TV FOR CHILDREN HOW SWEDISH PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION IMAGINES A CHILD AUDIENCE ÅSA PETTERSSON Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 583, 2013 Linköping University, Department of Thematic Studies Linköping 2013 Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 583 At the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Linköping University, research and doctoral studies are carried out within broad problem areas. Research is organized in interdisciplinary research environments, doctoral studies mainly in graduate schools. Jointly, they publish the series Linköping Studies in Arts and Science. This thesis comes from the Department of Thematic Studies – Child Studies Distributed by: The Department of Thematic Studies Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping Åsa Pettersson TV FOR CHILDREN HOW SWEDISH PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION IMAGINES A CHILD AUDIENCE Edition 1:1 ISBN: 978-91-7519-601-5 ISSN 0282-9800 ©Åsa Pettersson The Department of Thematic Studies 2013 The imagery in this dissertation is used in accordance with Swedish copyright law (Upphovsrättslagen SFS 1960: 729, 22-23§) on citation rights and use in scientific and critical presentations. Printed by LIU-Tryck, Linköping 2013 Cover design by Chrissie Abbott and Martin Pettersson To Dag and Ture Contents Acknowledgements 6 Introduction 10 Public service broadcasting 12 A child perspective on public service television 15 Chapter 1 Previous research and theoretical standpoints 18 Previous research on children and TV 18 TV and risk 18 TV and assets 20 TV programming for children 21 Theoretical standpoints 23 A discursive approach 23 Children as constructions 24 The configured audience 25 TV as institution and medium 28 The aim of the study 32 The design of the study 33 Chapter 2 Methodology 34 Introduction 34 Selection 36 Selection of years – 1980, 1992 and 2007 36 Selection of programmes – searching for and doing TV for children 41 Watching TV for children 50 Reflections on the selection process 52 Analytical procedures 54 Chapter 3 The child audience in Swedish TV policy 58 Introduction 58 The law and the audience 60 The absent audience 61 Children and commercialism 61 Children as consumers 64 Child viewers, violence and pornography 65 Programming and categorization in contracts and licenses 67 Programming for the population 67 Children as a category 70 Children – an audience for programming 70 2 Children – several audiences? 71 Accounting for the audience in annual reports 73 The public service broadcasting audience as a political tool 74 The presence of a child audience 79 Children, age and categorization 84 Children in broadcasting policy 86 Chapter 4 The content of nature in TV for children 90 Introduction 90 Outdoor life – embedding the child in nature 94 The nostalgic wild 95 The urban everyday outdoors 99 The grand wilderness 103 Animal-child relations 108 The factual bee 110 The stereotyped bee 113 The anthropomorphic bee 116 The animal as a form of child address 119 Environmental issues - saving the world 120 Adults destroy - technology saves 120 Adults destroy – politics saves 123 Adults enjoy – children fix 126 The environment as a form of child address 129 Chapter 5 The pedagogical voice – talk as address in TV For children 132 Introduction 132 Traditional disciplining pedagogy and instruction 137 JoJo’s circus 137 Pedagogical voices in JoJo’s Circus 138 Discussion - Educational aims in JoJo’s Circus 142 Authoritarian child professors assessing viewers 145 Little Einsteins 145 Pedagogical voice in Little Einsteins 146 Discussion - Educational aims in Little Einsteins 149 Educational group work – We are all learners 151 Bear in the Big Blue House 151 Pedagogical voice in Bear in the Big Blue House 152 Discussion - Educational aims in Bear in the Big Blue House 157 The educational novice-novice interaction 158 Bolibompa 158 Pedagogical voice in Bolibompa 159 3 Discussion- Educational aims in Bolibompa 162 The authoritarian child – adult interaction 163 Sale 163 Pedagogical voice in Sale 164 Discussion - Educational aims in Sale 168 The audience and the pedagogical address 168 Chapter 6 Visualizing the audience in TV For children 172 Introduction 172 Seeing the viewer on screen 175 Signalling viewer interaction 175 Child drawings on display 180 TV providing means for interaction 182 Drawings producing programme content 188 Viewer interaction as programme content 192 Competing to interact in TV for children 197 Programme content as interaction 205 Interaction as participation in TV for children 208 Chapter 7 Concluding discussion 212 Appendix 219 Abbreviations 219 Transcription symbols 219 Literature and sources 220 TV material 220 Unpublished sources 221 Websites 221 Literature and other sources 222 4 5 Acknowledgements A doctoral thesis is not the accomplishment of one person only. This is very true in the present case. So many people have helped, supported and offered