Colombia's Television 13 Wins Broadcasting Award from
UNICEF and International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
NEW YORK, November 24, 2003 - Television 13 of Colombia has been named the winner of the special International Children's Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Award, conferred jointly by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS) and UNICEF.
Television 13 received the honour at the 31st International Emmy Awards Gala at the New York Hilton Hotel. The award highlights the efforts of broadcasters to promote children's rights and children's participation in broadcasting.
With the support of Fundación Imaginario, Television 13, a regional public network, had children playing a central role in a wide range of broadcasts including Tropas de Paz (Peace Troops), Disparando Cámaras para la Paz (Cameras Shooting for Peace) and A Prender TV (To Learn TV). Television 13 won the competition ahead of 30 other TV broadcasters who were in the running globally for their contributions to ICDB in 2002. The other three finalists were TV Cultura from Brazil - a three-time winner of the ICDB Award; Blue Nile TV from Sudan, and Television of Thailand.
"The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is very pleased to once again present the important International Children's Day of Broadcasting Award. The Academy's mission is to promote quality programming worldwide. We are honoured to work with UNICEF in promoting quality children's programming to meet the important needs and viewpoints of children," said Fred Cohen, President, International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
ICDB, celebrated annually by more than 2,000 stations worldwide on the second Sunday of each December, gives children a chance to express themselves by producing, presenting and reporting for television and radio shows around the world. Marking its eleventh anniversary this year on 14 December, ICDB has grown to be the world's largest child rights broadcasting campaign, aimed at encouraging children's participation in the media.
"The key for children is meaningful participation and we found that Television 13 really made a connection with children, who were able to express their views and feelings in a country troubled by violence and conflict. We look forward to this kind of child-centred programming becoming even more familiar on our screens around the world," said Marjorie Newman Williams, UNICEF's Director of Communication.
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, a division of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, was chartered in 1969 and is the largest organization of global broadcasters, with representatives from over 60 countries on its Board. It was created to honor excellence in television programming outside the United States by awarding the International Emmy Award. The International Academy is a unique, independent organization including the world's top television and media leaders who come together to exchange ideas, discuss standards and promote new strategies for the future of quality global television programming.
Media Contacts:
MJ Sorenson/Sandy Clark Booth 21.09 at MIPCOM
The International TV Academy
Email: mjs@iemmys.tv or sandyck@iemmys.tv
Website : www.iemmys.tv
Tel: 212-489-6969 Fax: 212-489-6557
Don Ciaramella/Charlie Dougiello
The Lippin Group
Email: don@lippingroup.com/charlie@lippingroup.com
Website : www.lippingroup.com
Tel: 212-986-7080 Fax: 212-986-2354
November 26, 2003
November 25, 2003
KNOW HIV/AIDS Campaign to Support World AIDS Day
Monday November 24, 11:46 am ET
Viacom and Kaiser Family Foundation's multi-platform initiative delivers HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention messages through events, cable television programming and public service announcements
NEW YORK, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- KNOW HIV/AIDS, the ground-breaking cross-platform media campaign launched in January 2003, will support World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) through a series of events, cable television programming, public service announcements (PSAs) and online activities. The campaign, which delivers HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention messages to millions of people around the globe and features media placements valued in excess of $120 million, is a partnership of Viacom, one of the largest media companies in the world, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a leader in health information and research.
As part of the World AIDS Day activities, Viacom's cable networks will air nearly 20 HIV/AIDS-related specials and news updates, and will give KNOW HIV/AIDS PSAs prime placement and frequency across the company's television, radio and outdoor properties. Viacom's properties include the broadcast networks CBS and UPN; cable networks MTV, BET, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, TV Land, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, The N, Showtime, Spike TV and Comedy Central; 185 Infinity Broadcasting radio stations in the top 50 markets, and billboards, buses and bus shelter advertising faces in the nation's largest markets.
In addition, to heighten awareness of the business community's commitment to HIV/AIDS, Sumner Redstone, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, and John Demsey, President of MAC Cosmetics, will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on December 1. They will be joined by Rory Kennedy (MoxieFirecracker Films), SuChin Pak (MTV News), Linda Ellerbee (Nick News) and Big Tigger (BET's Rap City: Tha Bassment). Both Viacom and MAC Cosmetics are members of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS.
Today, as many as 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS and more than 20 million people have died. Yet, UNAIDS projects that nearly two- thirds of all new HIV/AIDS infections worldwide could by eliminated by 2010 with more effective education and prevention.
Drew E. Altman, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Kaiser Family Foundation, said, "The KNOW HIV/AIDS campaign is demonstrating the critical role that media can play in informing people about HIV/AIDS and ways that they can protect themselves."
Mr. Redstone said, "AIDS is on a fast track of becoming the worst epidemic in history. As one of the world's largest media companies, we are proud to use our dynamic brands and worldwide reach to break the silence about HIV/AIDS."
Mel Karmazin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Viacom, said, "The people around the world who are most at risk are the exact audiences that we reach every day. KNOW HIV/AIDS has been delivering lifesaving information to our viewers while empowering them to act, to protect themselves and to get tested. In observance of World AIDS Day, we are placing a heightened emphasis on these messages."
Year-to-date, more than five million people have visited the campaign's Web site and more than 200,000 have called one of the toll-free hotlines supported by the initiative. A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 44 percent of American adults either recognized the "KNOW HIV/AIDS" brand or had seen at least one of the PSAs. In two of the key target audiences, African-Americans and Latinos, recognition was 51 percent.
KNOW HIV/AIDS World AIDS Day Activities:
* Nickelodeon, The N, The Kaiser Family Foundation and UNICEF will
host World AIDS Day 2003: Youth Speak About HIV/AIDS (Dec. 1), a
discussion led by Stephen Lewis, Secretary-General's UN Special
Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, who is moderating a panel of HIV-
positive young people before an audience of 200 high school students
from the New York area. The event, which includes keynote speakers
Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, and Linda Ellerbee,
host of Nick News, will feature a screening of excerpts from Nick
News: The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and AIDS and The N's A
Walk in Your Shoes: Living with HIV/AIDS.
* Nickelodeon will air The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and
AIDS (Dec. 1), a look at how AIDS is affecting the country's kids
and what's being done about it. More people die of AIDS in South
Africa than in any other country on earth, and with upwards of a
thousand people dying each day, many children are left without
parents. Nick News and award-winning journalist Linda Ellerbee
traveled to South Africa for this special.
* Nickelodeon and The N will premiere The N's A Walk in Your Shoes:
Living with HIV/AIDS (Dec. 1), a special that features an HIV-
negative teen "walking in the shoes" of an HIV-positive teen. The N
and Cable Positive will hold screenings of this special (Nov. 24)
for Cable Positive chapter members and cable operators and their
kids in three markets: New York, Los Angeles, and Denver. The N
will also premiere four new KNOW HIV/AIDS PSAs and feature an online
quiz (http://www.the-n.com/know/) that will help its viewers test
their knowledge about HIV/AIDS.
* MTV's sexual health campaign Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself
will premiere Social History of HIV/AIDS (Nov. 26), a show that
combines testimonial-style interviews of young people who have been
directly affected by HIV/AIDS with historical information on the
epidemic and expert interviews; Crashing With Good Charlotte (Nov.
29), a special that follows platinum-selling rockers Good Charlotte
performing a free concert after MTV and SIECUS hosted a sexual
health forum in Punxsutawney, Pa. The campaign will also premiere
two new PSAs and support local grassroots events across the country,
including free HIV testing throughout December in New York, a youth
forum in Seattle (Dec. 1), and other events in Oregon and Idaho.
* MTV channels worldwide, along with VH1 and Infinity Broadcasting
radio stations in the U.S., will premiere 46664 - The Concert in
Association with MTV's Staying Alive (Dec. 1). The 90-minute all-
star concert from Cape Town will feature performances by Beyonce,
Bono, Eurythmics, Anastacia and many others, as part of Nelson
Mandela's global HIV/AIDS awareness campaign and fundraising
initiative for South Africa. Infinity radio stations across the
country will also air the PSAs associated with the concert. In
addition, the concert is being offered rights free to all radio and
TV broadcasters globally.
* As part of MTV International's Staying Alive campaign, MTV channels
around the world will premiere Roll Call, a new 30-minute special
(hosted by MTV UK & Ireland's Tim Kash) that will salute young
people whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS. MTV channels
will also re-broadcast Meeting Mandela: A Staying Alive Special, a
60-minute show (hosted by Beyonce) where young people from diverse
backgrounds discuss topics such as HIV/AIDS with the great
humanitarian and former President of South Africa. A new print
campaign for Staying Alive UK will premiere (Dec. 1), and the
results of Staying Alive 2003 Global Sexual Behavior Study that
surveyed young people in 29 countries will be announced tomorrow.
* MTV India, MTV Philippines and MTV Thailand will each premiere
locally-produced concerts dedicated to HIV/AIDS awareness featuring
local and international artists, as well as political figures. In
Germany and Austria, a special edition Staying Alive condom will go
on sale (Dec. 1) in a partnership with Condomi, Europe's largest
condom manufacturer. MTV Russia has produced nine short-form
specials addressing HIV/AIDS for their anti-drug campaign, Live.
The short-form episodes will be edited together for a 30-minute
special (premiering Dec. 1), which will also mark the launch of the
Staying Alive Web site (www.staying-alive.org) translated into
Russian.
* VH1 will air VH1 News Presents: AIDS: A Pop Culture History
(Dec. 1), a one-hour documentary (hosted by Ashley Judd) that
reveals how pop culture influenced the way the public has
experienced HIV/AIDS over the past 20 years. The network will post
a tolerance survey on its Web site
(http://www.vh1.com/interact/know_HIV/) in conjunction with the news
special. In addition, VH1 is sponsoring a fundraiser for Cable
Positive (Dec. 1) with the Broadway show Taboo, which is a musical
portrait of two young men, Leigh Bowery and George O'Dowd (Boy
George), who find their expression during the flamboyant 1980's
London scene.
