'Hanging Out': Print Media Constructions of Young People in 'Public Space'

Young people's use and negotiation of 'public' space is often constructed as problematic in many settings. This paper reports on the print media portrayal of young people in 'public space' via a study of data collected (2000-2001) from the Otago Daily Times, the daily newspaper for Dunedin city and Otago region, New Zealand. We argue that 'hanging out' in spaces beyond family and school arenas is presented as a problematic behaviour in much of the print data and we suggest that media writers/editors are producing constructions of young people in 'public space' that are primarily negative.