Television

“Friends” still remains Jade’s favourite TV programme today. Along with “Friends,” Jade enjoys the programmes screened on Channel 4 and E4 such as “The Inbetweeners” and reality shows for example “Big Brother.” Jade has always prefered Channel 4 to any other because of the range of “materialistic programmes” broadcasted. However, Soaps do not appeal to Jade’s interests as she finds it difficult to keep up to date with developing storylines and rarely finds the time to watch them as a result of other comittments. Alongside these materialistic programmes, Jade finds the time to tune into “News 24″ in order to keep up to date with recent devlopments in the world of politics.

Newspapers

To coincide with her life ambition, Jade regulary buys the “The Daily Mail” and enjoys reading the political columns by Quentin Letts who was recently awarded the title of “Political Journalist of the Year.” However, Jade is not just focussed on Broadsheet newspapers but enjoys Tabloids as well, her favourite being “The Sun” due to its high quantity of “TVBIZ” news. Although prefering Broadsheet’s, Jade believes “more formal newspapers can brainwash their readers with their own opinion through their writing skills and layout.” therefore Jade prefers to establish views from both styles of writing. With no price tag, Jade regulary reads “The Metro” on her journey to school and feels it gives her enough information without having to especially purchase any other newspapers.

Social Networking

Along with many other teeangers her age, Jade is a member of the biggest social website worldwide “Facebook.” Jade finds facebook a good way to interact with her friends both in and out of school not only within the UK but in other areas of the world as well. Before Jade was introduced to Facebook, she used to be a member of “Bebo” however felt she became too old for this social networking site “the day her younger brother became a member.” Jade has recently joined “Twitter” however rarely visits the site only once “to stalk a few celebrities.”

Magazines

Jade is not a regular reader of magazines however in the past her favourites have included “NME” reading about her favourite bands such as Arctic Monkeys and looking up any recent concerts or festivals to attend. Jade finds it easier to retrieve her information via websites which is not only quicker but cheaper. Occasionally Jade tends to purchase gossip magazines ie “Heat” but again usually retrieves this information via the internet.

Websites

Jade is a regular user of the BBC in particular “BBC iplayer” to catch up on the programmes she does not have time to view. Along with iplayer the introduction of 40D has meant she is able to catch up and watch whenever programmes from her favourite channel. She finds these two new modern devices really benefical as she is now able t keep up to date with her favourite programmes while at the same time carrying out other commitments.

Alongside these websites she visits during her free time, Jade is also a regular user of Wikipedia specifically for school studies.

Radio

With Chris Moyle’s being Jade’s favourite radio presenter, Radio 1 is “by far” Jade’s favourite breakfast show station. With its light-hearted banter and humour, Radio 1 reaches out to not only Jade’s humour but music tastes as well.

Sean Yallop is an AS level student currently living in Shepherd’s Bush, West London. He attends Gunnersbury Sixth Form, and takes English Literature, History, Biology and Psychology. A little known fact about Sean is his heritage. He is half Irish and half Finnish, commanding a high proficiency of the Finnish language, which is something he is particularly proud of.

Newspapers

Sean likes to read the Daily Mirror and the Metro and London Lite newspapers. He reads the Mirror twice a week for its blunt, forthright style, and its humourous anecdotes. An issue Sean has with the Mirror, however, is its overuse of columnists. He feels they try to impose too many opinions upon him, when he simply wants to form his own opinions through the information and facts given to him. The daily London newspapers give Sean the news he requires in a convenient format, which he can read when travelling around town.

Magazines

Sean’s love of music has lead him to flick through Kerrang magazine occasionally. He enjoys reading interviews with his favourite bands such as Kings of Leon, Muse and The Killers.

Websites

Sean keeps up to date with his news and contacts through the internet. BBC News provides Sean with detailed information on news and current affairs. He uses BBC iPlayer to watch The Apprentice and oddly, is fascinated by cookery shows including Saturday Kitchen and Ready, Steady Cook.
Sean connects with his friends through Facebook and MSN. He appreciates this form of communication and enjoys reading the comments and posts of others.

