Terri Langan & Kate Davies
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ies V DA e T KA by & d E an Edit G lan Terri The Children’s Media Yearbook 2016 ••• EditEd by tErri LANGAN & KAtE dAViES The Children’s Media Yearbook is a publication of The Children’s Media Foundation Director, Greg Childs Administrator, Jacqui Wells The Children’s Media Foundation P.O. Box 56614 London W13 0XS [email protected] First published 2016 © Terri Langan & Kate Davies for editorial material and selection © Individual authors and contributors for their contributions All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of The Children’s Media Foundation, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organisation. You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover. ISBN 978-0-9575518-6-2 (paperback) ISBN 978-0-9575518-7-9 (digital version) Book and cover design by Jack Noel EditEd by Terri Langan & ka Te davies inTrOducTiOn 7 Anna Home research furTher afieLd “YOu sTarTed iT!” 10 a Land Of 46 OnLine piracY – OppOrTuniTY – if you whO’s really to bLame? can sTarT looking Charlotte Jones sidewaYs Alex Chien crOss-generaTiOnaL 14 enTerTainmenT The prix JEUNESSE 49 Peter Robinson fOUNDATiOn: empOwering chiLdren and inspiring Thunderbirds are gO: 19 aduLTs wOrLDWIDE creaTing femaLe Alison Stewart characTers in advenTure animaTiOn Anna Potter diversiTY Women in animaTiOn 24 #ToyLikeme 54 Lindsay Watson Rebecca Atkinson mindfuLness 26 diversiTY means 58 and chiLdren everYThing Dr Barbie Clarke Nathan Bryon, Kara Smith and Gregory Boardman experienTiaL 32 markeTing diversiTY – are 62 Amanda Gummer we There YeT? Angela Ferreira animaTing The 34 HolocausT Kath Shackleton ConTenT, disTribuTiOn, 38 discOverY: The RoyaL family David Kleeman apps: The new 41 baTTLegrOund fOr chiLdren’s Tv Stuart Dredge The new ed Tech 43 frOnTier Justin Cooke making iT happen The vaLue Of vaLues 64 One cLick, One Laugh: 95 in The wiLd (nOrTh) hOw we made Our wesT inTeracTive ComedY Jon Hancock Trevor Klein LiTTLe babY bum 67 shakespeare and 99 Derek Holder preschOOL – whO said ThaT TheY dOn’T animaTiOn uk 69 gO togeTher? Oli Hyatt Angela Young The impOrTance 72 Of being differenT LOOking back Joshua Davidson JackanOrY 104 The storY Of 74 Frank Cottrell Boyce LOsT mY name David Cadji-Newby looking cbbc OfficiaL 76 charT shOw fOrward Steve Wynne LeT’s sTarT acTing 106 Like kids and have a anim8: 300 to 3 to 1 79 grOwn up cOnversaTiOn Siwan Jobbins Alice Webb The recipe fOr 82 digiTal‑FirsT success Juliet Tzabar ConTributors 108 wiLL a beTTer 86 undersTanding Of chiLdren make aLL The difference? Lucy Gill kid’s ipLaYer 89 Claire Stocks “never wOrk wiTh 93 chiLdren Or animaLs” – w.c. fieLds Ray Maguire Children’s Media Yearbook 2016 inTrOducTiOn ANNA HOME the Children’s Media Foundation: keeping the of state in his previous role children’s audience at the forefront of the debate as chair of the Culture Media around Charter review and the future of funding for and Sport Parliamentary Select kids’ content in the UK Committee, so he understands very well the failure of the This year, CMF’s activities On one hand, the need to commercial public service have been dominated by the “protect” the children’s budget broadcasters to commission long debate over the BBC at the BBC was floated. The anything of significance and Charter and how to respond Green Paper also included the collapse in spending on UK to the government’s proposals. a reference to “contestable children’s content anywhere A Green Paper was published funding” – money that might other than the BBC. in July 2015 and other be taken from the Licence However, these two Green documents have been published Fee and distributed to other Paper proposals caused concern. subsequently, including organizations to stimulate The idea that the government the Clementi report on the more content for children. Both would in some way “protect” governance of the BBC. of these proposals needed to a specific budget at the BBC The Green Paper, be considered in the context seemed to us far too much like unusually, contained two of a secretary of state (John direct interference in the work specific references to the Whittingdale MP) who is of the Corporation. Our basic children’s audience – essentially generally in favour of a smaller, position is that UK kids deserve officially accepting that there is more “public service” BBC that a well-funded BBC that can “market failure” as evidenced intervenes in the market far less, independently create children’s by Ofcom reports from as far but for whom children’s content content it can wholeheartedly back as 2007 and proposing, is a cornerstone of BBC public stand behind rather than having in the briefest of terms, some service. CMF can claim some its hand forced by regulations solutions. success in lobbying the secretary or spending quotas. 