Task 2

1) Rayner, Philip, Wall, Peter, Kruger, Stepher (2001): AS Media Studies: The Essential Introduction, London; Routledge
Page 68

"Youth has tended over the later half of the twentieth century to suffer from a rather negative representation in the media. Youth has always provided the media with ample opportunities for negative representation of young people."

This quote links to my ciritical investigation as youth are targetted negatively in the media and also ecpecially males in urban dramas.

2) Woodward, K. (1997): Concepts of Identity and difference. London; Sage Books. Page 64

Discourses and systems of representation construct places from which individuals can position themselves and from which they can speak. . . . The media can be seen as providing us with the information which tells us what it feels like to occupy a particular subject - position. The streetwise teenager, the upwardly mobile worker or the caring patient.
This would help me and would also link to my critical investigation as they are both linked as representation is common in them, i could also compare the representation to teenagers from this.

3) Bennett, Peter, Slater, Jerry and Wall Peter. (2006): A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction. Oxon; Routledge. Page 133

Youth - orientated films such as 'Rebel without a cause' (1955) and 'The Wild One' (1953) were accused of encouraging delinquency and driving a wedge between the younger and older generations.

This quote would link to my critical investigation as the two films, Rebel Without a Cause and The Wild One would link to my case study and i would be able to use ideas from these movies and also see the difference between younger and older generations.

4) O' Sullivan, T, Hantley, J, Saunders, D, Montgomery, M and Fiske, J. (1994): Key Concepts in communication and cultural studies. London; Routledge. Page 229

Stereotypes tend to be resistant to change; Second, they generally carry a pejorativve and narrow range of meanings.

I could link this to my critical investigation as this books quote and my investigation has stereotypes in common.

5) Casey, Bernadette, Casey, Neil, Calvery, Ben, French, Liam and Lewis, Justin. (2002): Television Studies - The Key Concepts. London; Routledge. Page 229

Today, it is widely recognised that stereotypes are inaccurate, simplistic generalisations about a group of individuals that may lead to particular perceptions of the group by others.
This quote would link to my investigation task as i would be able to investigate and research about peoples views of teenage male and what they are stereotyped as in the media's view. I could also gain information and views of what different groups think of male teens.

6) Sardar, Ziauddin, Loon, Borin (2000): Introducing Media Studies, UK; Totem Books.
Page 77

"Stan Cohen argued that the media labelled youth culture in a stereotyped and negative way, thus creating "folk devils" and were reported in a way to create a moral panic."

This would definately link to my investigation as Stan Cohen says that the youth are stereotyped negatively. this is true to a certain extent. It is also true that the youth of today create moral panic.

7) Hayward, Susan. (2000): Cinema Studies - The Key Concepts. London; Routledge. Page 358

Stereotypes come and go, they also change in the light of the shifting political cultural context. Take for example the representation of communists and communism in Hollywood Cinema from the 1950's to the 1990's.

This would help me and guide me to look out for how stereotypes have changed throughout the years and what they have come from and become into. i would also have communists views on this. It also links to my investigation as it involves film.

8) Lacey, Nick. (2000): Narative and Genre, Key concepts in Media Studies. London; Palgrave. Page 138

We associate guns and decrepit city streets with the crime genre; iconography in the western is very exact, possibly because of its very focused time period, the ren allon hat, the six-gun, horses, tumbleweed and so on.

This quote would help me as i would be able to link this genre to my investigation in different ways. Such as guns in street crime, many teenage males carry weapons with them now and this would increase the crime rate.

9) Strinati, Dominic. (2000). An Introduction to studying polular culture. London; Routledge. Page 57.

The determining influence exerted by Hollywood cinema and the studio system over the production of gangster films has usefully been highlighted by Ryall. Ryall suggests that the ways in which the studios were organised to produce films can be seen as determining factors of the individual film.

I would be able to link this as it would be referring to male teens by talking about gangster movies.