Television

Sean loves to watch American comedies The Simpsons, Family Guy and Futurama. The animated themes running through all appeal to Sean for its outlandish punchlines and unmatched humour. It helps him chill out and unwind from all that hard studying.

Radio

Sean, being a fan of rock music, lists Xfm as his favourite radio station. Presenters Ian Canfield and Dave Berry provide good-natured chat as a backdrop to the music, which Sean currently listens to when revising.

Books

In his spare time, Sean has read Lee Child’s set of crime thrillers. Sean likes the plots, which feature crimes such as murder, terrorism and anarchy. Jack Reacher, the protagonist, is Sean’s favourite character for his maverick style which sees him escape from danger time and time again.

Journalist

Sean has a particular liking for the works of Jeremy Clarkson and would support him if he decided to run for Prime Minister. Sean thinks after recent events, that isn’t beyond the realms of possibility. His damning views of political correctness appeal to straight thinking Sean, who has read the journalist’s chart-topping novel The World According To Clarkson.

Sean thinks the media nowadays has become too trivial, focusing on unnecessary issues such as Katie and Peter’s alleged divorce, or overplaying issues until they become monotonous, such as the MP’s expenses row, which has been front page news for days on end.

Clare Ahern, a seventeen-year-old sixth-form student was born in West London now lives and is schooled in Gunnersbury. The modernisation of her home town means frequant visits to close-to-home Westfields to fufill her fashion needs. She is currently studying English Literature, geography, French and DT; DT being design technology and Clare’s favourite subject as it appeals to her “creative nature”. She grew up with a love for gymnastics and has gained a gymnastic coaching qualification so she enjoys part-time paid work. She aspires to be a fashion journalist for The Mirror and would ideally love to study Journalism at Cardiff University. If this unfortunately fails she would like a career possibly writing articles for websites as she “understands technology” which she can combine with her journalistic skills.

Television

Clare thoroughly enjoys the reality TV side of the widely popular channel 4, as it appeals to people of her age group and and similar interests. She also watches Hollyoaks and religiously and refuses to miss an episode, regardless of the cost to her social life. She feels that BBC2 is aimed too much at older viewers due to its documentarys and does not make any effort to intise a wider audience. She thinks that the “plus 1″ intoduction on certain channels is definately a bonus to her sky digibox as it gives her more flexibility with her television time management.

Newspapers

Clare does not regularly purchase newspapers for her own enjoyment but will read those bought by her family; which usually include The Sun and The Daily Mail. She prefers The Sun as it is an “easy read” and being only 20p it is loose change material. The TV section towards the middle of the paper is her favourite of the tabloid because it is relatable to her interests. When asked about her opinions on newspapers in general, Clare stated that tabloid newspapers cover the major news storys well and with an element of fun and the ablility to gain the readers attention, whereas Broadsheets write for their own agenda and for a smaller audience.

Magazines

Although she was once addicted to gossip magazines, Clare will only make an effort to buy magazines to tackle boredom on long journeys, magazines such as Heat and Closer. The reason behind this is that she can obtain entertainment news from the internet, which is a more modren accessible resource for people of her age group.

Social Networking Sites

Like millions of teenagers across the globe, Facebook is the major social networking site used frequently, almost “too frequently” by Clare. Almost all of her friends use Facebook, enabling communication at any time between them. She feels that the applications are quirky, interesting and simple to use however she has a dislike towards the tendancy of the Facebook creators to alter the layout of the site, which causes outrage from her and her fellow Facebookers. In the past, Clare was a user but over time it became monotonous and “too young” for her, due to its “chav appeal”, so she deleted her profile.

Websites

Clare prodimently uses social networking sites when visiting the internet but does visit fashion sites, such as Topshop and ASOS to cature to her fashion interests. She can use these webstes to browse clothes which she will later buy or simply purchase them online instead, saving time. She only uses a few fashion websites as she feels ones such as H&M do not give a good representation of the items avaliable in the store. She also regularly uses Channel 4 OD and BBC I-player in case the unthinkable happens and she misses her favourite programmes. She is satisfied with how accessible BBC Iplayer is for its users yet feels that Channel 4OD creates uneccassary hassle by having to sign up to its service.

