The Campaign is on the move in terms of press interest and the planning to ensure it’s consistent, focused and efficient. The four working parties have either met or split into further work groups over the last week.
There are a number of important issues facing the children’s media industry and the children’s audience, some short term, others slightly further off. The aims of the Campaign are broadly to ensure that children in the UK continue to enjoy and benefit from well-funded quality media, produced in this country, which addresses their lives, interests, values and concerns. In this we form part of a wider effort to preserve children’s cultural entitlement in the UK, and we are in discussion with groups already campaigning in this field. Equally we ally with organisations such as the Writers’ Guild, the VLV, PACT and BAFTA who have taken strong positions on the preservation of the UK production base for children’s programmes.
Funding for children’s programming is coming under increasing pressure, partly from changes in technology and consumer habits, and from the regulation against high fat, sugar and salt foods advertising to children expected later this year. These pressures lead to ITV’s plans to close their children’s production arm and to requesting Ofcom to allow them to decrease their regulated hours of public service kids’ TV on ITV1. The Campaign will focus on these issues in the short term, but our approach will be pragmatic and realistic. The immediate issues are only part of the problem. The likely escalation of the effects of funding shortages and the failure of regulation need a long-term Campaign strategy to find new ways of protecting UK children’s media.
Policy Group
The Policy Group met for the first time on the evening of the 7th of August and established some key positions:
The Policy Group’s remit within the Campaign:
- To influence debate, and to lobby government and Ofcom.
- To develop lucid arguments to show the public that this matters.
- To build alliances around the importance of indigenous culture and cultural entitlement, as with the BFI’s ‘Watch this’ campaign in 2005.
- To work with the press/PR sub-committee to agree public statements.
- To keep the Campaign focus clear and achievable.
The objectives of the Campaign:
- Short-term:
- To protest against ITV’s withdrawal from kids’ programming;
- To delay implementation of the ban on HFSS advertising around children’s programming, to allow the industry time to find substitute finance;
- To lobby for funding of new UK-produced kids’ content to offset costs to broadcasters.
- To improve the position of children’s media within the cultural environment – in relation to education and quality of life. All children’s arts projects are under-funded and under-supported.
- Media is only part of a bigger problem.
- To press the BBC to maintain a commitment to kids’ TV on terrestrial.
Funding Group
The working party met on the 8th August, with a remit to recommend a funding model for the UK kids’ industry which the Campaign could adopt and pursue.
On the 23rd of August there will be a meeting with Ofcom in which PACT will make a case against a reduction in ITV’s children’s hours. Ofcom have not as yet admitted that there is an issue in the children’s industry. ITV will argue that they have set up their channel which guarantees a future for kids’ content. But it must be brought to Ofcom’s attention that there are limited original commissions on the CITV channel.
It was decided to compile data on the origination record, regulation and funding models in other territories – including Australia, France and Canada to help build the case.
The Group also agreed to research the incentives which tax breaks could bring, as they do for the film industry.
One Member’s Story – Henry Ditchfield
My name is Henry Ditchfield. I am 23yrs old and I am currently searching for a job in children’s TV.
On Friday 7th and Saturday 8th July I worked as a production runner at ‘Showcomotion’, the largest children’s media conference in Europe. By listening to the seminars, I couldn’t believe my ears when I learnt that unhealthy adverts have the potential to destroy this brilliant industry. I was so worried and annoyed by this, that after returning to my hotel room on the Friday night, I wrote down all of my concerns. On the Saturday, during the final seminar, it was my job to give microphones to members of the audience who wanted to talk. I wanted to talk, so after a question was posed that no one could answer, I raised my hand, introduced myself and began to read out my speech. To my surprise, I received a round of applause, and seemed to spark more of a debate. Great! This was exactly what I wanted.
By the end of the conference, clear goals had been set to help save the industry, with the setting up of groups to deal with different issues a priority. I knew that this was not going to be solved over night, but over the subsequent week, the issue was still concerning me. I’d got the top people in children’s TV to listen and now I wanted to be heard by the top people in the country. Consequently, I wrote to Tony Blair, David Cameron and Menzies Campbell, the Secretaries for Culture, Media and Sport for the 3 parties, and my local MP. Even if they didn’t respond, I thought my letter might prompt them to think about the subject.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the responses. I have received responses from the 3 leaders, Don Foster the Culture Secretary for the Lib Dems and my local MP. The responses from both Lib Dems were fairly similar and at the moment they support a ban. Tony Blair’s office has passed it onto the relevant department and David Cameron appreciated what I had to say and has noted my comments. The most positive response was from my local MP, Graham Brady from the Conservatives, who said he would forward my letter onto the correct department immediately. He understood my “concerns and beliefs” and said, “this is a classic example of how unintended consequences could flow from ill-considered and illiberal legislation.” Hear, hear!
I would now very much like to get involved with the PR group of the campaign and help publicise our concerns in the right manner, to the most amount of people, in the quickest possible way. I am very happy to raise the issue among students, and would love to help organise a massive demonstration in London with hundreds of people dressed as cartoon characters. There’s no way people could ignore the issue then! Move aside Jamie Oliver!
When I was younger, I looked up to children’s TV presenters, like Andi Peters. They were like the older brothers and sisters I never had. I would do what they said and they always put a smile on my face.
At the end of the day, I’m not the one with the power to make things happen, but ALL of YOU, the people who work in this fabulous industry are. Please do as much as you can to help, because I really don’t want my dream to remain just that.
Cheers.
Henry Ditchfield
PR activity and Press coverage
The PR Team have spread out their work into sub-groups. Latest highlights are: AJ is chasing family magazine contacts, and approaching celebrities for support. DK and Colin Nobbs will be working together on viral messaging ideas and on-line communities.
DK, who blogged the Showcomotion Conference, has been publicising the campaign using the latest distribution methods. Listen to his Podcast interview with Member Anthony Utley (MD Cosgrove Hall) here at Media Snackers: http://www.mediasnackers.com/report/2006/August/10/132/
Articles are being planned by C21 and Kidscreen to coincide with Mipcom Junior in October, for which several members have been interviewed, including Anna Home.
