Below is Mindy’s definition of youth media. What would you add, change, delete or challenge? Please post your comments.

WHAT IS YOUTH MEDIA?
The term youth media is often used to describe the expanding number of after-school programs that use media (radio, video, print, digital tools, game design) to engage young people in art, organizing, journalism, citizenship and leadership development. Youth media organizations often, but not always, work with low-income, under-resourced or marginalized populations of youth. Youth media makers often create media about issues affecting their lives such as juvenile justice, racism, sexism, the environment, schools and violence. In the process, youth learn to use print journalism as well as new media tools and technologies for personal and political expression. Many youth media programs emphasize the “training and production” aspect of media, seeing it as a vehicle for democratic participation, community organizing, civil liberties, art education and free speech as young people learn to represent their own experiences and perspectives with a public forum. In addition, youth media programs frequently develop customized media literacy curricula that trains youth to analyze how they are portrayed in the media. As a result of youth-centered media education, most youth media programs report that their young people become more active agents, critical thinkers and participating citizens in a democracy.
Youth media programs occasionally operate inside of formal schools, but more commonly, they occur in after-school, community-based and non-profit settings. Youth media practitioners are often trained as professional teaching artists, writers, activists and/or youth development specialists rather than formal educators. Teaching methods tend to create non-hierarchical settings that emphasize the development of youth voice through open discussion and exploration as well as individualized and hands-on learning. There are several hundred youth media programs across the country, and while they address issues and problems specific to the youth in their communities, the vast majority are committed to amplifying youth voice by providing access to the tools and means of communication in a public arena.