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.
Janis Noonan, Dominican College, Griffith Avenue, Dublin
Television plays a big part in my life. It's passive, uncomplaining and entertaining. It is my best friend. Catering for all my moods - good and bad - even the weather is inconsequential to my beloved screen. Never letting me down, until this point.
I sat before my dream machine counting blessings: ankle sprained, school amiss, time, time, time irrelevant.
The newspaper was sprawled in front, with the TV page open for enquiry. The remote control, the zapper of my life, was cushioned under my hand and, with a flick of the finger, a new, more exciting world would be revealed. I spotted an all-time favourite film and quickly took control, handling it like a delicate baby, pressing gently on channel three. I pressed harder. No change. Walking was painful, crawling was ridiculous. I crawled. The TV flickered and blanked. Power outage!
My cushion flew in frustration and my indecent language echoed through the house. I pleaded outwardly but divine intervention failed me. My desperation showed in my first thought:
I wonder what I've ever seen, In that ridiculous machine, That nauseating, foul, unclean, repulsive television screen.
Roald Dahl's words make some sense now.
Colm Hutchison, St Fintan's High School, Sutton, Co Dublin
With the ever-present roar of the Celtic Tiger booming in our ears, we would be inclined to think that wage levels in all jobs would rise.
In the majority of cases this is true, especially with big organisations such as the gardai and the bus drivers. They, with the aid of trade unions, can bully their way into receiving substantial pay increases.
Much further down the payroll, many of us young teenagers obtain part-time jobs during the school holidays. These jobs offer a new-found independence, enabling us to buy our own clothes and pay our own way. The work seems very inviting at first, but in most cases the pay offered is far too low for the work expected. Many of us are paid less than £2.50 an hour. The reason this happens is because employers know they can exploit us without suffering any repercussions. The time has come for this exploitation to be stopped. If young people do the same work as adults, surely employers should be prepared to pay us like adults.
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
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.
media scope is edited by Harry Browne.
