Happy birthday to Newsround
- 3 Dec 07, 11:05 AM
In 2002, when Newsround celebrated its thirtieth birthday, we invited John Craven back to co-present the show. As Newsround’s first and longest-serving presenter it seemed a fitting tribute and gave us the chance to take a nostalgic look back at three decades of news for kids - and to get our pictures taken with him, much to his bemusement.
Now we’re 35 we’ve chosen to mark our latest milestone in a different way. We’ve commissioned into children’s lives, attitudes and beliefs and the results are fascinating. In many ways they contradict the commonly held belief that young people today have it much harder than previous generations. Yes, they are aware of crime, terrorism and the like but most think Britain is still a great place to live and despite speculation about increased exam pressure and overly crowded classrooms – the majority say they enjoy school and describe themselves as happy.
But it’s not all good news. Dads don’t come out of the survey too well. 1 in 4 children in the UK don’t count them as immediate family and if something went wrong, only 11% would go to their fathers for help (compared to the 76% who’d turn to Mum.) We’ll be bringing the survey to life all week on Newsround and will give our audience the chance to have their say on the issues that it raises.
Newsround has come a long way over the past 35 years. The show started with just three members of staff sharing two typewriters in a corner of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ newsroom. Now a fifty strong team produces 37 TV programmes every week and our website is staffed 365 days a year. Yet our central premise remains the same as it was back in 1972. We aim to help children make sense of the world around them and give them the chance to have their say on what is going on.
It’s impossible to predict what the broadcasting landscape will be like in 2042, but I think we have proved that children have a real appetite for news and if we can continue to bring this to them in an interesting and engaging way then hopefully Newsround will still have the same resonance and relevance in another thirty five years time.
Sinead Rocks is editor of