Radio

Because of its upbeat, light-hearted nature, Clare is drawn to Capital FM, more specifically its Breakfast Show as she likes the presenting style of Johnny Vaughn and Lisa Snowdon and it “helps the process of getting out of bed for school in the morning”. It also offers modern music and additional offers such as the Sumemrtime Ball which would make her more inclined to listen. She does not enjoy stations such as Heart as they are repetative and claim that songs who have remained in the charts for what feels like ages as “new music”.

Newspapers
James’ family paper and newspaper of choice is the Daily Mail, which he reads for the main headlines and the sports section, but he also reads The Times once a week to keep up to date with the country’s economic and political affairs. Of the two papers, James says he prefers the The Daily Mail on the basis of it’s ‘easy-on-the-eye’ layout.

Magazines
Unlike newspapers, magazines are not a form of print which James reads often, but, being an avid Chelsea fan, he does admit to buying the football team’s fanzine to keep up to date on the team and learn more about his favourite players, who include Frank Lampard, Michael Essier and the team captain, John Terry.

Websites
James’ main interests are reflected in the websites he most regularly visits – which include the BBC’s website, Sky Sports, Reuters (which covers business, politics, entertainment and sports news), and, if he requires any more information, Google and other similar search engines.

Television
The most watched channel in James’ household is, unsuprisingly, Sky Sports News, but, when he’s not keeping up to date with his favourite sports, he likes to watch Soap Operas because of ‘the range of social issues that they cover’, Top Gear, and also (when he has time) The Apprentice.

Social Networking
The only social networking website James currently uses is Facebook, but, like most users, it is something he goes on ‘very regularly’.

Audio
To accomodate his broad taste in music (the genres he enjoys listening to ranging from Pop, Rock, Indie and Jazz) James often listens to Capital radio, but, with his favourite genre being R’n'B (his favourite artists in particular being Beyonce, Ne-Yo and Kanye West), he also enjoys listening to Kiss FM, it’s most commonly played genre of music being R’n'B. However, James doesn’t just listen to the radio for music – with his other lifelong interest being sport, he also regularly tunes in to Radio 5 Live and TalkSport. Another station he perhaps regrettably ends up listening to is LBC, which he is ‘forced’ to listen to when he is in the car with his Dad. Lastly, a more low-key radio station which he listens to is his school’s political and economic ‘iFisher’ broadcast.

General Information

Rosslyn Wilks, a seventeen-year-old Sixth Form student of Strode’s College in Sussex, was born in Hampton, Middlesex. After spending around eight years in South Wales without acquiring the regional accent (it may be said that she fought it off!), she has recently moved to Surrey, to live with her father and to attend Sixth Form college. Currently, she studies English Language and Literature, French, Geography, and Art, and she would say that her favourite of the four is English, as it enables her to be expressive and creative in a way that she likes. Hobbies include reading, creative writing (short stories, poetry) and on the weekend, she has a job in her father’s carpet shop. In the future, Rosslyn hopes to study English at university, and follow that with a career in journalism, where she would be able to travel and discover the cultures and habits of people in different countries. Next month, after exam season is over, Rosslyn is going to take part in setting up a newspaper for her school, displaying her enthusiasm for journalism.

The Internet

In general, Rosslyn sees the Internet as a great resource, as it is accessible for everyone to use. Usually, she uses the Internet to access Facebook, Hotmail, and carry out research for the purposes of school work, but there are no other particular sites that she visits on a regular basis. Facebook recommended to Rosslyn by relatives, and since setting up her account (she has no other social networking accounts), she enjoys keeping in contact with friends from all over the place. It “makes life easier” as she says, as it is possible to simply write on someone’s wall the keep in contact with them, saving her much effort.