* Showtime will exhibit Longtime Companion (Dec. 1), an Oscar-
nominated film that chronicles the lives of close friends affected
by HIV/AIDS. The network will also premiere NYU Filmmakers-KNOW
HIV/AIDS (Dec. 1), six short films (hosted by Alec Baldwin) that
explore AIDS-related themes from young filmmakers at the Kanbar
Institute of Film and Television, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
* BET will air 106th & Park (Dec. 1), a special live telecast
featuring hosts AJ and Free, celebrity guests Alicia Keys and Wyclef
Jean and medical experts discussing the impact of HIV/AIDS on young
people; Naked Truth 2 (Dec. 1), an award-winning documentary that
explores the personal journey of six African-American women who are
either affected or infected with the devastating disease; and Rap
City: Tha Bassment (Dec. 1), a special two-hour episode that
highlights important HIV testing information. BET Nightly News
(hosted by Jacque Reid) will also feature special HIV-related
segments. And BET's sexual health campaign Rap-It-Up will launch a
celebrity charity auction supporting HIV/AIDS organizations, and
will support its first Rap-It-Up film competition, focusing on AIDS
awareness in the African-American community.
About KNOW HIV/AIDS
KNOW HIV/AIDS is an unprecedented, global media campaign that combats HIV/AIDS through public service messages (PSAs), television and radio programming, and free print and online content. The multi-year effort combines the public health expertise of the Kaiser Family Foundation with the power of Viacom's media brands and unmatched audience relationships to foster awareness of the disease and its prevention. Viacom and the Kaiser Family Foundation, in collaboration with the National AIDS Trust, extended KNOW HIV/AIDS under the Staying Alive brand in the United Kingdom. Funding is being provided by Viacom, the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Mel Karmazin Foundation and Sumner Redstone. More information about KNOW HIV/AIDS is available through the initiative's comprehensive Web site, www.knowhivaids.org, or toll-free number 1-866-344-KNOW (5669).
About Viacom Inc.
Viacom is a leading global media company, with preeminent positions in broadcast and cable television, radio, outdoor advertising, and online. With programming that appeals to audiences in every demographic category across virtually all media, the company is a leader in the creation, promotion, and distribution of entertainment, news, sports, music, and comedy. Viacom's well- known brands include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, Infinity Broadcasting, Viacom Outdoor, UPN, TV Land, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, Showtime, Blockbuster, and Simon & Schuster. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.
About The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is an independent national health philanthropy dedicated to providing information and analysis on health issues to policymakers, the media, and the general public. It is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. Information on HIV/AIDS is available at www.kff.org, and a daily news summary report on developments in HIV/AIDS is available on kaisernetwork.org, the Foundation's free health information service.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Viacom Inc.
Monday November 24, 11:46 am ET
Viacom and Kaiser Family Foundation's multi-platform initiative delivers HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention messages through events, cable television programming and public service announcements
NEW YORK, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- KNOW HIV/AIDS, the ground-breaking cross-platform media campaign launched in January 2003, will support World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) through a series of events, cable television programming, public service announcements (PSAs) and online activities. The campaign, which delivers HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention messages to millions of people around the globe and features media placements valued in excess of $120 million, is a partnership of Viacom, one of the largest media companies in the world, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a leader in health information and research.
As part of the World AIDS Day activities, Viacom's cable networks will air nearly 20 HIV/AIDS-related specials and news updates, and will give KNOW HIV/AIDS PSAs prime placement and frequency across the company's television, radio and outdoor properties. Viacom's properties include the broadcast networks CBS and UPN; cable networks MTV, BET, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, TV Land, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, The N, Showtime, Spike TV and Comedy Central; 185 Infinity Broadcasting radio stations in the top 50 markets, and billboards, buses and bus shelter advertising faces in the nation's largest markets.
In addition, to heighten awareness of the business community's commitment to HIV/AIDS, Sumner Redstone, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, and John Demsey, President of MAC Cosmetics, will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on December 1. They will be joined by Rory Kennedy (MoxieFirecracker Films), SuChin Pak (MTV News), Linda Ellerbee (Nick News) and Big Tigger (BET's Rap City: Tha Bassment). Both Viacom and MAC Cosmetics are members of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS.
Today, as many as 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS and more than 20 million people have died. Yet, UNAIDS projects that nearly two- thirds of all new HIV/AIDS infections worldwide could by eliminated by 2010 with more effective education and prevention.
Drew E. Altman, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Kaiser Family Foundation, said, "The KNOW HIV/AIDS campaign is demonstrating the critical role that media can play in informing people about HIV/AIDS and ways that they can protect themselves."
Mr. Redstone said, "AIDS is on a fast track of becoming the worst epidemic in history. As one of the world's largest media companies, we are proud to use our dynamic brands and worldwide reach to break the silence about HIV/AIDS."
Mel Karmazin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Viacom, said, "The people around the world who are most at risk are the exact audiences that we reach every day. KNOW HIV/AIDS has been delivering lifesaving information to our viewers while empowering them to act, to protect themselves and to get tested. In observance of World AIDS Day, we are placing a heightened emphasis on these messages."
Year-to-date, more than five million people have visited the campaign's Web site and more than 200,000 have called one of the toll-free hotlines supported by the initiative. A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 44 percent of American adults either recognized the "KNOW HIV/AIDS" brand or had seen at least one of the PSAs. In two of the key target audiences, African-Americans and Latinos, recognition was 51 percent.
KNOW HIV/AIDS World AIDS Day Activities:
* Nickelodeon, The N, The Kaiser Family Foundation and UNICEF will
host World AIDS Day 2003: Youth Speak About HIV/AIDS (Dec. 1), a
discussion led by Stephen Lewis, Secretary-General's UN Special
Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, who is moderating a panel of HIV-
positive young people before an audience of 200 high school students
from the New York area. The event, which includes keynote speakers
Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, and Linda Ellerbee,
host of Nick News, will feature a screening of excerpts from Nick
News: The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and AIDS and The N's A
Walk in Your Shoes: Living with HIV/AIDS.
* Nickelodeon will air The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and
AIDS (Dec. 1), a look at how AIDS is affecting the country's kids
and what's being done about it. More people die of AIDS in South
Africa than in any other country on earth, and with upwards of a
thousand people dying each day, many children are left without
parents. Nick News and award-winning journalist Linda Ellerbee
traveled to South Africa for this special.
* Nickelodeon and The N will premiere The N's A Walk in Your Shoes:
Living with HIV/AIDS (Dec. 1), a special that features an HIV-
negative teen "walking in the shoes" of an HIV-positive teen. The N
and Cable Positive will hold screenings of this special (Nov. 24)
for Cable Positive chapter members and cable operators and their
kids in three markets: New York, Los Angeles, and Denver. The N
will also premiere four new KNOW HIV/AIDS PSAs and feature an online
quiz (http://www.the-n.com/know/) that will help its viewers test
their knowledge about HIV/AIDS.
* MTV's sexual health campaign Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself
will premiere Social History of HIV/AIDS (Nov. 26), a show that
combines testimonial-style interviews of young people who have been
directly affected by HIV/AIDS with historical information on the
epidemic and expert interviews; Crashing With Good Charlotte (Nov.
29), a special that follows platinum-selling rockers Good Charlotte
performing a free concert after MTV and SIECUS hosted a sexual
health forum in Punxsutawney, Pa. The campaign will also premiere
two new PSAs and support local grassroots events across the country,
including free HIV testing throughout December in New York, a youth
forum in Seattle (Dec. 1), and other events in Oregon and Idaho.
* MTV channels worldwide, along with VH1 and Infinity Broadcasting
radio stations in the U.S., will premiere 46664 - The Concert in
Association with MTV's Staying Alive (Dec. 1). The 90-minute all-
star concert from Cape Town will feature performances by Beyonce,
Bono, Eurythmics, Anastacia and many others, as part of Nelson
Mandela's global HIV/AIDS awareness campaign and fundraising
initiative for South Africa. Infinity radio stations across the
country will also air the PSAs associated with the concert. In
addition, the concert is being offered rights free to all radio and
TV broadcasters globally.
* As part of MTV International's Staying Alive campaign, MTV channels
around the world will premiere Roll Call, a new 30-minute special
(hosted by MTV UK & Ireland's Tim Kash) that will salute young
people whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS. MTV channels
will also re-broadcast Meeting Mandela: A Staying Alive Special, a
60-minute show (hosted by Beyonce) where young people from diverse
backgrounds discuss topics such as HIV/AIDS with the great
humanitarian and former President of South Africa. A new print
campaign for Staying Alive UK will premiere (Dec. 1), and the
results of Staying Alive 2003 Global Sexual Behavior Study that
surveyed young people in 29 countries will be announced tomorrow.
* MTV India, MTV Philippines and MTV Thailand will each premiere
locally-produced concerts dedicated to HIV/AIDS awareness featuring
local and international artists, as well as political figures. In
Germany and Austria, a special edition Staying Alive condom will go
on sale (Dec. 1) in a partnership with Condomi, Europe's largest
condom manufacturer. MTV Russia has produced nine short-form
specials addressing HIV/AIDS for their anti-drug campaign, Live.
The short-form episodes will be edited together for a 30-minute
special (premiering Dec. 1), which will also mark the launch of the
Staying Alive Web site (www.staying-alive.org) translated into
Russian.
* VH1 will air VH1 News Presents: AIDS: A Pop Culture History
(Dec. 1), a one-hour documentary (hosted by Ashley Judd) that
reveals how pop culture influenced the way the public has
experienced HIV/AIDS over the past 20 years. The network will post
a tolerance survey on its Web site
(http://www.vh1.com/interact/know_HIV/) in conjunction with the news
special. In addition, VH1 is sponsoring a fundraiser for Cable
Positive (Dec. 1) with the Broadway show Taboo, which is a musical
portrait of two young men, Leigh Bowery and George O'Dowd (Boy
George), who find their expression during the flamboyant 1980's
London scene.
