possibly causing them to tune out these news sources. Is news coverage of adolescents really overwhelmingly negative, as the literature suggests? Much of the research into teen news representations has focused on mainstream media, including broadcast news programs and newspapers. This study utilized a textual analytic approach and Foucault’s theory of representation to examine teen representations in three media sources: network news, adult-generated media sources geared toward teenagers, and teen-produced webzines. The study found that teenagers are represented as having problems, and as having limited ability to solve their problems. While teen representations found in this study do offer some support for the dominant discourses about teen media representations, they challenge some of the assumptions inherent in this dominant discourse. The most prominent challenges come from those media sources that are produced by teenagers for a teen audience. INDEX WORDS: Teenagers, Representation, Textual analysis, News, Webzines, Discourse, Broadcast News, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A TEEN: REPRESENTATIONS OF TEENAGERS IN NETWORK NEWS, ADULT-GENERATED NEWS FOR TEENS, AND TEEN-PRODUCED INTERNET WEBZINES by MELISSA ABBY WEINSTEIN B.A., Tufts University, 1998 M.S.J, Northwestern University, 1999 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2009 © 2009 Melissa Abby Weinstein All Rights Reserved WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A TEEN: REPRESENTATIONS OF TEENAGERS IN NETWORK NEWS, ADULT-GENERATED NEWS FOR TEENS, AND TEEN-PRODUCED INTERNET WEBZINES by MELISSA ABBY WEINSTEIN Major Professor: Alison Alexander Committee: Carolina Acosta-Alzuru Anandam Kavoori Judith Preissle Christa Ward Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2009 DEDICATION I dedicate this to my wonderful husband Bill for all your love and encouragement throughout the research and writing of this dissertation. You are my best friend and my biggest supporter in this, and everything that I do. And to my parents Marilyn and Howard Galin, who taught me early on to work hard, and who always believed I could achieve this goal. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Researching and writing this dissertation represents for me the attainment of a goal I set for myself years ago. I am fortunate to have several people who have helped me throughout this educational journey. I wish to thank my committee members, Drs. Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, Andy Kavoori, Jude Preissle, and Christa Ward, for all of the hours that they spent working with me, guiding me in my research, and answering my questions. Your insights, advice, and support have made me a better researcher, and have inspired me in my work. Thank you for all that you have done. My advisor, Dr. Alison Alexander, has helped me in so many ways throughout the completion of this dissertation. I cannot even begin to count the number of hours that you spent working with me and reading over countless drafts to arrive at this point. Looking back over the early versions of these chapters, it is incredible to me just how much this research has grown with your guidance and advice. You have not only helped me academically, you have been a constant source of support and encouragement, and for that I feel very fortunate to have worked with you toward this defining moment. My parents, Marilyn and Howard Galin, have been a source of support in everything I have done over the last 33 years. I always knew that you believed in me, and that allowed me to reach for my goals and to face challenges with a sense of optimism and confidence. Your guidance, love, and encouragement have always been with me in everything that I have worked for, and that has enabled me to take advantage of experiences and opportunities that I otherwise might have allowed to pass me by. v And finally, to my husband Bill, I would not have been able to reach this point if it were not for you. You have been a constant source of encouragement and support during my months of research and writing. When I started working on my degree, I hardly knew you. Now I cannot imagine my life without you in it. If I were to mention all the ways in which you help and support me, I would need twice as many pages in this dissertation. So I will just say thank you, and I love you. I look forward to all that is ahead as we begin this new chapter in our lives. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE........................................1 Introduction...............................................................................................................1 Review of the Literature ...........................................................................................4 Research Questions.................................................................................................37 2 METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................40 Story Analysis: Textual Analysis.............................................................................40 Selection of News Story Sample..............................................................................45 3 BACKGROUND ON MEDIA SOURCES ..................................................................59 Teen Webzines.........................................................................................................59 Adult-generated News for Teens .............................................................................66 Network News .........................................................................................................71 4 TEEN WEBZINES .......................................................................................................74 Manifest Meanings in the Text: What Issues Were Covered?.................................75 Latent Meanings: Patterns and Themes Concerning Teens.....................................83 Teen Representations.............................................................................................130 5 ADULT-GENERATED NEWS FOR TEENS ...........................................................151 vii Manifest Meanings in the Text: What Issues Were Covered?...............................151 Latent Meanings: Patterns and Themes Concerning Teens...................................159 Teen Representations.............................................................................................188 6 NETWORK NEWS ....................................................................................................201 Manifest Meanings in the Text: What Issues Were Covered?...............................201 Latent Meanings: Patterns and Themes Concerning Teens...................................207 Teen Representations.............................................................................................226 7 COMPARISONS OF MEDIA SOURCES.................................................................232 Storytelling Patterns...............................................................................................244 Teen-related Themes..............................................................................................250 Teen Representations.............................................................................................252 8 DISCUSSION.............................................................................................................261 Challenging the Discourse .....................................................................................262 News Production as a Disciplining Process...........................................................271 Teen Webzines as Submerged Knowledge............................................................280 Myths about Teenagers..........................................................................................283 The Importance of Examining News Representations of Teens............................284 Researcher Role .....................................................................................................285 Study Limitations...................................................................................................287 Future Study...........................................................................................................289 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................292 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 2.1: Network News Sources Covering Teen Stories............................................................54 Table 2.2: Teen-related Stories