Novelist and Children’s Laureate Jacqueline Wilson has expressed her support for Save Kids’ TV in a recent conference speech. Although a signatory of the “Toxic Childhood” letter in which 110 academics, writers and activists expressed their concerns about the amount of time being spent by children in front of screens, Jacqueline nevertheless expressed her concern over what will happen to original UK drama production if the television industry loses the money raised from advertising. At the conference Jacqueline took the opportunity to talk about the closure of Granada Kids and cast doubt on the wisdom of bringing in a ban on food advertising if there is no alternative funding to support children’s media. Full story on BBC News site. In fact Save Kids’ TV has made contact with the group behind the “Toxic Childhood” letter and they have also expressed their agreement that “it’s vital our children are exposed to good television.” We hope to be able to work with them in the future along with other cultural campaigners to ensure our goal – “the best TV for Britain’s kids” – becomes part of the cultural currency.
2. ITV NEWS
While it certainly seemed like a victory for good sense when Ofcom refused to allow ITV to reduce their children’s time on ITV1 from 8 to 2 hours a week, sadly, it’s only a battle won, not the war.ITV have already made it clear that they intend returning to Ofcom for further discussions of their regulatory obligations, and though they are now running a very full schedule on weekday afternoons, that’s in part because this time of year is the most lucrative for advertising revenue and they have to make up hours to fulfill their 8 hour-per-day quota averaged across the calendar year. Save Kids’ TV Chair Anna Home has written to the new Chief Executive of Ofcom, Ed Richards, seeking a meeting to discuss the ITV position and the wider issues we envisage emerging very rapidly as revenue for commercial kids’ TV declines further.
3. WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING…
The Save Kids’ TV letter to the 114 MPs who signed the Early Day Motion requiring Ofcom to consider the most stringent option in the junk-food debate – banning the advertising up to the 9pm watershed – has received a number of replies. Many newsletter recipients also wrote their own version of the letter to their own MP, having used the Write to Them website. MP’s replies were not generally supportive. The obesity issue remains an extremely powerful political motivator. However, the more complex message that children’s media needs strong support in this country to counter the many changes it faces, is starting to gain ground amongst politicians.
Meanwhile our plan to alert parents to the likely decrease in provision for their kids has begun. Download the Parent Letter from the website and send it to 10 parents you know. Ask them to pass it on, and we have the start of a viral campaign. Over the next couple of months we will be moving to become a membership organisation with as broad a support-base as we can muster. The more people who sign up for this newsletter now, the easier it will be to claim broad, general support in the future.
Save Kids’ TV is following up the supportive stance taken by the Chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, John Whittingdale, by proposing to the Select Committee that in any deliberations which might affect children and their use of media in the UK, that we are one of the bodies consulted. Further plans for political and regulator lobbying are being formulated.
4. WHAT WE THINK…
Many commentators are saying that kids have never had it so good. With 23 digital channels, there has never been so much programming for UK kids. But that isn’t the case. The number of hours of originated programming has decreased over the last 10 years – at ITV for example it diminished by 50% even before their current flight from children’s production. Channel 4 now produces no children’s programmes at all, and the international channels such as Disney, Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon make very little in the UK. There is a great deal of programming, but less and less of it is made here.The key message is that without funding, quality programmes made in the UK for our kids will wither and die. The BBC will no doubt continue. But under what pressures when there is almost no competition?
5. READ ALL ABOUT IT
Some recent press and media coverage:
Tony Gardner (My Parents are Aliens) did a fantastic interview on the PM programme in late September – the first radio mention of the Campaign.
Broadcast Magazine ran an extensive feature on “Kids in crisis” in their September 29th issue. Articles by key Save Kids’ TV members Richard Langridge and Colin Nobbs featured prominently.
First major article in national press – Guardian 13th October
Interesting coverage on the respected TV fan site UK Games
Anna Home interviewed by Spiked-online.
Following our aim to make close contact with parents we have comment piece coming up in ‘Nursery World’ (the professional magazine for carers of young children). We are now working on a full scale press release which should be timed to follow the Ofcom decision on food advertising due later in the Autumn. This will involve celebrity support and endorsement and on that front we still need more help. If you know a performer, presenter, expert, academic, etc who is in support, or may give it some thought, please put them in touch with us at admin@savekidstv.org.uk We need our own Jamie Olivers to rally to the cause of feeding kids’ minds with the “best of British”!
6. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
Save Kids’ TV and the American Centre for Children and Media (ACCM) jointly organised and produced a specially arranged conference session at the Mipcom Junior Conference in Cannes on the 7th October. Mipcom is the TV industry’s principal market for the buying and selling of programmes from all over the world. Mipcom Junior takes place annually just before the main market and this year saw the first ever conference attached. With the help of Reed Midem who organize the conference and marketplace, SKTV and ACCM took advantage of the large number of key executives from the kids’ TV industry around the world who were present in Cannes to explore whether the issues we face in the UK are similar to those in other territories and whether there is learning and experience which can be shared.
Around 40 delegates from as far afield as Mexico and India attended the session, which was addressed by Nigel Pickard for SKTV with the UK perspective and David Kleeman, President of the ACCM with the US. When Nigel Pickard outlined the industry position in the UK there was some surprise in the room as to how far things had moved in a such a short time. David wondered whether the UK experience could be likened to the “canary in the coalmine” for what might be about to happen in the USA if the obesity issue starts to gain momentum and further of the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood also gains ground.
Striking tales of the demise of indigenous children’s production in Quebec brought home to the meeting what happens in an unsupported commercial market, when advertising to kids is regulated away altogether. There is now almost no French Canadian local production after 20 years of an advertising ban.
Delegates were agreed that in almost all territories kids’ TV quickly becomes the “whipping boy” in the face of concerns about violence, diet, behaviour, the erosion of childhood etc. Across the globe, the industry needs to communicate its value to parents, regulators and politicians.
The group came up with some practical thoughts about co-operation, including the suggestion from Sheila DeCourcy Head of Children’s and Youth programmes at RTE in Ireland, that we try to create a database of research which can be used to support quality TV so that when vulnerable local industries come under threat they have a readily accessible armoury with which to refute the claims made against them. Save Kids’ TV is currently exploring pulling together a digest of relevant research, so we might be able to offer this internationally in the future.
The meeting agreed that it was valuable to make comparisons and learn from one another’s experience, and that further collaboration might be possible. To that end further events of this nature will be set up at other children’s industry forums, such as Kidscreen in February and the World Summit in South Africa in the spring.
