Winners Announced for the 2019 BPM Student Challenge

The 2019 BPM Student Challenge has been judged, and a first and second prize winner has been chosen.

Entries were required to address the questions "How well is today's media serving your community? What could it do better?"

And the winner is:

Oli Price, Hannah Daniels and team - Cashmere High School - Year 11.

The winning entry "Something Millennial - 16th September 2019" aired on Canterbury Community Access station, Plains FM. The radio show was hosted by Oli and Hannah with guests, Ed Daniels and Skylar Morrison who are also students at Cashmere High. 

The radio show discusses how the LGBTQ+ community is represented by media in New Zealand. It's entertaining, frank and thoughtful with great conversation between four articulate young people. The programme is technically slick and at 49 minutes duration, it never gets dull. Congratulations to the whole team. You win the $1,000 first prize.

The win means that Cashmere High School has done it again, after last year's winner came from the school too, and will receive the $500 school prize for its Media Studies Department.

Here's a link to the excellent radio show, have a listen - https://cdn.accessradio.org/StationFolder/plainsfm/Something%20Millennial%2016%20Sept.mp3

2nd prize goes to:

Isabella Pezza - Takapuna Grammar School - Year 13

Isabella Pezza pictured with Takapuna Grammar Deputy Principal, Carol Bashford and Media Studies HoD, Sam Lilley.

Isabella's essay discusses the pros and cons of commercial media versus public media with interesting insights into sensationalist reporting on the upcoming marijuana referendum and teenage behaviour.

"Due to sensationalist news reporting, teenagers have suffered from a weight of representation that pictures them as being out-of-control, irresponsible and criminally inclined," writes Isabella.

Congratulations Isabella on winning second place and $500.