Television

Similar to her Internet habits, Rosslyn does not religiously follow any television programmes due to a lack of time, and her college commitments. In the past, she used to watch more television, including British and American series’ such as Desperate Housewives and Mad Men, however, these days, she enjoys watching shows like The Apprentice, Ashes to Ashes, and comedies when she can.

Newspapers

Whilst she enjoys reading newspapers, including The Independent and The Guardian, Rosslyn realises that inevitably, there is nothing that exists, which represents “the perfect newspaper” for her. According to Rosslyn, an ideal newspaper would be accessible to the majority of people, without being childish, patronising, or sensationalised. From time to time, she sees the broadsheets as being a little snobbish and pompous, and on the other end of the spectrum, the tabloids can be “too in your face” including stories that are almost unbelievable. In addition, when asked about the political side of papers, Rosslyn pointed out The Daily Mailas being slightly too ‘left wing and pessimistic’ for her liking, as she views herself as being more left winged, as supposed to right. When Rosslyn does pick up the newspapers, world news, entertainment and culture seem to take her interest more than of news of the financial variety.

Audio

Rosslyn mainly listens to older music from before her time (1960′s, 1970′s, 1980′s), like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Absolute Radio is the station that she listens to most frequently, as it is easy going, and good listening.

Magazines

Women’s magazines are generally not read by Rosslyn, because she finds them to be demeaning to women. In her opinion, there is too much focus on diets and the perfect physique, and they sometimes influence people too much, in an unhealthy way. Also, many magazines can be seen on the Internet, and there isn’t much need to buy magazines.

Age:

Currently a 6th form student at Strodes’ College, Egham. Bethany’s creativity and buzzing personality is epitomised through her passion for music and culture: since the age of 7 she has been developing her notable skills in singing, keyboard and guitar. In her free time, she is a member of a 5-piece band, in which she sings and plays the keyboard, as well as attending the “Groove Academy” every Saturday- an academy of musical excellence, specialising in Rhythm and Blues. Inspirations in Indie-Pop include Mew, Delays and Swade. Eventually, Bethany would like to pursue a career in Music Journalism- next year she will be looking to secure a place at Sussex University or Southampton University to read English and Media.

Media Interests

As a musician, Bethany likes to broaden her knowledge of the music industry, and amuses herself with the writings of Elisa Bray, who is recognised for her appreciative reviews which regularly feature in The Independent. Knowledgeable, easy-to-read and engaging, Bethany is in admiration of Bray’s reviews, and as a result holds her in the highest stead as her favourite journalistic writer. Bethany’s reserved nature is barely discernible should you choose to engage in a discussion on last week’s TV episode of Merlin, while other hobbies include chilling out in front of the TV- Mock the Week, The Culture Show and Never Mind the Buzzcocks to name a few favourites. When she gets a chance, she likes to keep herself in touch with Absolute Radio, XFM, and also tunes into BBC Radio 2 and Last Fm on occasions to check out the latest unsigned talents in ‘Indie-Pop’ and ‘Shoegaze’.

Networking

An eager ‘celebrity-watcher’, Bethany enjoys catching up on the glamorous lives of today’s rich and royalty with the help of Digital Spy. A keen social-networker, Bethany interacts with friends and family on Facebook, Mypspace and Twitter, as well as sharing ideas and appreciations of her favourite idols via her online blog, which is a must-read. Her mature attitude is effectively transmitted to the reader in her love for music, and judging by some of the articles, Bethany is set to enjoy a successful career in music journalism.

Inspirations

As well as following Elisa Bray, Bethany has a high regard for individuals such as Johny Depp (Actor) and Liz Fraser (Bat for Lashes). Liz’s ability to compose such moving and influential music have been an inspiration for many, and Bethany is no different. Her “shoegaze” aura- a name branded to this particular genre of music by NME journalists- has capitivated Bethany, who thinks that without individuals such as Fraser, the indie industry wouldn’t have flourished as well it has, particularly for all-female groups. Meanwhile, Depp’s reserved yet gracious personality are aspects which Bethany admires and looks to learn from herself.