10) Rayner, Philip, Wall, Peter, Kruger, Stephen. (2001). AS Media Studies. The Essential Introduction. London; Routledge. Page 69

The unfortunate side effect to stereotypes is to dehumanise people by denying them the complex psychological make up that individual possesses by reducing them to a few generalised personality traits. As Tessa Perkins has pointed out, some stereotypes are based on truth that can be observed.

This quote would refer to peoples stereotypes to be genuine and unreal. It would link to my investigation as many stereotypes of male teens may be true but some stereotypes may only be assumptions for some male teenagers.

Task 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2lY7fvYbbU

In this task i will be writing about the clip above which is a part of the movie Adulthood (2008). I will be analysing and writing about the representations of male teens and how they are represented throughout this clip of urban drama.

At the beginning of the scene called 'Sam teaches Dabs a lesson', Dabs and his friends are riding around on bicycles in search for Sam. Whilst looking for him there is background music playing and also a suspense non diagetic sound which is added into the clip to make the audience think about what is going to happen next. When they see him they recognise him and give him a serious dirty look. Sam looks back possibly wondering why they are staring at him. By the eye contact shown in the clip it shows that teenagers are very serious and look at each other in a way which could cause conflict between individuals. This would represent them and stereotype them negatively as trouble makers.

Throughout the clip, All four teenage characters shown in the clip are wearing hoodies, this would give a typical representation to teenagers as teenagers are mainly wearing hoodies, by them wearing hoodies it would make people think they are trouble makers or from some part of gang. This has resulted teenagers to be represented as aggressive, criminals and a threat to the society in the media's view. This would also link to the audience theory and hypodermic needle, by the teenagers acting and being this way, it would inject ideas into the audiences mind and make them think that all teenagers wearing clothing like this are rpresented in this way.

When they find Sam they start beating him up right away, this would show and explain why teenagers could be represented as immature as no discussion is made before violence is used as a solution. When Sam drops to the ground, a close up shot is shown of his face, this would make the viewer feel like they are there and they will also get a detailed view of what is going on. Whilst this part of the clip is playing, we can hear diagetic and non diagetic sounds, we can hear Sam coughing while getting beaten up which is diagetic and we can hear an added sound which is non diagetic. Dabs and his two friends get to beating him up right away which is shown through a close up shot and a shot which is a birds eyes view, it makes the viewer feel that they are at the place of the scene. At this moment there is also conflict created between two of the friends as one wants to see his face before stabbing him.

This causes him to push the other friend away. By a knife used as a Prop in this clip it shows that teenagers nowadays could be dangerous and violent and the type to walk around with dangerous weapons.

After Sam's face if shown, his brother, which is one of the three friends, recognises him in shock and points the knife to his friend and they start talking aggressively to each other as Dabs did not tell Sam's brother that it was him they were looking for, whilst talking to each other they are using foul language and showing each other attitude and aggression. Throughout this particular part, close up shots are used to show what exactly is going on.

Whilst Dabs and Sam's brother are talking to each other, Sam gets up from the floor and stands beside his brother and asks Dabs about who send him, when Dabs tells him how much money he got for the job, Sam's brother puts the knife very close to dabs neck, this is shown through a close up shot. This particular part is a interesting moment as it makes the viewer want to know whats going to happen next. It also shows teenagers to have a lack of patience and represents them negatively.

Sam tells his brother not to stab Dabs as he says there is no point going into prison for a such thing, instead of this Sam punches Dab. This shows that he is aggressive and it shows and backs up the original negative representation of teenagers. The way Sam and Dabs were talking to one another it also involved a lot of attitude and conflict. It would also make the viewer think they would start fighting instantly, predicted from their tone of voice.

After Dabs is on the floor, Sam's brother and his friend check his pockets for any money and also take away his Oyster travel card, this would show teenagers as having less money and also represent them as lower class for taking away someone else's Oyster card. After Sam's brother and his friend and Sam walk away, they are seen through a long shot walking away with their hoods up.

