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 2015 © Lynn Whitaker and Beth Hewitt 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 978-0-9575518-4-8 Book and cover design by Jack Noel EditEd by Lynn Whitaker & Beth heWitt introduction 4 Editorial Lynn Whitaker and Beth Hewitt 8 T he Children’s Media Foundation: the First three years Greg Childs 11 New Heroes Wanted: Creating Culturally-inspired Media Lady Rabia Abdul-Hakim Children’s Public Service Broadcasting industry reflections and Debates 15 BBC Children’s 42 bringing toys-to-Life Alice Webb Andy Robertson 20 Children’s Content – Crucial for 47 Taming the Future – Any Public Service broadcaster Perspectives on the digital World Jeanette Steemers from bbC Children’s Daniel Bays and Jon Haywood 22 Public broadcasting in Canada: Kids’ CbC and tVOKids 53 A Personal Experience of Kerrie-Ann Bernard and Natalie Coulter Animation Policy in Practice Ken Anderson 26 Children’s Programmes in Public television in Poland 59 Funding Children’s Animation Agnieszka Weglinska in ireland Michael Algar 30 Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Small House With big Windows 62 Animating the North West Ruth Zanker of England Peter Saunders 34 Japan’s Public Service broadcasting for Children 66 It’s All Coming back to Me Sachiko Kodaira Now: Remaking and Revisiting Children’s tV 38 On Private Public-Service Helen Wheatley broadcasting for US Kids Russell Miller 68 Kids tV: is t hat All there is? Simon Parsons Child and youth Perspectives Farewell and research 101 Katy Jones 72 Ofcom’s Media Literacy Research Barney Harwood on Children’s Critical Awareness 103 Terry Pratchett Alison Preston Ann Giles 77 Childwise: Monitoring the Change 109 Terry Sue-Patt Jenny Ehren Phil Redmond 81 The teenage World of Media 110 Rentaghost retrospective Sophie Edwards Jeremy Swan 82 The New Age of Media Josie Kelly 114 afterword 84 Growing up in a digital World Joe Godwin Flora Wilson Brown 87 How do today’s 115 Contributors twenty-somethings Engage with digital Media? Megan Nicholson 89 The Phenomenon of Celebrity Vloggers John Chisham 92 Making ‘i Am Leo’ – CbbC’s First Film About a transgender Child Cat Lewis 96 Fear and Laughing Angela Salt eDitoriaL LyNN WHitAKER ANd bEtH HEWitt Hello and welcome to another issue of the Children’s Media yearbook. 2015 is our third year of publication and whether you are new to the yearbook or familiar with its ambit, we are confident that you will enjoy the diverse perspectives that it offers on a wide range of children’s media topics. Published by the Children’s Media Foundation (CMF), a not-for-profit body now firmly established as the leading UK advocacy body for quality and choice in children’s media, the yearbook serves to inform and stimulate reasoned debate across the issues – whether of policy, production and audience – that are relevant to children’s media. it also acts as a record of the changing mood of the times, particularly when taking a longitudinal view of how industry responds to the needs of the audience and the impact of policy. No other publication attempts this and, given the often ephemeral nature of children’s media and its discourses, it’s really useful to have a book that captures the flavour of what was floating our boat or exercising our spleen each year. As such it is an ambitious but rewarding undertaking, of ongoing value to parents, researchers and producers alike. 4 Children’s Media Yearbook 2015 There is more – much more, - but we hadn’t really foreseen (Natalie Coulter and Kerrie- as there is much to tell – on the extent to which the threads Ann Bernard), Japan (Sachiko the work of the CMF in this of PSB discourse can be seen Kodaira) and the US (Russell introductory section, as Director, throughout all sections of the Miller). Greg Childs, offers a round-up book. Perhaps, as we gear up Our next section, ‘Industry of achievements in the last three for the process of BBC charter Reflections and Debates’, years. This is then followed by renewal – and its attendant focus critiques the current trends in a piece from a new ‘Founder on the licence fee – we shouldn’t media production and content Patron’, Lady Rabia Abdul- be surprised that questions of and explores the real life themes Hakim, who argues for greater commissioning, funding and and issues that confront the diversity in the aspirational policy run deep through the producers of animation and characters created in children’s book, given the centrality of the children’s production in 2015. media, telling a damn good yarn