The Background

16 year old Frances known to her friends as ‘Jenny’, lives in Durham and is currently studying A levels at sixth form. With an impressive knowledge of up and coming designers and chic trends, most of her media choices revolve around style and art. Jenny future ambitions are to study in a London university to be close to the fashion central of the country, whilst studying fashion history or french! Jenny also has participates in dance and water polo at a high level, even being on the GB squad for water polo.
Jenny explains her media loves and hates below;

Newspapers

Jenny enjoys The Guardian although admits its not due to its ‘fashion’ section which is difficult to read at first as Saturday columnist Hadley Freeman takes an ironic approach, which may seem very offensive at times as she sneers at fashion questions posed. However the Guardian has published a range of impressive editorials of late, which Jenny often comments on her own blog about.

As most teenagers Jenny prefers reading just the larger news stories, which are covered in a broad range of media, so shes easily informed of the daily ongoings in the life of politicians and murderers. Stories of a light-hearted tone are a firm favourite, as they are easy reading.

Magazine

Jenny is an avid magazine reader, with multiple subscriptions to the households names such as Vogue and Elle , to less mainstream publications such as dazed and confused and ID. She jokes that shes been known to have a backlog of magazines which takes her days to read. Not content with the subscriptions, Jenny purchases numerous other magazines to get her weekly fix, such as Nylon, Wallpaper and Wonderland .

The fashion and arts based magazines provide a base for new designers and the usual mainstream labels such as Gucci and Matthew Williamson. Jenny isn’t interested in the gossip/fashion weeklys such as Look and Glamour as they focus too much on the celebrity culture and trend reports from the highstreet.

Jenny expressed her admiration for the French Vogue editor, who reached the heights of fashion from work her way up as a position as a stylist.

Websites

Remaining with the theme of style Jenny is a regular visitor to style.com, which is a huge influence in the fashion world, reporting on new lines and shows the moment they are released. A bad review on style.com could be the end of a successful career.

Personal style blogs are a favourite of Jenny’s as they allow people to express themselves and are an area for new designers to work from. Blogs such as facehunter, are visual based and people allow their clothing choices to be rated, something Jenny achieves on her own blog.

With over 450 people looking in on Jenny’s blog, shes able to tell the world about her favourite editorials and photography projects, whilst gaining the ‘perks’ of the blogging, £50 voucher for Asos after she recommended them!

Television

With a lack of free time for TV, Jenny prefers to catch up with the new ‘on demand service’ used by many channels, such as ITV and 4OD. They allow her to watch programmes such as ‘Gossip Girl’ and ’90210′ when she wants at her leisure. Music channels are playing in the background whilst shes working, with new 4 music providing her favourite mainstream artists, both RnB and indie bands with a mixture of live concerts and interviews.

Jenny emphasised her dislike for the new age of reality TV and it’s stars, but admits she will watch shows such as Britains got talent and Xfactor if their on due to the lively characters and public interest caused by these shows.

Social Networking

A former ‘Myspacer’ Jenny has converted to the ever growing ‘Facebook’ where most of her friends have profiles. Not an addict like many teenagers, Jenny uploads pictures from days out to share with her friends, and checks wall posts to stay in contact.

As Facebook has expanded so has the applications, its newly installed facebook chat, has made her Msn messenger account redundant, so all of her social networking is done through one site, Facebook.

Audio

Jenny hides her upset over the Russell Brand row on radio 2, by spending her mornings with Chris Moyles now on Radio 1 , which is currently the most popular radio show in the country. However Jenny insists her listening to the show isn’t due to the ‘great banter’ of Chris Moyles, but the current chart music played and the added bonus of no ad breaks.

With the growing age of downloads, Itunes has many rivals offering more music at cheaper rates, so Jenny opts for the popular Limewire to get her playlists of favourite music.

A sixth form student from Beckton, Alison currently studies English Literature, French, Maths and Economics and hopes in the future to combine her passion for French with law or economics at university before possibly pursuing a career in journalism.