7 Equally, the idea of conduct in-depth research and Sport, the BBC Trust, and “contestable funding” was into alternative methods of Goldsmiths University, which connected in the Green Paper financing a contestable fund staged an inquiry chaired by with what has become known (with no raid on the Licence Lord Puttnam. All our responses as the “top slicing” of the Fee). The research should can be found on the “Action” BBC’s budgets to redistribute also encompass how that pages of the CMF website. the money to other bodies, or fund might be organized And the consultations companies. This, it seems to and who might receive the continue. As I write, we have us, does very little to alleviate funding – especially given just responded to another the real issue behind the the rapid changes in the way House of Lords consultation – market failure – that millions content is being distributed this time on Channel 4 and it’s of pounds of commissioning with all the new video- future. money have been diverted away on-demand players in the In the same period we met from children’s content because market such as YouTube and brokered more general the commercial PSBs are no Kids, Netflix, Sky Kids and meetings with many key people longer required by regulation to the proposed BBC iPlay and organizations: Tony Hall, provide children’s programmes. platform. the BBC Trust, MPs, opposition We need to find new money to CMF has stimulated public shadow ministers, senior civil bring the level of spend back to discussion of these issues. We servants at DCMS and other what it was ten years ago, not kicked off with the debate organizations with whom we move the existing pot around. we sponsored at last years share concerns. We have spoken So our response in the Children’s Media Conference at the Westminster Media various public consultations in July 2015. This featured Forum on several occasions and that have followed the Green Alice Webb, director of BBC on radio and TV. Paper has been clear: Children’s, in her first public In September we staged • No more cuts to the Licence outing, with culture minister another public debate in Fee Ed Vaizey and representatives London, this time with the • The BBC should itself from Ofcom, Animation UK ominous title “Staring into the commit to increasing and CMF. Media commentator Abyss”. The debate brought the children’s budget to Steve Hewlett chaired a lively, out the differences of opinion accommodate new content informative and entertaining between interested groups as to for under-served audiences session. the best way to achieve more such as the over-tens while In the autumn the funding for UK kids’ content. maintaining the range consultations flowed in There are those who support and quality of its existing quick succession: from top-slicing to achieve a fund and services DCMS, the House of Lords there are those who don’t – the • The government, having Communications Committee, CMF included. To find common accepted that there is the Parliamentary Select ground, the CMF arranged a market failure, should now Committee on Culture Media meeting with Pact, the VLV and 8 Children’s Media Yearbook 2016 Animation UK. The outcome responses and in that period financed fund that stimulates was a joint statement on the the CMF will organize a major real competition and growth future of BBC Children’s, urging event in London – a meeting in content delivery for the the BBC to commit to invest at of the All Party Parliamentary audience. It isn’t easy for us to least 8% of its overall content Group on Children’s Media and keep up this level of activity. budget on children’s content, the Arts (to brief MPs and Peers We are a tiny organization with with a minimum spend of £100 on the issues) – followed by a part-time staff supported by million. debate at the Children’s Media a few terrific volunteers. Our More recently we Conference in Sheffield. campaigning and lobbying suggested, and took part in, This is possibly the most takes place in the context of our a round-table meeting with important issue to face the events programme, the All Party John Whittingdale to discuss entire children’s media industry Group, research initiatives, how children’s content fits in in the last ten years. The newsletters, press responses, our to the Charter renewal debate. outcomes will be swift and support of the yearbook and We ensured that the partners potentially far reaching. There our development policy in other in the joint statement were is every possibility that the areas, such as internet security represented, plus a number government’s agenda for the or the future of children’s and of independent producers.