advice in ways that have made this book what it is. For this I am grateful beyond words, but I will nevertheless mention a few of the many people who have been im- mensely important in making this project happen. First, my profound and warm- est thanks go to my supervisors, Professor Anna Sparrman and Professor Bengt Sandin, without whose support and hard work this could never have been done. Thank you, Anna, who during the final years of this project has been my main supervisor, for patiently reading trough all my numerous drafts, for your inspir- ing arguments about the importance of the visual and for forcing me to ‘kill my darlings’! Thank you, Bengt, who was my main supervisor during the first part of this process, for believing in my project form the start, for letting me develop it even if it is not ‘proper history’ and for challenging me to sharpen my argu- ments! Before entering into my PhD project, all my colleagues and friends at the De- partment of Journalism, Media and Communication at Stockholm University in- spired me to take on this task to begin with. Thank you for doing so and for be- ing great academic role models. A special thanks goes to Kristina Lundgren, Bo Mårtensson, Sven Ross, Anna Orrghen and Amanda Lagerkvist! The Department of Child Studies took me in wholeheartedly when it granted me a PhD Candidate position in 2006. A warm thank you to Professor Karin Ar- onsson and Professor Gunilla Halldén who were part of giving me this chance and who have encouraged me over the years! Thanks also to Professor Margare- ta Hydén and Professor Karin Zetterqvist Nelson who has also been part of the leadership of this inspiring research community. Special thanks to all my past and present co-workers for commenting on my drafts, always being there when I’ve needed to discuss the research dilemma of the day and for your extensive knowledge about almost everything. Big thank you to my fellow group of PhD candidates, Björn Sjöblom, Paul Horton, Layal Wiltgren and Johanna Sjöberg for sharing this journey with me! 6 During my years at the Department many kind people have read my drafts. Thanks to Anna Edin for helping me greatly as my final seminar opponent, and also to Ingrid Söderlind, Malena Janson and Christian Svensson Limsjö in the seminar committee! Thank you to Katarina Eriksson Barajas for your valuable and inspiring comments at my 60% seminar. And thanks to all of you who have voluntarily read various drafts over the years and shared your impressive knowledge and kind inspiration: Dan Cook, Mike Grossberg, Johanna Schi- ratzki, Susan Danby, Gunilla Halldén, Kjerstin Andersson, Cecilia Lindgren, Jenny Lee, Judith Lind, Helena Pedersen and Dag Balkmar! Thanks also to Ka- rin Osvaldsson, Micke Tholander, Tobias Samuelsson, David Cardell and Anne- Li Lindgren for always providing me with instant literature advice, to Gunilla Tegern, Steve Woolgar, Jeff Hearn, Disa Bergnéhr, Matilda Hallberg, Asta Cekaite Thunqvist, Totta Münger and Johanna Sköld for pep talks and to Anette Wickström for lending me the thesis template! Thanks also to the two new PhD groups for revitalizing the department. I would specially like to thank Tanja Joelsson, Zulmir Becevic, Ian Dickson and Erika Forsberg for letting me benefit from your impressive language skills and to Karen Williams and Paul Horton for correcting my English. Thank you: Christna Lärkner, Ian Dickson, Eva Danielsson, Micke Brandt, Martin Putsén and Berit Starkman for being lovely people and helping me out with all forms of administration, legal and technical support. Thanks to all of my friends in the wider academic circle who have supported me in all sorts of ways over the years: Tanja Joelsson, Jenny Lee, Francis Lee, Katherine Harrison, Claire Tuck- er, Karin Thoresson, Lucas Gottzén, and Alma Persson! Thanks also to all the inspiring study groups and their members, the Deleuze group, the French group, the Reading group and the Knitting group, you have all enriched this project in numerous ways! A big thank you also goes to Frida Norström for letting me stay at her place during my first months in Linköping. Thanks to the National Library for all your help with gaining access to the re- search material, to Börje Sjöman, Ragna Wahlmark and Margareta Cronholm at SVT for patiently answering all my questions, and to the Linköping University Library, especially Lars Griberg and Eva-Lisa Holm Granath for making re- search so much easier. I’m a very fortunate person in terms of family and my family is extensive. Sev- eral of my colleagues have become close family members over these years. Thanks Micke for chanterelles and fantastic food! Thanks Tobias for judgmental language use and coffee breaks! Thanks Cissi and Kjerstin for friendship, coun- selling, discussions and lovely get-togethers! I hope that we will have much more time for vibrant and avant-garde discussions in the future. Thank you, Jo- 7 hanna, for sharing every last trembling minute of this PhD candidate process with me.