Overall, this clip shows male teenagers to be represented negatively in the media's view, they are represented negatively throughout many points in this clip such as wearing hoodies, use of language, props such as knifes used and aggressive style of talking used. The public and audience viewing this scene would see male teenagers as a threat and as dangerous individuals who people should stay away from in order to avoid trouble. Due to the representations of teenagers in urban dramas it has resulted to a moral panic which is lead to teenagers represented negatively in all aspects of the media.

Task 4

1. http://www.allmovie.com/explore/type/urban-drama-979

"A type of drama that focuses on issues and problems caused by modern and contemporary urban life. Often in these films, the city itself becomes a character, something that affects, changes, or hinders a protagonist as much, or more so, than any other element of the film."

This website is related to my critical investigation as it has a basic background on urban drama and gives me some examples of films that I can look at for my critical investigation. This would help me because I could use this websites examples and talk about them in my critical investigation.

2. http://www.movierevie.ws/genres/146/1/Urban-Drama.html

Looks at different film reviews.

The website would be useful for my critical investigation as it mentions a number of films that are urban dramas that I could look at. This would help me because I could look at these films and it has reviews as well. This would mean that I could look at a few of these films and look at patterns of the representation of teenagers in urban dramas.

3. http://www.coursework.info/University/Mass_Communications_and_Documentation/Media_Studies/Film_Studies/kidadulthood_review___How_are_teenagers_L137186.html
"The film "Kidulthood" deals with a number of teenage issues and the traditional adult/teenage conflict. It looks at stereotypical teenagers, who are often described as moody, argumentative, violent, causing trouble (getting an 'ASBO', 'Hoodies with lots of attitude, all in an urban back round."

This website would help me for my critical investigation because it is a essay on how teenagers are represented in Kidulthood. This would help me for my critical investigation because I could look at this essay and get ideas on how teenagers have been represented. This would mean that I could get a lot of different ideas and explore Kidulthood at a wider depth.

4. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3852792

This website is a book that is on the Internet and has some information on urban dramas. This could help me because it has some information on urban dramas. This means that I could get more background information on urban dramas and find quotes in the book that could help me in my essay.

5. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/mar/20/features.review

"Bullet Boy is a valid story. It will resonate and reverberate with different communities throughout the UK,' says Boothe. 'In terms of what it deals with, this story could have been set in Oldham or Toxteth; the characters could have been any colour."

The website would help me in my critical investigation because it is a review of Bullet boy from the guardian and it looks at the film from a media view because of it being a controversial film. This would help me because I could mention the film Bullet Boy in my essay and could look at the way that it is has been put across in the media.

6. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/apr/20/hayfilmfestival2005.guardianhayfestival

"The film was sold to its backers at BBC Films as "Kes with guns", says its director and co-writer, 36-year-old documentary maker Saul Dibb. "I wanted to get across to them it's a film about a 12-year-old and innocence and it's a film with guns, but not a City of God-type film."

This article is another one from the Guardian and is about the film Bullet Boy and this would be good to use for my critical investigation because I could look at how the film is shown in the media and what issues have arised based on the film. I could then use this to assist me in my essay.

7. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/education/id/1292217/index.html

"Representations of adolescence on screen vary greatly - from nostalgic portraits of childhood innocence and comic depictions of teenage angst through to unsettling, sometimes violent visions of the young teen rebel and delinquent."

This article looks at the different films that are based on youths and looks at the different representations that are being created in films. By this we can tell that this would help me in my critical investigation because I could look at the different films and mention the different representations that are being shown.

8. www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/repsyouth.html

"The fact is that the media have the power through selection and reinforcement to give us very influential portrayals of a whole range of groups, situations and ideas. We make sense of these representations in different ways according to the values and assumptions we carry around in our own heads. So representation is not just about the way the world is presented to us but also about how we engage with media texts in order to interpret and assimilate such portrayals."