* Showtime will exhibit Longtime Companion (Dec. 1), an Oscar-
nominated film that chronicles the lives of close friends affected
by HIV/AIDS. The network will also premiere NYU Filmmakers-KNOW
HIV/AIDS (Dec. 1), six short films (hosted by Alec Baldwin) that
explore AIDS-related themes from young filmmakers at the Kanbar
Institute of Film and Television, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
* BET will air 106th & Park (Dec. 1), a special live telecast
featuring hosts AJ and Free, celebrity guests Alicia Keys and Wyclef
Jean and medical experts discussing the impact of HIV/AIDS on young
people; Naked Truth 2 (Dec. 1), an award-winning documentary that
explores the personal journey of six African-American women who are
either affected or infected with the devastating disease; and Rap
City: Tha Bassment (Dec. 1), a special two-hour episode that
highlights important HIV testing information. BET Nightly News
(hosted by Jacque Reid) will also feature special HIV-related
segments. And BET's sexual health campaign Rap-It-Up will launch a
celebrity charity auction supporting HIV/AIDS organizations, and
will support its first Rap-It-Up film competition, focusing on AIDS
awareness in the African-American community.
About KNOW HIV/AIDS
KNOW HIV/AIDS is an unprecedented, global media campaign that combats HIV/AIDS through public service messages (PSAs), television and radio programming, and free print and online content. The multi-year effort combines the public health expertise of the Kaiser Family Foundation with the power of Viacom's media brands and unmatched audience relationships to foster awareness of the disease and its prevention. Viacom and the Kaiser Family Foundation, in collaboration with the National AIDS Trust, extended KNOW HIV/AIDS under the Staying Alive brand in the United Kingdom. Funding is being provided by Viacom, the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Mel Karmazin Foundation and Sumner Redstone. More information about KNOW HIV/AIDS is available through the initiative's comprehensive Web site, www.knowhivaids.org, or toll-free number 1-866-344-KNOW (5669).
About Viacom Inc.
Viacom is a leading global media company, with preeminent positions in broadcast and cable television, radio, outdoor advertising, and online. With programming that appeals to audiences in every demographic category across virtually all media, the company is a leader in the creation, promotion, and distribution of entertainment, news, sports, music, and comedy. Viacom's well- known brands include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, Infinity Broadcasting, Viacom Outdoor, UPN, TV Land, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, Showtime, Blockbuster, and Simon & Schuster. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.
About The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is an independent national health philanthropy dedicated to providing information and analysis on health issues to policymakers, the media, and the general public. It is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. Information on HIV/AIDS is available at www.kff.org, and a daily news summary report on developments in HIV/AIDS is available on kaisernetwork.org, the Foundation's free health information service.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Viacom Inc.
How to get the yoof interested in politics
Paul Carr
Monday November 24, 2003
The Guardian
Like all Media Guardian readers, there's nothing I hate more than a lazy generalisation. Whether it's being told that all asylum seekers are criminals (the Daily Mail), all protesters are anarchists (the Sun) or that all nurses are naughty (the Sport), it's almost impossible to open a newspaper without an unfounded catch-all statement slapping you in the face. And it's not just newspapers; in fact the most infuriating media generalisation I've encountered recently has come from people who write about television.
I'm talking about the issue of young people and politics. If there's one thing the pundits are agreed on it's that young people are not interested in politics. Text messages, yes. Alcopops, yes. Casual sex in alleyways, yes. But politics, absolutely not.
Just look what happened to The Sharp End, the BBC's irreverent Clive Anderson-fronted politics show, broadcast at 9.15 on Saturday mornings. Young people didn't watch it. And they don't watch Andrew Neil's This Week or Jeremy Vine's The Politics Show. Case closed - young people and politics don't mix - or as Sam Cash, executive producer of The Sharp End put it: "It's very difficult to set out to do a show for a politically disenchanted audience." Nyyyyerk. Politically disenchanted? Even repeating the words makes me cross.
Just because we don't want to watch Clive Anderson making nervous wisecracks at 9.15am- or a dreadful politics show presented by the charming Jeremy Vine or a charming politics show presented by the dreadful Andrew Neil, does not mean we're not interested in politics. What it means is that we're not interested in uninspired, lazily titled, stupidly scheduled television programmes about politics. Or to put it another way - it's not the message that's failing to enchant us, but the medium.
Now, given that you're reading these words in the back pages of Media Guardian and not at the front, you can probably guess where I'm going next. Yes, the internet. On the internet, things are different; young people are more engaged with politics than they have been for decades. You only have to Google your way through a random selection of webloggers - average age well south of 35 - to realise that the younger end of the web is obsessed with the goings on in Westminster and Washington. And I'm not just talking about bloggers banging on about sexy single issues like Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.
I'm talking about vast numbers of regular web users exploring the whole political landscape from immigration to inflation rates. Take the recent Tory leadership election - an un-sexy event if ever there was one and yet it was a red-hot conversation topic on discussion boards across the web, from Popbitch to Football365.com. The fact that Newsnight made the Paxman/Howard "did you threaten to overrule him?" interview available on its website only added fuel to the fire. Who could have predicted that a six-year-old political interview would suddenly become the web's hottest viral video?
But the fact that it did only serves to show why the web has captured the political imagination of young people in a way that television hasn't. For all of Question Time's cute experiments with text-message comments ("I thort mIcal hwrd was ded. Lol!") and red-button voting, TV does not do interactivity well - particularly when it comes to news and current affairs.
The internet generation has no desire to watch Andrew Neil struggling to explain what was said by the prime minister's official spokesman that morning - we've already read the transcript and blogged the best bits - or to press our red buttons to vote on whether the Tories should reinstate Margaret Thatcher as leader.
What we want to do with politics is to interact with it properly. We want to discuss it on message boards, to argue about it in chat rooms, to link to video clips that illustrate the point we're trying to make, to use the email addresses and weblogs of elected officials to put our concerns directly to them. We want to arrange email petitions, to participate in live web chats with the prime minister (maybe one day) and to do our own research before deciding whether any party or politician is worthy of our vote. Then, once we've done all that, we might - possibly - tune in to BBC1 for a few minutes to watch Abbott and Portillo flirting for ratings.
And yet, despite failure after failure, the BBC will no doubt continue its battle to win young political hearts and minds. And that's fine - I'd hate to see down-wit-da-kids pundits like Linda "we need a funny woman" Smith and Rod "the face of youth" Liddle disappear from our screen. But just as long as they realise that it's a battle they'll never win. Not because young people are too stupid for politics, not because we don't care about what goes on in Westminster, but because anything they can broadcast, we can blog better.
· Paul Carr is editor of The London News Review and editor-in-chief of The Friday Thing
Paul Carr
Monday November 24, 2003
The Guardian
Like all Media Guardian readers, there's nothing I hate more than a lazy generalisation. Whether it's being told that all asylum seekers are criminals (the Daily Mail), all protesters are anarchists (the Sun) or that all nurses are naughty (the Sport), it's almost impossible to open a newspaper without an unfounded catch-all statement slapping you in the face. And it's not just newspapers; in fact the most infuriating media generalisation I've encountered recently has come from people who write about television.
I'm talking about the issue of young people and politics. If there's one thing the pundits are agreed on it's that young people are not interested in politics. Text messages, yes. Alcopops, yes. Casual sex in alleyways, yes. But politics, absolutely not.
Just look what happened to The Sharp End, the BBC's irreverent Clive Anderson-fronted politics show, broadcast at 9.15 on Saturday mornings. Young people didn't watch it. And they don't watch Andrew Neil's This Week or Jeremy Vine's The Politics Show. Case closed - young people and politics don't mix - or as Sam Cash, executive producer of The Sharp End put it: "It's very difficult to set out to do a show for a politically disenchanted audience." Nyyyyerk. Politically disenchanted? Even repeating the words makes me cross.
Just because we don't want to watch Clive Anderson making nervous wisecracks at 9.15am- or a dreadful politics show presented by the charming Jeremy Vine or a charming politics show presented by the dreadful Andrew Neil, does not mean we're not interested in politics. What it means is that we're not interested in uninspired, lazily titled, stupidly scheduled television programmes about politics. Or to put it another way - it's not the message that's failing to enchant us, but the medium.
Now, given that you're reading these words in the back pages of Media Guardian and not at the front, you can probably guess where I'm going next. Yes, the internet. On the internet, things are different; young people are more engaged with politics than they have been for decades. You only have to Google your way through a random selection of webloggers - average age well south of 35 - to realise that the younger end of the web is obsessed with the goings on in Westminster and Washington. And I'm not just talking about bloggers banging on about sexy single issues like Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.
I'm talking about vast numbers of regular web users exploring the whole political landscape from immigration to inflation rates. Take the recent Tory leadership election - an un-sexy event if ever there was one and yet it was a red-hot conversation topic on discussion boards across the web, from Popbitch to Football365.com. The fact that Newsnight made the Paxman/Howard "did you threaten to overrule him?" interview available on its website only added fuel to the fire. Who could have predicted that a six-year-old political interview would suddenly become the web's hottest viral video?
But the fact that it did only serves to show why the web has captured the political imagination of young people in a way that television hasn't. For all of Question Time's cute experiments with text-message comments ("I thort mIcal hwrd was ded. Lol!") and red-button voting, TV does not do interactivity well - particularly when it comes to news and current affairs.
The internet generation has no desire to watch Andrew Neil struggling to explain what was said by the prime minister's official spokesman that morning - we've already read the transcript and blogged the best bits - or to press our red buttons to vote on whether the Tories should reinstate Margaret Thatcher as leader.
