In Your Face

In response to the earlier blog I published on May 21st regarding the 13 year old boy who became a dad, it turns out, this week, that he is not the father. Nonetheless, a 13 year old boy having unprotected sex with a 15 year old girl who by DNA, found out that there was at least one other boy, young man or man involved, still may leave some concern. The true father has yet to be revealed.

I believe it was Mary Ann who mentioned how France had not benefited from its media because of it being control by the government. In the book Introduction to Comparative Government, Michael Curtis makes reference to the fact that “France now has more choices and genuine independence from the government, though the quality of the programs leaves much more to be desired.” (pg. 176)

While in the UK, the media is using shock television to raise awareness about teen pregnancy. Recently in Leicester UK, a video “Teenage Kicks” was produced by a consulting firm as a sex education tool which has provoked debate and controversy both among adults and teens. The video uses hard hitting shock tactics to send a message, but whether or not it will reduce the teen pregnancy rates leaves much more to be desired.

We engaged in a very interesting and lively conversation during class last Saturday about “Paradigm Shifts” and “Phases of the Changes”. Will the more recent “citizen-centered governance” model about strategy and key concepts of public value drive this kind of media tactics or are there other reasons why a video of this type is aired and accepted by the people in the UK?

Take a look and tell me what you think!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyvI_D6iync

dlomax