This quote links to my critical investigation as it looks at the way in which representations are created and on what basis they are created, this would be useful to me because when looking at my investigation, i could understand more about how these representations have been created of teenagers.

9. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=M-cbJXZpvJEC&pg=PT152&lpg=PT152&dq=representation+of+teenagers+in+urban+drama&source=bl&ots=NJtenzeE8q&sig=jAGqw8RUjEKpq1p7pT93yMS7xEQ&hl=en&ei=KMxDS-6XBcSr4Qb1gqWqCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=&f=false

This is a book online that would help me for my critical investigation because it looks at urban drama. This would mean that I could look at this book and get some ideas and quotes that I could talk about in my essay. By this we can tell that by this book I could gain more knowledge on urban dramas.

10. http://www.ericdsnider.com/movies/alpha-dog

"His depiction of all this squalor and depravity is vivid, but it doesn't offer much insight into WHY the kids do what they do, and he drags the resolution out way too long."

This website would be useful for me for my critical investigation because it looks at the film Alpha Dog. By this we can tell that I could look at this film and look at what has been said about it. This would mean that I could talk about this film and compare the representation of teenagers to other urban drama films.

Bibliography - Websites

1. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3661094

This shows the different urban dramas that have been produced. This website shows that urban drama is a common genre now in movies and this would be relevant to my critical investigation because it mentions different media texts that I could look in to so that I could find out more about the representations of teenagers in urban dramas.

2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A9795478

This article looks specifically at the film Kidulthood and shows how teenagers have been represented in that film which is a contemporary urban drama. The website shows that teenagers have been represented as getting involved in to drugs and teenage pregnancies and the article is saying that this representation of teenagers is true to some extent. This would be interesting for me to look at for my critical investigation as I would be able to investigate the different representations created of teenagers.

3. http://www.moviecitynews.com/columnists/dretzka/2006/060228.html

This shows again the different examples of urban drama movies that teeagers are in. This shows that teenagers are being represented in urban dramas in different ways because teenagers mostly are being stereotyped as always getting in to crime and being violent. This would be useful to me for my critical investigation because I would lookg at the different representations of teenagers.

4. http://panachereport.com/channels/hip%20hop%20gallery/UrbanDramas.htm

This website shows the way that the teenagers are being represented. "From a herp to criminal". This shows that teenagers that are being represented negatively either way even if they are being shown as the hero . This would link to my critical investigation because it is looking at teenagers and I could use this to investigate teenagers in more depth.

5. http://www.allmovie.com/explore/type/urban-drama-979

This shows the basics of urban drama and mentions the characteristics of urban dramas for example, chaos and corruption. This would relate to my critical investigation because it is also giving examples of films that shown these characteristics. This would mean that I could look at these films and analyse the stereotypes of teenagers and how they are similar.

6. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/17/television.tvandradioarts1

This article looks at if the stereotype of teenagers is true that is shown in media texts. This would be useful for my critical investigation beause I could look at this article and compare it to other institutions view of teenagers stereotypes in the media. This would help me to understand more how teenagers are being represented in media texts.

7. http://www.culturevulture.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=133:precious&catid=2:film&Itemid=7

This is a article that looks at how teenagers are being represented in the film Precious and it shows the different stereotypes of teenagers. This would be something that I could look at for my critical investigation because I could look at this film and see how the representations of teenagers are being consturcted in various media texts.

8. http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=158774&section=review&page=all

This is a media text that I could also look at becuase it is a text that involves teenagers in a negative prospect because it includes the "urban ghetto". This shows that I could use this website to look at this more closely to see what connotations are being created and what imapct this stereotype of teenagers which is why it would link to my critical investigation.

9. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xIBkX8edoewC&pg=PT155&lpg=PT155&dq=teenagers+representation+in+urban+drama&source=bl&ots=jYcNbbcBnw&sig=xdrOdkWIhHCZNUpFjx8tkFIZgg0&hl=en&ei=mWIpS-fyJo_S4QbCopGfDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=&f=false

This website looks at the representations of different groups and it includes teenagers. I could use this google book to look at how teenagers are being represented in media in urban dramas and how this would create a effect on the audience. This would be useful to me for my critical investigation because it could mean that I could understand more about the different representations of teenagers in urban dramas.

10. http://www.blackflix.com/scriptwriters/drama.html

This is based on a film and this would be something that I could look at for my critical investigation because I would need to look at the representations of teenagers in specific urban dramas and I could look at this and see how teenagers are being represented and if it is a typical representation or if its different.

Bibliography: Books

Critical investigation: An investigation into the representation of teenagers in contemporary urban drama.

1. Nicholos, Joe (1998): Advanced Studies Media, United Kingdom; Nelson. Page 45
"David Buckingham studied how young boys made sense of what it means to be male or masculine partly from the ways they talked about television programmes and videos. He analyses the way a group of 7-8 year old boys reacted to watching Thundercats and argued that ideas of masculinity are not fixed but are constantly being negotiated and re-defined."

This shows that David Buckingham studied that young boys start to become masculine mainly from what they see on television programmes and videos. This would mean that young males are being influenced by watching what they are being shown on television and videos. This would also mean that the media is responsible for the representation of teenage males in the media as by watching these kind of genres, they would be influenced to behave like this too.

2. Casey, Bernaette, Casey, Neil, Calvert, Ben, French, Liam, Lewis, Justin: Television Studies - The Key Concepts; Routledge.

"Nelson acknowledges the importance of a move away from familiar realist drama with its roots in naturalist theatre."

This shows that Nelson assumes that there should be a move away from familiar realist drama. This could mean that Nelson wants the familiar drama to be moved away from the public so that the audience does not begin to get to "familiar" with the drama and would make the audience believe what is shown in the drama.

3. Hayward, Susan: Cinema Studies - The key concepts, London; Routledge.
"Third cinema had been useful to help place British Black cinema, what was currently needed was a re-examination of location and subjectivity." (A.Komfrah 1989)

This shows that the different locations also impact the representations because if a group of people are being shown in a negative location, it would mean that the group would be represented negatively. This would mean that location would affect the representation a lot and would relate to my critical investigation because I would be looking at representation.

4. Lacey, Nick (1998): Image and representation - key concepts in media studies, New York; Macmillan Press Ltd. Page 131.
"Richard Dyer's typography of representation:
- Re-representation - this consists essentially of media language, the conventions which are used to represent the world to the audience.
- The extent to which types are used to represent social groups, this is dealt with here in a consideration of stereotypes."

This shows that this would be to do with my critical investigation because it explains Dyer's view of representation. This would help me when looking at the representation of teenagers because I could see if this view of representation fits in with the representation of teenagers. If this would be the case then I could see why this representation has been created and how it has impacted the audience and teenagers in specific.

5. Sardar, Ziauddin, Vanloon, Barin (2000): Introducing Media Studies, Australia; Totem Books. Page 77
"Stan Cohen argued that the media labelled youth culture in a stereotypical way, thus creating 'folk devils'. These activities were reported in a way to create moral panic."

This quote shows that Cohen says that the media is responsible for the way that teenagers are being represented because of the media labelling them so negatively. This would relate to my investigation because it means that I would need to see if this quote is true and if this representation has been created because of the media being so negatively towards teenagers. This would help me to understand more about the investigation of teenagers and to see if the representation of teenagers in urban drama is because of this too.

6. O'Sullivian, Tim, Putton, Brian, Rayner, Phillip (1994): Studying the media: 2nd edition, London; Arnold. Page 81
"For television, news is a cultural artifact, it is a sequence of socially manufactured messages which carry many of the culturally dominant assumptions of our society."