What we want to do with politics is to interact with it properly. We want to discuss it on message boards, to argue about it in chat rooms, to link to video clips that illustrate the point we're trying to make, to use the email addresses and weblogs of elected officials to put our concerns directly to them. We want to arrange email petitions, to participate in live web chats with the prime minister (maybe one day) and to do our own research before deciding whether any party or politician is worthy of our vote. Then, once we've done all that, we might - possibly - tune in to BBC1 for a few minutes to watch Abbott and Portillo flirting for ratings.
And yet, despite failure after failure, the BBC will no doubt continue its battle to win young political hearts and minds. And that's fine - I'd hate to see down-wit-da-kids pundits like Linda "we need a funny woman" Smith and Rod "the face of youth" Liddle disappear from our screen. But just as long as they realise that it's a battle they'll never win. Not because young people are too stupid for politics, not because we don't care about what goes on in Westminster, but because anything they can broadcast, we can blog better.
· Paul Carr is editor of The London News Review and editor-in-chief of The Friday Thing
November 22, 2003
Impact of ads on children gets look
Younger kids more likely to believe them
By ASHLEY McCALL
Tribune Staff Writer
Mendoza conference
The University of Notre Dame's Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide at the Mendoza College of Business sponsored a two-day conference Thursday and Friday.
The event was organized by Ann Tenbrunsel, associate professor of management at Mendoza, and featured faculty from Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins University and the universities of Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Topics included "Does Money Matter Most?" a look at rewards systems in organizations; "Ethical Issues Related to Retirement Plans"; and "Choose, Choose, Choose, Choose, Choose, Choose: Emerging and Prospective Research on the Deleterious Effects of Living in Consumer Hyperchoice."
SOUTH BEND -- In 1978, the Federal Trade Commission proposed bans on certain television advertisements aimed at children.
Specifically, the agency wanted to prohibit commercials aimed at children under the age of 8 and those marketing sugared foods to children ages 8 to 12.
As anyone who has ever caught a glimpse of weekday afternoon or Saturday morning kids' programming knows, the FTC lost that battle.
Since then, research on the impact of advertising on children has dropped off, said Elizabeth Moore, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.
But Moore is one researcher who is scrutinizing children's perceptions of advertising.
"I think we need to be concerned about this," she said.
Moore presented some startling figures on children's media use on Friday as part of "Ethical Dimensions in Business: Reflections from Scholars." The two-day conference was sponsored by Mendoza's Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide and featured eight academic researchers from Notre Dame and other universities.
Advertisers spend about $15 billion each year marketing to children using a variety of media, Moore said.
Some reports indicate kids ages 6 to 11 watch 28 hours of TV each week and see approximately 25,000 commercials each year, according to Moore's presentation.
Often, TV commercials and other ads focus on the hedonistic aspects of consumption while using special effects, animation, humor and fantasy, Moore said.
To underscore that point, she presented a sampling of commercials that appeared during a typical after-school TV program.
Bright, colorful, fast-paced ads promoted food, toys, clothing and even vacations and sweepstakes to young audiences.
The more a child watches television, the more likely he is to believe television commercials, Moore said.
Younger children, too, are more likely to believe ads always tell the truth, she added. But older children, despite the fact that they have developed some skepticism, are more likely to be affected by commercials.
Older children have the ability to integrate information, Moore explained, but they lack a full understanding of motives.
It's not just television advertising that warrants scrutiny.
Advertisers' use of other media, especially the Internet, has exploded, Moore said.
Among children ages 5 to 14, 88 percent use computers and 53 percent have access to the Internet, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
And once they are online, what Web sites are kids visiting?
The top five Internet destinations for kids ages 2 to 11 are Diva Starz (Mattel), Toon Town Online, Polly Pocket, Barbie and DisneyChannel.com, according to Nielsen/Net Ratings.
On the issue of children and the Internet, pornography and privacy have been at the forefront of public discussion, but online advertising has received little attention, Moore said.
"We know very little about how kids are reacting, how they're behaving on the Internet," she said. "I haven't seen much evidence of examining new media."
The line between advertising and entertainment is increasingly blurred, particularly on the Internet, Moore said.
For instance, sites like www.candystand.com feature various games based on candy and other sweet products.
Why is Moore so concerned about whether or not advertising has an impact on children? She contends the marketing can have adverse effects.
For kids who are exposed to a great deal of advertising "it changes the kinds of foods they want, not just the brands," she said.
There's also the pest factor, as children may consistently nag their parents to get them the food, toys or other merchandise marketed to them.
Yes, parents do have a responsibility to be gatekeepers, Moore said, but when children face an avalanche of advertising, it becomes increasingly difficult for parents.
"I'm not anti-advertising by any means," she added. "My point here is children are a different audience. They can't defend themselves."
Younger kids more likely to believe them
By ASHLEY McCALL
Tribune Staff Writer
Mendoza conference
The University of Notre Dame's Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide at the Mendoza College of Business sponsored a two-day conference Thursday and Friday.
The event was organized by Ann Tenbrunsel, associate professor of management at Mendoza, and featured faculty from Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins University and the universities of Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Topics included "Does Money Matter Most?" a look at rewards systems in organizations; "Ethical Issues Related to Retirement Plans"; and "Choose, Choose, Choose, Choose, Choose, Choose: Emerging and Prospective Research on the Deleterious Effects of Living in Consumer Hyperchoice."
SOUTH BEND -- In 1978, the Federal Trade Commission proposed bans on certain television advertisements aimed at children.
Specifically, the agency wanted to prohibit commercials aimed at children under the age of 8 and those marketing sugared foods to children ages 8 to 12.
As anyone who has ever caught a glimpse of weekday afternoon or Saturday morning kids' programming knows, the FTC lost that battle.
Since then, research on the impact of advertising on children has dropped off, said Elizabeth Moore, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.
But Moore is one researcher who is scrutinizing children's perceptions of advertising.
"I think we need to be concerned about this," she said.
Moore presented some startling figures on children's media use on Friday as part of "Ethical Dimensions in Business: Reflections from Scholars." The two-day conference was sponsored by Mendoza's Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide and featured eight academic researchers from Notre Dame and other universities.
Advertisers spend about $15 billion each year marketing to children using a variety of media, Moore said.
Some reports indicate kids ages 6 to 11 watch 28 hours of TV each week and see approximately 25,000 commercials each year, according to Moore's presentation.
Often, TV commercials and other ads focus on the hedonistic aspects of consumption while using special effects, animation, humor and fantasy, Moore said.
To underscore that point, she presented a sampling of commercials that appeared during a typical after-school TV program.
Bright, colorful, fast-paced ads promoted food, toys, clothing and even vacations and sweepstakes to young audiences.
The more a child watches television, the more likely he is to believe television commercials, Moore said.
Younger children, too, are more likely to believe ads always tell the truth, she added. But older children, despite the fact that they have developed some skepticism, are more likely to be affected by commercials.
Older children have the ability to integrate information, Moore explained, but they lack a full understanding of motives.
It's not just television advertising that warrants scrutiny.
Advertisers' use of other media, especially the Internet, has exploded, Moore said.
Among children ages 5 to 14, 88 percent use computers and 53 percent have access to the Internet, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
And once they are online, what Web sites are kids visiting?
The top five Internet destinations for kids ages 2 to 11 are Diva Starz (Mattel), Toon Town Online, Polly Pocket, Barbie and DisneyChannel.com, according to Nielsen/Net Ratings.
On the issue of children and the Internet, pornography and privacy have been at the forefront of public discussion, but online advertising has received little attention, Moore said.
"We know very little about how kids are reacting, how they're behaving on the Internet," she said. "I haven't seen much evidence of examining new media."
The line between advertising and entertainment is increasingly blurred, particularly on the Internet, Moore said.
For instance, sites like www.candystand.com feature various games based on candy and other sweet products.
Why is Moore so concerned about whether or not advertising has an impact on children? She contends the marketing can have adverse effects.
For kids who are exposed to a great deal of advertising "it changes the kinds of foods they want, not just the brands," she said.
There's also the pest factor, as children may consistently nag their parents to get them the food, toys or other merchandise marketed to them.
Yes, parents do have a responsibility to be gatekeepers, Moore said, but when children face an avalanche of advertising, it becomes increasingly difficult for parents.
"I'm not anti-advertising by any means," she added. "My point here is children are a different audience. They can't defend themselves."
