State News

THE MEDIA EFFECT: Youth Alcohol and Substance Abuse Awareness Program

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Fall 2016 Program to Educate Youth 13-18 on the Media Effects on Alcohol and Substance Abuse

DURHAM, NC – Triangle Cultural Awareness Foundation, in conjunction with Spectacular Magazine, is sponsoring a fall 2016 program to educate our youth on the effects the media has on alcohol and substance abuse. This program is FREE for youth ages 14-18 and is in collaboration with NCCU’s Mass Communications Department, WNCU 90.7 and area professionals of the Triangle Association of Black Journalists. Program participants will produce public service announcements for broadcast television/cable, radio and print.

Are you interested in a career in the media, graphic design, music, video, print, TV, broadcasting, directing, producing, acting, social media…? Are you interested in promoting discussion and dialogue about the perils of alcohol use and other activities? Do you want to develop problem solving skills? Are you interested in creating a substance abuse campaign for print, radio and TV/Cable to help others?

New & Problematic Opportunities

The new technologies – the Internet, social networking sites, and even cell phones – offer new and problematic opportunities for adolescent drug exposure.  A variety of Web sites sell tobacco products and few of them have effective age-verification procedures. One national survey of more than 1000 youths 14 to 20 years of age revealed that 2% reported having purchased alcohol online, and 12% reported having a friend who did so. Teenagers also see considerable alcohol and drug content in online videos and on social networking sites, on which one study revealed that 40% of profiles referenced substance abuse.

The Program kicks off with a breakfast on Saturday, October 1st from 8:30 am – 10:30 am in the NCCU Student Union. Youth and their parents/guardians are invited to attend. The Program will meet each Tuesday 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm from October 11th through December 13th on the NCCU campus. There will be a Closing Program with PSA Presentations on January 10, 2017.

Guest Speaker/Facilitators

Guest speakers/facilitators include members of the Triangle Association of Black Journalists:

  • Anthony Wilson/Tisha Powell, ABC-11;
  • Thomasi McDonald, News & Observer reporter and graduate of NCCU;
  • Stefan Chase, CBS News Carolina;
  • Kimberly Pierce Cartwright, WNCU News Reporter;
  • Pam Saulsby, veteran broadcast professional;
  • Phyllis Coley, Publisher – Spectacular Magazine;
  • Dr. Charmaine McKissick-Melton, professor at NCCU; and
  • Inspirational Speaker and Youth Consultant George Galbreath.
  • Dianne Pledger will serve as Project Director of the program.

The goal of the Program is to educate and enlighten adolescents on the effects of media exposure on alcohol and substance abuse.

Objectives are:

  1. To provide opportunities for participants to engage in structured discussions and dialogues about the perils of alcohol use and other activities;
  2. Adolescents will share and discuss examples of negative exposure to media/social media, music and how that impact self-esteem, self-confidence and behavior;
  3. Guest speakers will be invited to hear and answer questions adolescents might have;
  4. Opportunities for youth to use role play or interactive dialogue in decision-making activities about alcohol and substance use;
  5. Opportunity for adolescent to develop problem solving skills in order to help them discern pros and cons of certain behaviors; and
  6. Creation of a substance abuse campaign for print, radio and TV by students based on their observations and creativity.

For registration and more information contact: 919.672.3429 or visit www.spectacularmag.com

Media Effects