First Draft of the Script

First Draft Script for media:

News report

“Many of us in High School had a run in with the bully, but at least we knew who they were. There’s now a new form of bully, the CYBERBULLY, and often they are anonymous.”

(Whilst Candy instrumental is playing)

In cartoons, bullies are represented as those tough characters who take your lunch money and call you names to you face, but the new generation means that people are able to bully you through a screen. This is called cyberbullying. This new generation means that children aren’t just worried about day to day bullies at school, they even get the abuse at home. I’m Hailey Marks-Burton. An A-Level student who believes this behaviour is uncalled for and that the world of social networking should be policed more. In the second episode of the bullying series, we are going to discover the world where people aren’t who they say they are and meet some of those people who have personally been victimised and the families of those who have taken their own lives.

(Whilst Pokerface instrumental is playing)

In 2004, Mark Zuckerburg, a University student with no social skills found himself working on a project which would soon become the world’s largest social networking site. Facebook, the website which we ourselves visit on average 4 times a day, is the largest social networking site in the world. Creating a profile for users allows each person to have their own identity. However, some people take advantage of this.

(Whilst Hometown Glory instrumental is playing)

Jennifer, from Blackburn, was just 16 when she took her own life. On the 23^rd of April 2009, Jennifer became friends with a suspicious account, this account belonged to Adam Long. A 19 year old who had just left college. He didn’t have many friends but the list consisted mainly of girls. As Jennifer and Adam became friendlier after swapping MSN addresses, Jennifer soon became a girl who would spend most of her time in her bedroom.

Mother: We didn’t hear much from her. And when we did, she’d still have a phone in her hand texting away. I feel… feel bad that we didn’t restrict the amount of access she had. The last year we had her, we hardly saw her. (Crying for a while and cut-aways of room)

Jennifer spending all her time in her bedroom was unknowingly falling in love with Adam; The nineteen year old from Preston being just a small distance away, she felt like she wasn’t on the other side of the world to him. For months, Jennifer wondered why someone who appeared to care so much didn’t want to see her. She became depressed to her family. She didn’t want to talk.

Sister: It was like she was depressed. I tried to talk to her, but it was like she didn’t know who I was?; like I was a stranger to her. I just wanted my little sister to be okay. No one understands.

Five months after first speaking via Facebook, Adam asked Jennifer to see her. She suddenly agreed. She told her parents she was shopping with her best friend, Maya. Instead, she was going to meet Adam at a hotel in Preston. After getting onto the bus, she was seen by a friend. They asked her what she was up to. She told them she just had to get out of the house. However, before Jennifer reached Preston, she got off the bus; and walked the opposite way.

Adam was furious that she hadn’t met up with him. She told him she couldn’t. She didn’t know him. She did the smartest thing. But he didn’t like it. He told her he knew where she lived and that he would come and get her. He told her she was ugly and fat and that she should be dead. Over a month, Jennifer received e-mails, texts and instant messages from Anonymous people. One evening, Jennifer was found by her parents in their bathroom. A note was left;

Interviewer: What did the note say?

(Whilst Make You Feel My Love instrumental is playing)

Mother: “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t take it. I will always love you.”

(Collect some baby pictures and use them whilst music is playing)

Adam wasn’t who he said he was. Adam was in fact a 46 year old man named John Huggett; Father to one of Jennifer’s friends. He had created the account to see whether Jennifer would bitch about his daughter. He also had many of the other girls who were friends with Jennifer. Not only was Jennifer affected, but another friend was raped by this man and was then killed so that she didn’t say anything at school. John was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment and has been banned from accessing Facebook or any other social networking sites.

(Whilst Cooler Than Me instrumental is playing)

Following the death of Jennifer and other cyberbullying victims, I’ve decided come to my high school to talk to some Year 10 students about cyberbullying. Meet Jodie etc. (Show clips of them waving).

(Firework instrumental)

Interviewer: Have you ever been bullied at school?

Interviewer: How many social networking accounts do you have an how often do you use them?

Interviewer: Have you ever been victimised online?

Interviewer: Why do you think people cyberbully?

Interviewer: Would you join a campaign to stop bullying and cyberbullying?

(Get interviewees to give their own opinion. This will give the effect of a realistic documentary effect.)