November 21, 2003
Monday, Nov 17, 2003
ELLEgirl Defies Shakeout Among Teen Spin-offs, Grows Pages
by Larry Dobrow
A few years ago, teen magazines were all the rage in the publishing world. The category’s venerable titles (Seventeen, YM and Teen) remained advertisers’ little darlings, while upstarts like Teen People and CosmoGirl debuted to acclaim from readers and marketers alike. Survey after survey found that the purchasing power of teen girls was growing exponentially, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when companies that traditionally hadn’t targeted teens started to shift dollars out of the 35-plus category and into the teen mags. But then the recession kicked in and the teen mags started to have trouble finding dates to the prom. Teen went the way of leg-warmers and Wham!, while Seventeen’s sluggish performance led to a front-office purge in July that saw vice president/publisher Ellen Abramowitz and editor-in-chief Sabrina Weill replaced by, respectively, Redbook vice president/publisher Jayne Jamison and CosmoGirl editor-in-chief Atoosa Rubenstein. As for the other titles, only CosmoGirl thrived during the down years. It grew 20% in pages in 2002 and remains on pace for an 11% gain in 2003; Teen People and YM are more or less flat in terms of ad pages this year. In light of the category shakeup, the emergence of ELLEgirl as one of the year’s success stories surprised many onlookers. Even now, one or two pundits snipe that the magazine’s marketing model – it bills itself as “the international style guide for girls who dare to be different” – will only have a limited appeal. On the other hand, its quick growth has made somewhat of a seer out of Magazine Publishers of America president Nina Link. Speaking about the teen-mag category in May 2001, she said that it would likely trend towards niche publications: “Teens and news, teens and sports, teens and hobbies.” ELLEgirl is proud to be niche. “We’re not mass and we’ll never be mass,” says vice president and publisher Deborah Burns. “The more mass you are, the more you have to dilute the message to please the largest number of people. That may work in other magazine categories, but we believe that smaller is better.” At the same time, of course, she stresses that ELLEgirl is the largest teen fashion/beauty magazine in the world. Since its debut in August 2001, ELLEgirl has slowly grown its frequency (quarterly in 2002, bimonthly in 2003, eight times per year in 2004) while at the same time creeping its rate base upward (it rises to 500,000 effective February 2004). Burns, who ascended to her post late last month when Jeanne Schwenk announced she’d be leaving the magazine at the end of the year (she’s getting married and moving to Chicago), claims that this growth plan sits quite well with advertisers. “We reach the influencers, which is a compelling story for them,” Burns explains. “[Influencers] don’t just influence their peers and each other, but also their cool youth-seeking parents in a way that no other generation before has done.” It’s an enormous market: according to Teenage Research Unlimited, teens spent $170 billion in 2002, and that figure doesn’t account for Little Janey pressing dad to splurge on the sedan rather than the coupe. Obviously ELLEgirl’s most important ad category is fashion and beauty, with companies like L’Oréal leading the way. Despite favorable ad page and revenue trends (the mag is up, respectively 103% and 150% over 2002 levels, though 2003’s two extra issues skew the year-to-year comparison), Burns is determined to drive ELLEgirl’s non-endemic advertising upward, with consumer electronics as a logical primary target. She promises that such expansion will be handled carefully, taking a subtle swipe at the competition in the process: “The [companies] we pursue are going to be the ones teens respond to and buy. Some of the advertising we see in Teen Vogue may not be as relevant for this market. The reader of that magazine would seem to be different than the reader of ELLEgirl just by virtue of the advertising in the magazine.” As for her readers, Burns is quite impressed by their level of marketing and cultural sophistication. “They’ve been marketed to since they were born,” she notes. As a result, Burns says ELLEgirl shoots higher than many of its peers, attempting to avoid the my-mother’s-a-drunk-and-I-had-to-raise-my-brother-and-sister drivel that used to plague the genre. “We try to respect the reader and inspire rather than dictate,” she explains. “If you’re going to be mass, you have to prey on their insecurities – ‘am I pretty enough?,’ ‘do I need a boyfriend?’ We like to think we’re above that.”
MediaPost Communications
http://www.mediapost.com
ELLEgirl Defies Shakeout Among Teen Spin-offs, Grows Pages
by Larry Dobrow
A few years ago, teen magazines were all the rage in the publishing world. The category’s venerable titles (Seventeen, YM and Teen) remained advertisers’ little darlings, while upstarts like Teen People and CosmoGirl debuted to acclaim from readers and marketers alike. Survey after survey found that the purchasing power of teen girls was growing exponentially, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when companies that traditionally hadn’t targeted teens started to shift dollars out of the 35-plus category and into the teen mags. But then the recession kicked in and the teen mags started to have trouble finding dates to the prom. Teen went the way of leg-warmers and Wham!, while Seventeen’s sluggish performance led to a front-office purge in July that saw vice president/publisher Ellen Abramowitz and editor-in-chief Sabrina Weill replaced by, respectively, Redbook vice president/publisher Jayne Jamison and CosmoGirl editor-in-chief Atoosa Rubenstein. As for the other titles, only CosmoGirl thrived during the down years. It grew 20% in pages in 2002 and remains on pace for an 11% gain in 2003; Teen People and YM are more or less flat in terms of ad pages this year. In light of the category shakeup, the emergence of ELLEgirl as one of the year’s success stories surprised many onlookers. Even now, one or two pundits snipe that the magazine’s marketing model – it bills itself as “the international style guide for girls who dare to be different” – will only have a limited appeal. On the other hand, its quick growth has made somewhat of a seer out of Magazine Publishers of America president Nina Link. Speaking about the teen-mag category in May 2001, she said that it would likely trend towards niche publications: “Teens and news, teens and sports, teens and hobbies.” ELLEgirl is proud to be niche. “We’re not mass and we’ll never be mass,” says vice president and publisher Deborah Burns. “The more mass you are, the more you have to dilute the message to please the largest number of people. That may work in other magazine categories, but we believe that smaller is better.” At the same time, of course, she stresses that ELLEgirl is the largest teen fashion/beauty magazine in the world. Since its debut in August 2001, ELLEgirl has slowly grown its frequency (quarterly in 2002, bimonthly in 2003, eight times per year in 2004) while at the same time creeping its rate base upward (it rises to 500,000 effective February 2004). Burns, who ascended to her post late last month when Jeanne Schwenk announced she’d be leaving the magazine at the end of the year (she’s getting married and moving to Chicago), claims that this growth plan sits quite well with advertisers. “We reach the influencers, which is a compelling story for them,” Burns explains. “[Influencers] don’t just influence their peers and each other, but also their cool youth-seeking parents in a way that no other generation before has done.” It’s an enormous market: according to Teenage Research Unlimited, teens spent $170 billion in 2002, and that figure doesn’t account for Little Janey pressing dad to splurge on the sedan rather than the coupe. Obviously ELLEgirl’s most important ad category is fashion and beauty, with companies like L’Oréal leading the way. Despite favorable ad page and revenue trends (the mag is up, respectively 103% and 150% over 2002 levels, though 2003’s two extra issues skew the year-to-year comparison), Burns is determined to drive ELLEgirl’s non-endemic advertising upward, with consumer electronics as a logical primary target. She promises that such expansion will be handled carefully, taking a subtle swipe at the competition in the process: “The [companies] we pursue are going to be the ones teens respond to and buy. Some of the advertising we see in Teen Vogue may not be as relevant for this market. The reader of that magazine would seem to be different than the reader of ELLEgirl just by virtue of the advertising in the magazine.” As for her readers, Burns is quite impressed by their level of marketing and cultural sophistication. “They’ve been marketed to since they were born,” she notes. As a result, Burns says ELLEgirl shoots higher than many of its peers, attempting to avoid the my-mother’s-a-drunk-and-I-had-to-raise-my-brother-and-sister drivel that used to plague the genre. “We try to respect the reader and inspire rather than dictate,” she explains. “If you’re going to be mass, you have to prey on their insecurities – ‘am I pretty enough?,’ ‘do I need a boyfriend?’ We like to think we’re above that.”
MediaPost Communications
http://www.mediapost.com
Schüler machten Film
FILM-PROJEKT / Die 3. Klassen der Volksschule I Gmuend beteiligten sich am Trickfilmprojekt. Thema war die EU-Osterweiterung.
GM?ND / Einen eigenen Trickfilm zu produzieren, ist wohl ein Traum für viele Kinder. Für die Schüler der 3. Klassen der Volksschule I wurde er Wirklichkeit: Im Rahmen des Projekts ‚Trickfilmpreis‘, das vom UNICEF-Projekt ‚KinderRechteKoffer‘ entwickelt wurde, gestalteten die Kinder am 31. Oktober, 6. und 7. November einen eigenen Film zum Thema Kinderrechte im Angesicht der EU-Erweiterung. Die Kinder sollten dabei über ihre Rechte und Moeglichkeiten informiert werden, und gleichzeitig die Chance haben, sich mit Medien bzw. mit den M?glichkeiten des Films kritisch auseinanderzusetzen.
Die teilnehmenden Schulen wurden nach bestimmten Kriterien ausgewaehlt, die Schüler sollten bereits ein Vorwissen über Kinderrechte und die EU-Erweiterung mitbringen. Die Arbeit der Schüler wurde auch mittels Video dokumentiert. Das ‚Making of‘ soll es im ORF (Confetti TiVi) zu sehen geben. Bei der Pr?sentation der Filme am 12. Dezember im ORF-Landesstudio werden natürlich auch die 3. Klassen der Volksschule Gmünd mit dabei sein.
FILM-PROJEKT / Die 3. Klassen der Volksschule I Gmuend beteiligten sich am Trickfilmprojekt. Thema war die EU-Osterweiterung.
GM?ND / Einen eigenen Trickfilm zu produzieren, ist wohl ein Traum für viele Kinder. Für die Schüler der 3. Klassen der Volksschule I wurde er Wirklichkeit: Im Rahmen des Projekts ‚Trickfilmpreis‘, das vom UNICEF-Projekt ‚KinderRechteKoffer‘ entwickelt wurde, gestalteten die Kinder am 31. Oktober, 6. und 7. November einen eigenen Film zum Thema Kinderrechte im Angesicht der EU-Erweiterung. Die Kinder sollten dabei über ihre Rechte und Moeglichkeiten informiert werden, und gleichzeitig die Chance haben, sich mit Medien bzw. mit den M?glichkeiten des Films kritisch auseinanderzusetzen.
Die teilnehmenden Schulen wurden nach bestimmten Kriterien ausgewaehlt, die Schüler sollten bereits ein Vorwissen über Kinderrechte und die EU-Erweiterung mitbringen. Die Arbeit der Schüler wurde auch mittels Video dokumentiert. Das ‚Making of‘ soll es im ORF (Confetti TiVi) zu sehen geben. Bei der Pr?sentation der Filme am 12. Dezember im ORF-Landesstudio werden natürlich auch die 3. Klassen der Volksschule Gmünd mit dabei sein.
World: No Fanfare Marks Universal Children's Day
By Andrea Boyle
Today is a holiday, but no parades or conferences are scheduled, no special performance or dinners taking place. Where is the requisite fanfare? Has the world abandoned the celebration of Universal Children's Day? RFE/RL looks into whether this day means something to people around the globe, or if it's just another day on the calendar.
Prague, 20 November 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Today is Universal Children's Day. If you didn't know that, don't worry. You're not alone in your ignorance. The majority of people are probably also unaware.
Unlike Earth Day -- a holiday that has gained popularity worldwide -- Universal Children's Day prompts few speeches or special events. In many countries, it is little more than a note on the calendar.
