Over to You

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. Just send us a 200-word piece on a media-related topic.

Julie Kavanagh, Our Lady's Grammar School, Newry, Co Down

The photo diary of the year, Exposure 99, highlighted once again the already proven power of the photographic image. The old phrase, "a picture is worth 1,000 words", continues to ring true. The images, with sparse commentary, recounted the memorable events of the year with greater poignancy and clarity than carefully crafted words could ever convey.

True, a photo only shows one moment in time, but this is perhaps the image's best ally. The skill lies in capturing the right moment. The image of an umbrella-covered Orangeman planted in the wasteland of Garvaghy, the memorable image of a be-haloed Taoiseach - each photo fronts a deeper significance. The scarred arms of a drug addict present an almost unbelievable reality in harsh terms - confirming Lewis Hine's comment: "If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera."

These images - sometimes comic, often serious but always evocative - perform an essential but sometimes unacknowledged role in the success of a newspaper. Almost certainly, the articles with the arresting photos are often the first and sometimes the only ones read by the casual reader. Sometimes a good picture can ensure the printing of a mediocre story.

Amy Brogan, Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, Dublin

Smoking is a disgusting and costly habit - so why do 60 per cent of smokers start by the age of 13, and 90 per cent before the age of 20?

If you think about it, you can't even walk down the street without seeing some young person with a cigarette in the mouth. We all know the risks, so why do we do it?

The price of cigarettes went up by 50 per cent in the last Budget to subsidise the cost of healthcare for smoking-related illnesses. This is a step in the right direction, but not enough: smoking causes more deaths each year than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes, murder and suicide combined. The majority of people seem to start because of peer pressure or curiosity, and then wake up one day to find themselves addicted. So who is to blame? Cigarette companies, parent smokers, the people themselves - I think all three are partly to blame. The fact remains that 70 per cent of adult smokers say they want to give up but only 2 per cent manage to do so. The best solution seems to be: don't start!

Look at the Americans: the amount of litigation against the tobacco industry has been very successful. Maybe it's time we took a leaf from their book.

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 email 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 1-800-798884. media scope is edited by Harry Browne.