Tough topics
- 18 Feb 08, 10:10 AM
A radio presenter in Belfast recently asked me why Newsround has decided to “change its agenda”. She was reacting to the news that we’ve been given the go ahead to make two new specials; one on divorce, the other on knife crime. “Divorce I understand...” she said “But knife crime?”
To spare her blushes, I’ll say she’s 30-something. As a child, she watched the show regularly and now views it fondly, albeit through a haze of nostalgia. Her memories of Newsround are all about pandas and space shuttle launches.
And to some extent, that’s true, but Newsround also has a history of not shying away from darker stories and social issues. At times, it means our output can be contentious. Different parents have different ideas about what they think their children should know about the world and we have a duty to keep that in mind every single day. At the same time though, the reality is that children pick up on news events from other media as well and our contact with them shows that they often turn to us during traumatic and difficult times, hoping that we can provide some kind of context and reassurance.
Knife crime came to our attention when we commissioned a survey late last year into the views and experiences of children aged 6 – 12. Alarmingly, 10% said they were scared of being stabbed or shot.
We are determined that our forthcoming programme will both address and allay these fears. To a large extent that’s what we seek to do on a daily basis whether we are discussing the situation in Iraq, the pressure of SATs or terrorism in the UK.
When the London bombs exploded, the e-mails kids sent us about their reactions to the events, became the inspiration for the Bafta award winning drama ‘That Summer Day’. Similarly, our forthcoming divorce programme ‘(The Worst Thing Ever?’) takes an innovative approach – mixing drama with animation but all of it is based on the real life experiences of the children who watch our shows.
Newsround’s agenda hasn’t changed but perhaps the world has; our job is simply to explain it. Our special programmes will be on air in spring. Watch out for them and let me know if you think we’ve achieved our aims.
Sinead Rocks is editor of Newsround