In 1954, the United Nations recommended the observation of Universal Children's Day. It encouraged every nation to mark "a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children and of activity promoting the welfare of the world's children."
While the UN did not recommend a specific date for the holiday, most nations and advocacy groups chose this day to commemorate the event. It was on this day in 1959 that the UN General Assembly adopted its Declaration of the Rights of the Child. In 1989, it did the same for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The declaration details children's rights as human beings and proclaims that as children they are entitled to special care and assistance. The convention reaffirmed these statements and recognized the importance of improving the lives of children living in underdeveloped countries.
Angela Hawke, a spokeswoman for UNICEF, the UN's Children's Fund, says the UN never planned for a coordinated effort to be made on any one day in particular. "The idea is that people who want to mark this day pick the best day of the year to get the maximum impact for children," she said. "So, if that's 20 November, if 20 November works for them, then that's absolutely fine. However, if there's another time of year that might be better, then that's also fine."
Jorge Restrepo, a spokesman for the NGO Defense for Children International, says the member groups in its global network commemorate Universal Children's Day, but decide individually how to mark the day. Some are undertaking ambitious programs -- the chapter in Angola, for example, is hosting a football game played by former child soldiers. Others are more low-key. The Palestinian branch will issue a press release while the Swiss are distributing a CD-ROM. Restrepo says that the day simply highlights what he considers a year-round undertaking.
"It's an important day, but in many senses, defending the rights of children is 365-days-a-year hard work. And that's what is important to remember -- that it's not just on 20 November only but on every day," Restrepo said.
John Egenaes of the human rights watchdog Amnesty International says the holiday might not be marked with much pomp and circumstance, but it does afford his group an added opportunity to draw attention to injustices committed against children. "All these international days to some extent have that side to them -- that they're not widely known, that they're something some people just tick off [on the calendar]," he said. "For us, it's different, because although we work with children's cases every day all through the year, it does give us the possibility to try to put more emphasis on it."
He says Universal Children's Day can, at the very least, be used as a public relations tool and a way to remind politicians and the public about hardship and neglect suffered by many of the world's children. "It is a day where one can address all sorts of institutions and levels of society with this special theme," Egenaes said. "And it's, should I say, a bit more difficult for the people in power to avoid it because it does have a sort of hook that might sort of hook onto them. I don't think it's a lot more than that, but that is at least something."
Amnesty, for its part, is using today to draw attention to specific problems such as the plight of mentally handicapped children in Russia and children who were orphaned, kidnapped, or abandoned during the armed conflict in El Salvador.
By Andrea Boyle
Today is a holiday, but no parades or conferences are scheduled, no special performance or dinners taking place. Where is the requisite fanfare? Has the world abandoned the celebration of Universal Children's Day? RFE/RL looks into whether this day means something to people around the globe, or if it's just another day on the calendar.
Prague, 20 November 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Today is Universal Children's Day. If you didn't know that, don't worry. You're not alone in your ignorance. The majority of people are probably also unaware.
Unlike Earth Day -- a holiday that has gained popularity worldwide -- Universal Children's Day prompts few speeches or special events. In many countries, it is little more than a note on the calendar.
In 1954, the United Nations recommended the observation of Universal Children's Day. It encouraged every nation to mark "a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children and of activity promoting the welfare of the world's children."
While the UN did not recommend a specific date for the holiday, most nations and advocacy groups chose this day to commemorate the event. It was on this day in 1959 that the UN General Assembly adopted its Declaration of the Rights of the Child. In 1989, it did the same for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The declaration details children's rights as human beings and proclaims that as children they are entitled to special care and assistance. The convention reaffirmed these statements and recognized the importance of improving the lives of children living in underdeveloped countries.
Angela Hawke, a spokeswoman for UNICEF, the UN's Children's Fund, says the UN never planned for a coordinated effort to be made on any one day in particular. "The idea is that people who want to mark this day pick the best day of the year to get the maximum impact for children," she said. "So, if that's 20 November, if 20 November works for them, then that's absolutely fine. However, if there's another time of year that might be better, then that's also fine."
Jorge Restrepo, a spokesman for the NGO Defense for Children International, says the member groups in its global network commemorate Universal Children's Day, but decide individually how to mark the day. Some are undertaking ambitious programs -- the chapter in Angola, for example, is hosting a football game played by former child soldiers. Others are more low-key. The Palestinian branch will issue a press release while the Swiss are distributing a CD-ROM. Restrepo says that the day simply highlights what he considers a year-round undertaking.
"It's an important day, but in many senses, defending the rights of children is 365-days-a-year hard work. And that's what is important to remember -- that it's not just on 20 November only but on every day," Restrepo said.
John Egenaes of the human rights watchdog Amnesty International says the holiday might not be marked with much pomp and circumstance, but it does afford his group an added opportunity to draw attention to injustices committed against children. "All these international days to some extent have that side to them -- that they're not widely known, that they're something some people just tick off [on the calendar]," he said. "For us, it's different, because although we work with children's cases every day all through the year, it does give us the possibility to try to put more emphasis on it."
He says Universal Children's Day can, at the very least, be used as a public relations tool and a way to remind politicians and the public about hardship and neglect suffered by many of the world's children. "It is a day where one can address all sorts of institutions and levels of society with this special theme," Egenaes said. "And it's, should I say, a bit more difficult for the people in power to avoid it because it does have a sort of hook that might sort of hook onto them. I don't think it's a lot more than that, but that is at least something."
Amnesty, for its part, is using today to draw attention to specific problems such as the plight of mentally handicapped children in Russia and children who were orphaned, kidnapped, or abandoned during the armed conflict in El Salvador.
ICDB, celebrated on the second Sunday of every December, is a day when broadcasters around the world "Tune in to Kids". They air quality programming for and about children. But most of all, they allow children to be part of the programming process, to talk about their hopes and dreams and share information with their peers.
The Day is a joint initiative of UNICEF and the International Council of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Every year, thousands of broadcasters in more than a hundred countries take part in the day, celebrating it in ways that are as unique and special as children themselves.
The Day is a joint initiative of UNICEF and the International Council of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Every year, thousands of broadcasters in more than a hundred countries take part in the day, celebrating it in ways that are as unique and special as children themselves.
Iberoamerican Communication Children's Rights Awards
SAN SALVADOR, 7 November 2003 - Journalists from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, México, Nicaragua and the United States are the winners of the 2003 Iberoamerican Communication Awards for the Rights of Children and Adolescents, an internacional jury announced here today.
The awards are given every two years by UNICEF, the Spanish news agency EFE and the Santillana Foundation for Iberoamerica. The prizes are given to broadcast and print journalists for outstanding work that raises awareness about the plight of children facing poverty, discrimination and violence in Latin America, Spain and Portugal.
“We were very impressed by the quality of the nearly 800 entries submitted this year from more than 20 countries,” said Miguel Ángel Gozalo, President of the international jury as well as of the EFE news agency. He added that “it is exciting in this era of superficial entertainment and consumerism to see so many journalists dealing seriously with the most vulnerable members of our societies, our children and young people.”
Former Colombian President Belisario Betancur, who coordinates the jury, sent a message from Spain stating that “by looking into the mirrors of childhood, we are planting the seeds of peace, love, dignity and justice.”
The jury – also composed of Alfredo Missair, UNICEF’s Deputy Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean; Maria Clara Betancur, representantive of the Santillana Foundation and Ricardo García, from UNICEF’s Spanish Nacional Committee – announced winners in the following categories:
The Grand Prize went to two communicators working for the U.S. Spanish-language TV network Univisión: Amalia Torres of Colombia and Mariano García of El Salvador, for their series entitled “Orphans of the Guerrilla War in Colombia”, a dramatic account of the devastating impact of war on children’s lives. This is the first time since the prizes began – in 1998 – that hispanic journalists in the United Status have received the prestigious award.
The other winners are:
- Print media: Lucio de Castro for his article “Nos Poroes do Futebol” (The Sewers of Soccer), published in the Jornal O Globo, Brazil – original investigative journalism uncovering the exploitation of boys seeking careers in the region’s most popular sport, soccer.
- Radio: Julio Alberto Paz for a series of programs entitled “La basura en los ojos…la esperanza entre los dedos” (Garbage in their eyes…hope in their hands), aired on Radio UTN, Argentina – moving accounts of the lives of children working in garbage dumps in the province of Mendoza, and of a group of young people who volunteer to help them.
- Television: Heysel del Sagrario Garay for the program “Tan Solo Una Oportunidad” (Just a chance), broadcast by Telenica, Canal 8, Nicaragua – the story of former gang members and a Project empowering them to change their lives, a welcome alternative to repression as a response to violence and crime.
- Media for children and adolescents: Marta Acevedo and her team, for “Un, dos, tres: por mí y por todos mis compañeros”, a children’s magazine published by “La Jornada”, México – a high quality magazine with a multi-cultural, educational, human rights approach, produced with the participation of children.
- Photography and design: Jaime Pérez Munévar, for his photo “Desplazamiento Forzado” (Forced Displacement), published in “El Colombiano”, Colombia – a moving image of the country’s new “nomads”, hundreds of thousands of children and women displaced from their homes and communities by armed conflict.
-
The jury also awarded three Special Mentions:
- to “Cienpiés” of México, a longstanding children’s journalism project;
- to the Brazilian newspaper O Povo, for involving its entire staff in an innovative series of articles about young people’s attitudes toward politics;
- to the Diario de Hoy newspaper, El Salvador, for high quality entries in several categories submitted to the contest.
Ricardo García of the UNICEF Spanish Nacional Committee stressed the fact that a network of journalists committed to children’s rights is coming together around the awards process, with a real potential to influence public policies and public attitudes.
The winners will receive their awards of $2,000 to $3,000 in Lima, Peru, on 20 November, at a gala event featuring the Grammy award-winning Peruvian singer Susana Baca, among others. All winners will also receive a sculpture designed especially for the Iberoamerican Communication Awards by the late Ecuadorian artist, Oswaldo Guayasamín.
