Sky News launches new youth-skewed digital platform

BSkyB’s Sky News has launched a new digital platform aimed at giving young people an enhanced voice ahead of next year’s UK general election.

The Stand Up Be Counted site will enable people aged between 16 and 25 to post videos, articles and comments on the issues affecting them and their friends, and share them across multiple social media platforms.

Sky News is working in partnership with communications charity the Media Trust and other youth organisations to ensure they reach a diverse and representative number of young people across the UK, according to Sky.

There will be four areas on the site dedicated respectively to ‘Hot Topics’, a general debate area, ‘Open Mic’, a space for stand-ups to talke about any subject they like, ‘News Feed’, highlight cointent from Sky News, and ‘Stand Ups’, featuring profiles of and content from registered stand-ups.

Each area will also allow the Stand Ups to share content via social media including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, WhatsApp and Kik. There is also a camera icon at the top of the page which allows users to upload videos, as well as a Register to Vote icon option which takes users directly through to the government’s online Individual Voter Registration site.

“Our campaign is bold in scope and I hope thousands of young people across the UK will become a part of it. Young people have told us they don’t think politics or the media represents them or their interests. They tell us they are seen as either scapegoats or victims, and are viewed as part of the problem rather than as a solution,” said John Ryley, head of Sky News.

“We want to give them a platform which works for them – a place where they can talk about their hopes, dreams and fears about the future and share them with their contemporaries via social media platforms. Their voices will become an integral part of our coverage, we will highlight the issues that matter to them ensuring our content becomes more inclusive and reflective of a younger generation.”