Kabataan News Network: Using broadcast television in the Philippines

1. Kabataan News Network: Using broadcast television in the Philippines To change the way young people are seen, And the way young people see themselves

2. Situation of Young People in the Philippines • Philippines total population 85 million • 30% of households below poverty line • About 50% under 24 years old • Age of sexual debut, use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs falling • 4 million+ working children; hundreds of thousands (est.) in trafficking/prostitution

3. Situation of Young People in the Philippines • 25% of the population aims for immigration • Adolescent depression, alienation increasing • Islamist and Communist armed insurgencies unabated; attracting youth • HIV/AIDS epidemic “only a matter of time”

4. UNICEF Adolescent Development and Participation Approach • Adolescence a prime opportunity in the human life span to break cycle of poverty • Young people are assets, not liabilities • Young people have unique and pressing needs that must be met urgently • Providing a voice for youth in decision making is a fundamental human right

5. Adolescent Participation • CRC: “children have right to express their opinions on issues that affect them” • “Connectedness” to family, institutions, schools a critical component of emotional/social development • Youth participation increasingly seen as essential safeguard for youth development • Narratives of young people emphasize importance of “being heard”

6. KNN Goals • Harness the power of broadcast television for social change • Change the way youth are seen and valued in society • Create powerful national platform for youth participation • Empower youth to speak out, ask questions, investigate • Create youth to youth forum for communication (to address HIV etc) • Connect generation of youth with process of national development through journalism

7. DV technology revolution Time to learn pro video camera 1-2 years US $20,000 Cost of broadcast quality camera US $700 1-2 weeks 1990 2005

8. The Show • 12 KNN bureaus covering all regions, main ethnic groups, minorities, income levels • Over 100 13-20 year old youth plan, film, interview, script, report and narrate TV news segments • Adults edit and package the programme • KNN half hour show on third major network 52 weeks of the year • Extensive training regimen with professional producers

9. The Show • TV news magazine format • Bureaus shoot, report and “file” stories from all regions • Adult facilitators guide and help but do not dictate content! • KNN comes across as entertaining and informative, NOT EDUCATIONAL! • Awareness and learning is embedded • Result is fresh, unpredictable and alternative

10. KNN Bureau Locations • Bureaus formed in 6-2003: • Mountain Province • Quezon City (NCR) • Capiz province • Cebu City • Davao City • Zamboanga del Sur Province • Bureaus formed in 12-2003 • Manila City • Camarines Norte Province • North Cotabato Province • Bureaus formed in 4-2004 • Baguio City • Negros Oriental Province • Sarangani Province

11. Hart’s Ladder Youth Participation

12. KNN Results • Kids have proved they can handle nationally broadcast TV production • Weekly metro Manila audience ranges from 40,000 to 150,000 • Lively internet correspondence between reporters and audience is growing • 40 half hour episodes; over 200 video news stories • Selected stories on Nickelodeon 2003-2005 • Segments now air on prime time news

13. What do young reporters say? • Vary wide range of themes: from surfing to child pornography • Three broad categories: 1. “my life/my community,” 2. adolescent development, 3. child rights (particularly violations) • Muslim youth from Mindanao and indigenous communities very active

14. Sample Story List • Working Child Fisherman • SPED: Mainstreaming hearing impaired students • Durian: A famous fruit with a strange smell. • Working student: Student who supports her family • Family Living in a cemetery: Focus on the child. • “Boom na Boom Jeepneys”: The fad of loud music in jeepneys. • Gap Farm: A resort for families and children. • Horse Fighting: Cruelty to animals.

15. Sample Story List • Carcar Shoe Industry: Household shoe making • Should stars be allowed to run for office? • Badjao children: Indigenous children adjust to urban life. • Stone and Can: A famous children’s game • Uncle Bill: policeman former child offender • RTC-Branch 22: Child friendly courts • Teen Zone: A youth Internet café/reproductive health. • What is HIV/AIDS exactly? • Butterfly Garden and Sanctuary

16. Problems Encountered • Difficult to measure impact on audience precisely • Volunteer youth as producers of national b’cast at times an unreliable partnership • Journalism is very risky in the Philippines: highest rate of journalist assassination • Need to promote the show

17. Future Directions • Show funded by CIDA through 2007 • Need to secure commercial viability by 2008 • Strengthen KNN as network of Life Skills peer educators • Build capacity of older reporters for investigative reporting

18. National Broadcast Presence • KNN started airing weekly in Philippines: June 2004 • 26 new episodes / year • Saturday 10:am, Tuesday 4:pm on ABC5 • Sunday 6:pm on NBN4 • KNN vignettes on Nickelodeon 3-6 times each day

19. Kabataan News Network: Using broadcast television in the Philippines To change the way young people are seen, And the way young people see themselves