Jury member Alfredo Missair of UNICEF commented on the depth and seriousness of the entries submitted this year, noting the many articles, photographs and programs dealing with such priority issues as the poverty and exclusión faced by indigenous children, as well as the growing violence affecting young people in the region.
The jury announced that they have invited ANDI, a Brazilian news agency dealing with media and children’s rights, to become a co-organizer of the awards. An ANDI study on media coverage of children’s issues will be launched during the awards ceremony in Lima.
The Iberoamerican Communication Awards on Children’s Rights are sponsored by the Central American airline TACA and the Spanish Fundación Telefónica and its Latin American affiliates.
* * * *
For more information contact:
Robert Cohen, UNICEF
rcohen@unicef.org
Tel. 507- 676 32 16
Carmen Vergara, UNICEF
cgvergara@unicef.org
Tel 503- 887 26 28
Fernando Ruiz, ACAN-EFE
fruiz@acan-efe.com
Tel. 507- 269 31 37
SAN SALVADOR, 7 November 2003 - Journalists from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, México, Nicaragua and the United States are the winners of the 2003 Iberoamerican Communication Awards for the Rights of Children and Adolescents, an internacional jury announced here today.
The awards are given every two years by UNICEF, the Spanish news agency EFE and the Santillana Foundation for Iberoamerica. The prizes are given to broadcast and print journalists for outstanding work that raises awareness about the plight of children facing poverty, discrimination and violence in Latin America, Spain and Portugal.
“We were very impressed by the quality of the nearly 800 entries submitted this year from more than 20 countries,” said Miguel Ángel Gozalo, President of the international jury as well as of the EFE news agency. He added that “it is exciting in this era of superficial entertainment and consumerism to see so many journalists dealing seriously with the most vulnerable members of our societies, our children and young people.”
Former Colombian President Belisario Betancur, who coordinates the jury, sent a message from Spain stating that “by looking into the mirrors of childhood, we are planting the seeds of peace, love, dignity and justice.”
The jury – also composed of Alfredo Missair, UNICEF’s Deputy Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean; Maria Clara Betancur, representantive of the Santillana Foundation and Ricardo García, from UNICEF’s Spanish Nacional Committee – announced winners in the following categories:
The Grand Prize went to two communicators working for the U.S. Spanish-language TV network Univisión: Amalia Torres of Colombia and Mariano García of El Salvador, for their series entitled “Orphans of the Guerrilla War in Colombia”, a dramatic account of the devastating impact of war on children’s lives. This is the first time since the prizes began – in 1998 – that hispanic journalists in the United Status have received the prestigious award.
The other winners are:
- Print media: Lucio de Castro for his article “Nos Poroes do Futebol” (The Sewers of Soccer), published in the Jornal O Globo, Brazil – original investigative journalism uncovering the exploitation of boys seeking careers in the region’s most popular sport, soccer.
- Radio: Julio Alberto Paz for a series of programs entitled “La basura en los ojos…la esperanza entre los dedos” (Garbage in their eyes…hope in their hands), aired on Radio UTN, Argentina – moving accounts of the lives of children working in garbage dumps in the province of Mendoza, and of a group of young people who volunteer to help them.
- Television: Heysel del Sagrario Garay for the program “Tan Solo Una Oportunidad” (Just a chance), broadcast by Telenica, Canal 8, Nicaragua – the story of former gang members and a Project empowering them to change their lives, a welcome alternative to repression as a response to violence and crime.
- Media for children and adolescents: Marta Acevedo and her team, for “Un, dos, tres: por mí y por todos mis compañeros”, a children’s magazine published by “La Jornada”, México – a high quality magazine with a multi-cultural, educational, human rights approach, produced with the participation of children.
- Photography and design: Jaime Pérez Munévar, for his photo “Desplazamiento Forzado” (Forced Displacement), published in “El Colombiano”, Colombia – a moving image of the country’s new “nomads”, hundreds of thousands of children and women displaced from their homes and communities by armed conflict.
-
The jury also awarded three Special Mentions:
- to “Cienpiés” of México, a longstanding children’s journalism project;
- to the Brazilian newspaper O Povo, for involving its entire staff in an innovative series of articles about young people’s attitudes toward politics;
- to the Diario de Hoy newspaper, El Salvador, for high quality entries in several categories submitted to the contest.
Ricardo García of the UNICEF Spanish Nacional Committee stressed the fact that a network of journalists committed to children’s rights is coming together around the awards process, with a real potential to influence public policies and public attitudes.
The winners will receive their awards of $2,000 to $3,000 in Lima, Peru, on 20 November, at a gala event featuring the Grammy award-winning Peruvian singer Susana Baca, among others. All winners will also receive a sculpture designed especially for the Iberoamerican Communication Awards by the late Ecuadorian artist, Oswaldo Guayasamín.
Jury member Alfredo Missair of UNICEF commented on the depth and seriousness of the entries submitted this year, noting the many articles, photographs and programs dealing with such priority issues as the poverty and exclusión faced by indigenous children, as well as the growing violence affecting young people in the region.
The jury announced that they have invited ANDI, a Brazilian news agency dealing with media and children’s rights, to become a co-organizer of the awards. An ANDI study on media coverage of children’s issues will be launched during the awards ceremony in Lima.
The Iberoamerican Communication Awards on Children’s Rights are sponsored by the Central American airline TACA and the Spanish Fundación Telefónica and its Latin American affiliates.
* * * *
For more information contact:
Robert Cohen, UNICEF
rcohen@unicef.org
Tel. 507- 676 32 16
Carmen Vergara, UNICEF
cgvergara@unicef.org
Tel 503- 887 26 28
Fernando Ruiz, ACAN-EFE
fruiz@acan-efe.com
Tel. 507- 269 31 37
November 20, 2003
Thursday, Nov 20, 2003
Now Madison Avenue Asks: 'Where Have All The Young Gals Gone'
by Joe Mandese
Following weeks of finger pointing over a sudden decline in ratings among young adult men, the major broadcast networks are faced with an equally troubling, but somewhat less debatable decline in ratings among young adult women. Buyers suggested the latest development further reinforces the notion that the shifts taking place in TV viewing patterns are part of a fundamental change in the nature of media consumption driven by a generational shift and are not merely the result of lackluster programming or scheduling patterns.
“It’s a different culture,” suggests Shari Anne Brill, vice president and director of programming at Carat USA. Brill first identified the troubling pattern over the past several weeks and began raising questions about the drop in young adult women ratings on the major broadcast networks while network and Nielsen executives were jousting over the cause of a corresponding drop in young adult men.
Now Steve Sternberg, senior vice president and director of audience analysis at powerful media buying agency Magna Global USA has weighed in with an in depth analysis of the first weeks of the new broadcast season. The report finds that the women 18-24 demographic has declined by 2.9 rating primetime points among the broadcast networks. Overall TV usage levels, while not falling as precipitously, nonetheless dropped 1.4 points from the first eight weeks of the 2002-03 season.
“Lost in the brouhaha about the decline in young male viewing to the broadcast networks, is the fact that young women are declining by even more,” said Sternberg, asking, “Why has this slipped under the radar?”
Why indeed? Among the reasons cited by media buyers was the fact that, as important as young women are to many advertisers, they are not nearly as difficult to reach on TV as are young men. But the Magna report does find some equally alarming patterns among young women, including the fact that the demo’s ratings on The WB network, a mainstay of programming for young women, are down by nearly a rating point.
Another reason why the networks have not exactly blown the Nielsen whistle on this one, is because unlike young men, the drop in network ratings among young women reflects, not just a drop in overall TV usage, but a shift to other TV viewing options.
“In the case of young women, who are defecting from the broadcast networks in significantly larger numbers than men, but are turning more to cable and independent stations, it’s much more difficult to try and pin the blame on Nielsen,” noted Sternberg.
MediaPost Communications
http://www.mediapost.com
Now Madison Avenue Asks: 'Where Have All The Young Gals Gone'
by Joe Mandese
Following weeks of finger pointing over a sudden decline in ratings among young adult men, the major broadcast networks are faced with an equally troubling, but somewhat less debatable decline in ratings among young adult women. Buyers suggested the latest development further reinforces the notion that the shifts taking place in TV viewing patterns are part of a fundamental change in the nature of media consumption driven by a generational shift and are not merely the result of lackluster programming or scheduling patterns.
“It’s a different culture,” suggests Shari Anne Brill, vice president and director of programming at Carat USA. Brill first identified the troubling pattern over the past several weeks and began raising questions about the drop in young adult women ratings on the major broadcast networks while network and Nielsen executives were jousting over the cause of a corresponding drop in young adult men.
Now Steve Sternberg, senior vice president and director of audience analysis at powerful media buying agency Magna Global USA has weighed in with an in depth analysis of the first weeks of the new broadcast season. The report finds that the women 18-24 demographic has declined by 2.9 rating primetime points among the broadcast networks. Overall TV usage levels, while not falling as precipitously, nonetheless dropped 1.4 points from the first eight weeks of the 2002-03 season.
“Lost in the brouhaha about the decline in young male viewing to the broadcast networks, is the fact that young women are declining by even more,” said Sternberg, asking, “Why has this slipped under the radar?”
Why indeed? Among the reasons cited by media buyers was the fact that, as important as young women are to many advertisers, they are not nearly as difficult to reach on TV as are young men. But the Magna report does find some equally alarming patterns among young women, including the fact that the demo’s ratings on The WB network, a mainstay of programming for young women, are down by nearly a rating point.
Another reason why the networks have not exactly blown the Nielsen whistle on this one, is because unlike young men, the drop in network ratings among young women reflects, not just a drop in overall TV usage, but a shift to other TV viewing options.