BBC as a champion of children’s Andy Robertson begins by along the way of how she came content. exploring the ‘toys-to-life’ genre, to be a children’s media creator Alice Webb, brand new a concept that takes its audience and why she believes the work Director of BBC Children’s, back to the world of physical of CMF to be so important. As makes no apologies whatsoever toys whilst skilfully combining it ever we stress that the views for lauding the BBC’s with games, apps and on-screen represented in the yearbook achievements for children, characters. Dan Bays and Jon are that of the individual and wants to ensure BBC Haywood take us on a journey authors and the editors too are Children’s remains, “Pioneering, into the magical world of all independent. The yearbook unforgettable, and a part of the things digital and look at the then does not reflect the views rich heritage that’s shaped our rapidly changing landscape from of CMF as an organisation but, lives and will shape the lives of inside the BBC, with the spotlight instead, fits with the avowed aim today’s British kids too.” Jeanette on Childrens as the leader of this of encouraging discussion around Steemers follows on then, in her brave new world. those viewpoints. article, to argue that children’s So, we might consider Each year the yearbook content is crucial to the mission everything to be digital now, content is commissioned (we of any public service broadcaster but what about the history of are good at arm-twisting!) in and points to the challenges and how we have arrived at this such a way as to present a range threats to that mission, not just place? The remaining articles of perspectives and it is always in the UK, but globally. Alice in the section deal in different fascinating how particular and Jeanette’s contributions help ways with history, heritage themes emerge across the to frame the themes of the five and transition. In his personal book as a whole. We make no remaining articles in the section, account of running an animation apologies for kicking off this in which models and aspirations company, Ken Anderson adeptly year’s volume with an entire of children’s public service navigates the policy rollercoaster: section devoted to ‘Children’s media are reflected on in Poland with its twists and turns, with Public Service Broadcasting’ (Agnieszka Weglinska), New its supporters and the people at (PSB) - in the UK and beyond Zealand (Ruth Zanker), Canada the top realigning tax breaks and 5 incentives, with, as always, the cross-generational interaction five contributions that follow, in financial stability of animation as helpful in “reactivating a which young people reflect on and children’s media production common culture of television their own experiences, ‘growing relying on those vagaries. It’s a that contemporary broadcasters up digital’. It’s the first time must read for all those hoping often struggle to create in an we’ve included the direct voice against hope that support is era of niche programming and of children and young people in around the corner. Next up, extensive choice”. But, “Is that the yearbook and we’re delighted Michael Algar provides a potted all there is?” asks Simon Parsons, to be able to do so, thanks to history of how the animation in his essay recounting the birth articles from Sophie Edwards, sector in Ireland has been of Teacup Travels with Great Josie Kelly, Flora Wilson Brown, supported and outlines the work Aunt Lizzie and two young Megan Nicholson and John of Animation Ireland. The article children, born digital: both in Chisham. Their reflections range serves as both a history and a the show and in the article, from nonplussed to cynical, and ‘how to’, again outlining, this nostalgia and the brave new each is, by turns, fascinating, time from an Irish perspective, digital world collide and bounce often amusing, and sometimes how creative industries policy off each other, taking us all into unsettling: together they suggest plays out in practice. the unknown. So the mantra is a definite generational zeitgeist. Nostalgia has always been a digital, the world is digital, but Following on from those pieces part of the media industry and nostalgia for the past rates high we grapple with the tricky Peter Saunders’s look back at on the clap-o-meter and whether questions of how to represent animation in the North West in spite of or because of policy, the experiences of children and of England could easily have children’s media appears to be youth and how to address the fallen into this trap.