Newspapers

Alison reads a wide range of newspapers – She says that “It all depends where I am: My parents read the Daily Mail where as at school I’ll tend to pick  up the Independent” . Often she feels that certain papers focus too highly on uninteresting subjects particularly with our celebrity culture – her interests tend to lie more towards global issues and she extends her knowledge of the rest of the world by reading French newspapers such as Le Mondethat provides the benefit of improving her language skills. As far as the plitics of the papers go, Alison doesn’t read into them too highly she says that “I don’t take a stance on politcs as I do not know enough information to really view an opinion”.

Magazines

Like with newspapers, Alison sticks to choosing a wide variety of magazines all on different topics. From The Economist to Cosmopolitan. “Often I’ll choose magazines if they are eye-catching: If there is an article inside that attracts me I’ll tend to buy it” – She likes the range of topics that magazines such as the New Scientist cover. However she dislikes magazines certain magazines such as Closer as they put too high an influence on dieting rather than the more important issues in modern culture.

Websites

Alison finds the internet one of her most important resources – She uses Wikipedia constantly as a quick source for information and found sites such as Spark Notes great for revision. Like many others, she finds the Internet a great resource for shopping particularly with sites like Amazon.

Television

BBC Breakfast is a must for Alison in the mornings, providing a quick review of the news and events of the day (although she does admit that she was “disappointed” that a recent article on the show covered the news of Peter Andre and Jordan’s divorce!)

 Her sources for daily news generally comes from television and she generally tries to watch the News at 10 at the end of the day.
Entertainment wise, however, she enjoys reality programmes like The Apprentice and also nature documentaries like Planet Earth as, in her words, “they’re really interesting”.

Social Networking

Alison doesn’t use many sites for social networking aside from the obvious choice of Facebook – however she feels that they are very useful for keeping in contact with friends across the world. She uses Windows Live MSN in order to have video calls with relatives in Malaysia.

Audio

Alison enjoys a wide range of music and, as she plays the flute in an orchestra, it plays a big part in her life. she doesn’t generally use many music websites (although may occasionally go on Youtube) but does listen to Magic Fm. Her music tastes vary from Classical music to Jazz to more modern tunes. Hip hop and rap are a big NO, however!

Newspapers

The Guardian religiously every morning and the Observer on Sundays. I always like Charlie Brooker on Mondays and Peter Wilby’s analysis on the press has become required reading in troubled times. I try to read at least one more paper every day – if there’s time – either the Mirror or the Times and I’ve been taking the new look Evening Standard on my way home, although despite the re-design and the recent apology it seems as obsessed with Chelsea and Kensington as it ever was.

Magazines

I like the new Wired UK, its nice that Europe’s getting the attention it deserves with regard to new technology. I try to read as much of the design press as possible – Icon, Blueprint and the Architects Journal – and New Scientist. Private Eye’s been brilliant lately, although the politicians have been fanning their own flames.

Websites

So many to mention. But I quite like Things Magazine for its short and pithy postings. Arts and Letters Daily keeps me abreast of most contemporary debates and FFFFound, an image sharing site has been, well, a real ffffind.

Television

Nothing major as I am still searching for a replacement to The Wire. My girlfriend and I always watch the Apprentice together and we’ve been quite enjoying the second series of Ashes to Ashes. Not, I know, it’s not the same as Life and Mars, but Gene Hunt is such a brilliant character that you just get over it and enjoy the banter. I watch more and more television online. The iPlayer’s really impressed me, although Channel 4′s 4oD service is a bit clunky. I am also intrigued about the future of sport. I have been watching live premiership games (for journalistic research purposes only) on JustinTV and Iraq Goals.

Social networking

I’m still active on Facebook, although I don’t seem to hang out there like I used to. I have a Twitter account which can be useful for distributing content from my blog. I really like my Flickr for photos and Last FM for discovering new music. All these sites are becoming increasingly integrated so there’s a lot of overlap.

Audio

Spotify is proving to be a real innovation. It’s got so much back catalog on it and a surprising amount of new music. What’s nice is that you can link it in (or scrobble) with your Last FM account, so it helps you find new tunes too. I’ve still got my iPod for the train though, so iTunes is a must.