This shows that television is a dominant method as it creates assumptions of our society. This would relate to movies because movies would be shown on television and by that the audience would create assumptions of our society. This would be because what they see on television, the audience would start to think that and think society is like that really for example, if teenagers are represented as violent, the audience would think tat this reality is true.

7. Carter, Cynthia, Weaver, Kay (2003): Violence and the media, USA; Open university press. Page 52.
"The lack of public concern about monster movies with the fears that circulated around 1930's gangster films which many respectable citizens believed led to increase in juvenile delinquency.

This quote shows that there was not a large concern about monster movies but when gangster movies begun in the 1930s, citizens started to believe that it led to an increase of delinquency. By this we can tell that this quote shows that people believed that because of gangster films being introduced, more teenagers started to become delinquent. This would mean that I would need to look at if because of these gangster films, teenagers have become more delinquent and fulfilling the stereotype of them in the media.

8. Mackinnon, Kenneth (2003): Representation of Men, New York; Arnold. Page 11.
"A persistent cultural belief is that there is an almost unbreakable relationship between men and violence. As Glen Lewis says 'within certain limits, aggressive male behaviour is accepted as a normal part of everyday life'".

This shows that men are being represented completely different because they can get away with violence and that should not be expected in reality or in films.This shows that I would need to look at if this is happening in urban dramas and if teenage males are really getting away with the crime that they commit. This would mean that I could understand representation and see why this behaviour of males would be seen acceptable and that they could get away with it.

9. Gifford, Clive (2006): Gangs, London; Evans. Page 9
"Gangs have existed for many centuries. The word "thug" for example comes from India around 800 years ago "thugs" meant a gang of criminals. About 400 years ago, London was terrorised by gangs such as the thectors, the dend boys and the bugles, then later the mohawks."

This shows that gangs have been always shown as a group of criminals. This would mean that when I look at my critical investigation, I would need to see if in urban dramas if males are being represented as gangs, thugs and criminals. This would show how the media are representing the teenage males and if if is as negative as it used to be.

10. Phillip, Rayner, Wall Peter, Kruger Stephen. (2002): AS Media Studies - The Essential Introduction, London, Routledge. Page 68

"The representation of groups however is not fixed for ever and it is possible to observe changes over period of time. The emergence of specific groups and subcultures is often accompanied by a challenge to existing stereotypes and a challenge to the media to produce more positive representations".

This shows the representations of different groups of people and how they are stereotyped in the media. this could also link to the representations of males as a group and how they are stereotyped.

Article showing representation of teenagers.

Three teenagers arrested for firework death

Three teenagers have been arrested in connection with the death of a mother who died after a firework was pushed through her letterbox, setting her house ablaze.

Mary Fox, 59, who had nine children, was trapped in her bedroom after reportedly pushing her son Raum, 17, to safety through an upstairs window as flames engulfed the house.

The youths, two aged 17 and one of 18, are all from Bodmin in Cornwall.

The remnants of a firework were found behind the front door of Mrs Fox's house in Carpenter Court, Wallace Road, Bodmin.

The three were arrested on suspicion of murder and are in custody at Launceston police station.

After leaping from the three-storey house, Raum ran to alert neighbours that his mother was still trapped inside. Firefighters found Mrs Fox dead in the same room from which her son escaped.

Officers have investigated claims that Raum, who has learning difficulties, was being bullied at school and that the family was targeted by youths who had been throwing fireworks in the street.

It is thought Raum moved from Bodmin College to St Austell College because of bullying.

But Devon and Cornwall police said there is no obvious evidence that Mrs Fox or Raum had been victims of bullying after speaking to schools and social services.

They were held in custody after detectives said they found clues on Facebook to what is being treated as murder. Officers acted on reports suggesting people had posted the suspects' names on the internet.

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Teenagers could appeal against school exclusions

Teenagers could soon get the right to launch their own appeals against being excluded from school.

The proposed change to the rules worries teachers’ leaders, who believe that it could further undermine their authority when tackling indiscipline in the classroom.

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Cannabis risk message reaching teenagers

More than two-fifths of teenagers (42 per cent) know someone who has suffered mental health harm from using cannabis, according to a survey published today.

The study by drug information service FRANK found that 74 per cent of young people are aware that cannabis can harm mental health, while 56 per cent associate cannabis use with losing motivation and doing badly at school or college.

A spokesman for the service said that mental health harm refers to paranoia, panic attacks and memory loss.

The study found that despite being aware of the risks, some teenagers still admit to feeling under pressure to try cannabis (18 per cent), with 11 per cent saying it makes them look cool.

Others said they use it to help them to cope with life (14 per cent), while a quarter (26 per cent) see it as a "natural" drug, despite the risks.

Chris Hudson from FRANK said: "The majority of teenagers (55 per cent) don't want to risk their health by using cannabis. However, some people choose to take the risk, while others wrongly believe cannabis is harmless because it is a plant.

"Cannabis messes with your mind - and reactions can be more powerful with stronger strains such as skunk, which is around twice as potent.

Article on Ageism from The Guardian

Selina stokes a diversity debate that needs addressing

It will come as a surprise to few but a delight to many that Selina Scott is suing Five over ageism in its refusal to hire her for a maternity cover role and choice of younger presenters instead. It is a delight not because Five is worse than anyone else in this respect, but because it stokes a debate which urgently needs to be taken more seriously. Casual sexism, ageism and racism are the collective dirty secret of the vast majority of media institutions, and they represent as much of an industrial challenge as they do a moral one.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission's Report on Sex and Power, published last week, drew a depressing picture for women in the workplace. In general the progression of women at the highest level in the workplace is pitiful and the media are no exception: only 13.6% of national newspaper editors (including the Herald and Western Mail) are women; only 10% of media FTSE's 350 companies have women at the helm; and at the BBC, which has often been held as an exemplar of diversity, women make up less than 30% of most senior management positions. It puts into context Jeremy Paxman's deranged rant about the white male in television. Ethnic minority representation is even worse.

A couple of weeks ago Pat Younge, former BBC head of sports programmes and planning who left to work for Discovery in the US, caused a stir at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival by saying that diversity targets should be like financial targets - you don't hit them, you get fired. I have to say that as board champion for diversity at Guardian News and Media I would currently be firing myself and most of the board for some missed targets. But Younge is right - because diversity targets are not just a feelgood add-on, they are vital to the health of any media business. The temptation to hire in one's own image for most managers is as irresistible as it is subliminal - which is why there are a lot of opinionated women working in digital management at the Guardian, and why we all need targets to remind us to look beyond the mirror.

On screen, any number of unconventional-looking ageing blokes (Jeremy Clarkson, Jonathan Ross, Chris Moyles, Alan Sugar, Adrian Chiles, Jeremy Paxman, Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan) are paid at a top rate for the talent they possess beyond their appearance. For women it is an altogether different story - appearance and age are clearly factors in choosing female presenters in a way that they aren't for men.

The media should be deeply concerned about this un-diversity - not because it represents moral turpitude on our part, but because it represents bloody awful business sense. What is happening to the UK population at the moment? It is ethnically diversifying, and it is ageing. It is also the case that it is, as of the 2001 Census, marginally more female than it is male. And we live longer - so older women, and non-white potential audiences are on the rise. In London, the major urban conurbation and key market for so many media brands, the population is around 37% ethnically diverse, yet this is nowhere near reflected in the management structures of media companies. Or indeed in their on-screen or in-paper representation.

How though, can you hope to address audiences for which you have no instinctive feel, and towards which you show casual discrimination? We are all in danger of becoming irrelevant to the changing demographics of our target audience at a time when holding any kind of audience is key to survival. If white men are so good at solving business problems - and given that they represent well over 80% of FTSE 100 directors we can speculate that this is a skill they must possess in measure - then I'm surprised they haven't grasped this one already.