“In the case of young women, who are defecting from the broadcast networks in significantly larger numbers than men, but are turning more to cable and independent stations, it’s much more difficult to try and pin the blame on Nielsen,” noted Sternberg.
MediaPost Communications
http://www.mediapost.com
Coca-Cola to stop TV ads aimed at children
By Vincent Graff Media Editor
20 November 2003
Coca-Cola is to stop aiming its TV commercials at children. The world's biggest soft drinks company said yesterday that it had abandoned so-called pester power advertising that tries to make children bully their parents into purchasing decisions.
The decision was made after growing criticism of food and drinks companies for encouraging children to consume sweet and fatty products, a trend blamed for an alarming rise in childhood obesity.
Martin Norris, communications director of Coca-Cola UK, said: "In the case of children under 12 the responsibility for consumption should be left in the hands of parents and guardians." He said the company had stopped advertising its fizzy drinks to children, and was extending the policy to all its brands, which include Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Oasis and Roo Juice, a fruity mixture aimed at under-fives. Under the ruling, these drinks will not be advertised during children's programmes.
Debra Shipley, Labour MP for Stourbridge and a member of the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, said: "At last a manufacturer is recognising this is a problem. However ... there remains a need for legislation to prevent companies who continue to ruthlessly and aggressively target young children on television."
She said that she was sceptical whether Coca-Cola was committed to its stance, pointing to a recent Harry Potter competition run by the company. Mr Norris said the tie-in was part of a commitment to improving literacy. But Ms Shipleysaid: "They just want to sell more products."
By Vincent Graff Media Editor
20 November 2003
Coca-Cola is to stop aiming its TV commercials at children. The world's biggest soft drinks company said yesterday that it had abandoned so-called pester power advertising that tries to make children bully their parents into purchasing decisions.
The decision was made after growing criticism of food and drinks companies for encouraging children to consume sweet and fatty products, a trend blamed for an alarming rise in childhood obesity.
Martin Norris, communications director of Coca-Cola UK, said: "In the case of children under 12 the responsibility for consumption should be left in the hands of parents and guardians." He said the company had stopped advertising its fizzy drinks to children, and was extending the policy to all its brands, which include Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Oasis and Roo Juice, a fruity mixture aimed at under-fives. Under the ruling, these drinks will not be advertised during children's programmes.
Debra Shipley, Labour MP for Stourbridge and a member of the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, said: "At last a manufacturer is recognising this is a problem. However ... there remains a need for legislation to prevent companies who continue to ruthlessly and aggressively target young children on television."
She said that she was sceptical whether Coca-Cola was committed to its stance, pointing to a recent Harry Potter competition run by the company. Mr Norris said the tie-in was part of a commitment to improving literacy. But Ms Shipleysaid: "They just want to sell more products."
November 14, 2003
The Guardian archive
Advertising to children
13.11.2003: Agency slips up in children's ad row
13.11.2003: Agencies dismiss call for fast food ad ban
11.11.2003: Analysis: The kids aren't alright
10.11.2003: Children's TV snack adverts face ban
06.11.2003: Children's ads must be debated, says Hodge
04.11.2003: MP attacks child-targeted food adverts
27.10.2003: MP champions fast food ad ban
16.10.2003: Health committee targets junk food ads
25.09.2003: Kids becoming fast food TV nation
29.07.2003: Food ads accused of endangering children's health
11.07.2003: Food giants crank up anti-ban campaign
10.05.2003: 82% back clampdown on child food advertisements
11.04.2003: MP calls for ban on food ads aimed at toddlers
Advertising to children
13.11.2003: Agency slips up in children's ad row
13.11.2003: Agencies dismiss call for fast food ad ban
11.11.2003: Analysis: The kids aren't alright
10.11.2003: Children's TV snack adverts face ban
06.11.2003: Children's ads must be debated, says Hodge
04.11.2003: MP attacks child-targeted food adverts
27.10.2003: MP champions fast food ad ban
16.10.2003: Health committee targets junk food ads
25.09.2003: Kids becoming fast food TV nation
29.07.2003: Food ads accused of endangering children's health
11.07.2003: Food giants crank up anti-ban campaign
10.05.2003: 82% back clampdown on child food advertisements
11.04.2003: MP calls for ban on food ads aimed at toddlers
Celebrity ban urged on 'junk food' ads
Claire Cozens
Friday November 14, 2003
Endorsements: Lancet says sports stars should be 'ashamed'
The government should ban celebrities such as Gary Lineker and David Beckham from promoting unhealthy food in a bid to stem the rising tide of obesity in Britain, an influential medical journal said today.
An editorial published today in the Lancet called for legislation to force the junk food industry to "clean up its act", and condemned sports and pop stars for endorsing their products.
"One of the most invidious techniques used by junk food advertisers is to pay sports and pop celebrities to endorse food - especially bizarre since sports celebrities need a properly balanced diet to achieve fitness," it said.
"Such celebrities should be ashamed, as should others who get caught in the web of junk food promotion... Celebrity endorsement of junk food has to be banned."
It was the second time in as many days that celebrities such as David Beckham, who has featured in adverts for Pepsi, and Gary Lineker came under fire for their role in promoting foods with a high fat, sugar or salt content.
MPs yesterday criticised the footballer-turned-television presenter Lineker over his role in the Walkers' Crisps advert.
"Role models of that nature have to look to what they are doing in respect of the wider health messages they are giving," said David Hinchliffe, who chairs the government's health select committee.
The Lancet also attacked the BBC for franchising its Tweenies characters to McDonald's, a deal worth £32m.
"The Food Commission found that the Tweenies products were high in junk elements," it said.
And it criticised the government for allowing Cadbury's to market chocolate to children by offering sports equipment in exchange for chocolate wrappers.
Cadbury's Get Active campaign was heavily criticised by consumer groups after it emerged children would have to consume about 320 chocolate bars, costing about £134, to get one volleyball.
The Lancet also called on producers of healthy foods to "take a leaf out of the junk food industry, and promote its products more effectively".
"Cauliflower, sprouts and broccoli are not advertised enough," it added.
The Food Standards Agency, the government's food watchdog, recently published figures showing obesity had doubled in six-year-olds to 8.5% and trebled in 15-year-olds to 15% over the past 10 years.
It found a king-size chocolate bar provided a fifth of the daily calories needed by a child of 10, and that a chicken nugget takeaway was 30% higher in calories than a traditionally-cooked meal. A quarter-pound burger with cheese was 52% higher.
The FSA this week launched a consultation on defusing the "obesity time bomb", raising the possibility of bans on TV advertising aimed at children, and health warnings on foods high in salt, sugar and fat.
The consultation, organised by the Food Standards Agency, provoked warnings from industry of a "nanny state" approach.
But the chairman of the agency, Sir John Krebs, said doing nothing was "not an option".
· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857
Claire Cozens
Friday November 14, 2003
Endorsements: Lancet says sports stars should be 'ashamed'
The government should ban celebrities such as Gary Lineker and David Beckham from promoting unhealthy food in a bid to stem the rising tide of obesity in Britain, an influential medical journal said today.
An editorial published today in the Lancet called for legislation to force the junk food industry to "clean up its act", and condemned sports and pop stars for endorsing their products.
"One of the most invidious techniques used by junk food advertisers is to pay sports and pop celebrities to endorse food - especially bizarre since sports celebrities need a properly balanced diet to achieve fitness," it said.
"Such celebrities should be ashamed, as should others who get caught in the web of junk food promotion... Celebrity endorsement of junk food has to be banned."
It was the second time in as many days that celebrities such as David Beckham, who has featured in adverts for Pepsi, and Gary Lineker came under fire for their role in promoting foods with a high fat, sugar or salt content.
MPs yesterday criticised the footballer-turned-television presenter Lineker over his role in the Walkers' Crisps advert.
"Role models of that nature have to look to what they are doing in respect of the wider health messages they are giving," said David Hinchliffe, who chairs the government's health select committee.
The Lancet also attacked the BBC for franchising its Tweenies characters to McDonald's, a deal worth £32m.
"The Food Commission found that the Tweenies products were high in junk elements," it said.
And it criticised the government for allowing Cadbury's to market chocolate to children by offering sports equipment in exchange for chocolate wrappers.
Cadbury's Get Active campaign was heavily criticised by consumer groups after it emerged children would have to consume about 320 chocolate bars, costing about £134, to get one volleyball.
The Lancet also called on producers of healthy foods to "take a leaf out of the junk food industry, and promote its products more effectively".
"Cauliflower, sprouts and broccoli are not advertised enough," it added.
The Food Standards Agency, the government's food watchdog, recently published figures showing obesity had doubled in six-year-olds to 8.5% and trebled in 15-year-olds to 15% over the past 10 years.
It found a king-size chocolate bar provided a fifth of the daily calories needed by a child of 10, and that a chicken nugget takeaway was 30% higher in calories than a traditionally-cooked meal. A quarter-pound burger with cheese was 52% higher.
The FSA this week launched a consultation on defusing the "obesity time bomb", raising the possibility of bans on TV advertising aimed at children, and health warnings on foods high in salt, sugar and fat.
The consultation, organised by the Food Standards Agency, provoked warnings from industry of a "nanny state" approach.
But the chairman of the agency, Sir John Krebs, said doing nothing was "not an option".
· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857
November 10, 2003
Media and mothers are the most useful source of learning about love, sex and relationships - FULL REPORT
Media and mothers are the most useful source of learning about love, sex and relationships
66% of young people say that the media are a useful or very useful ‘way to find out about, love, sex and relationships’ in a study published today by the Advertising Standards Authority, British Board of Film Classification, BBC, Broadcasting Standards Commission and Independent Television Commission. This put the media on par with mothers - 66% of young people say they learn about relationships from their mothers.
The report is based on the research project Young People, Media and Personal Relationships, by Professor David Buckingham and Dr Sara Bragg of the Institute of Education, London University. It is the first study to focus on how young people (aged 10-14) interpret and respond to the sexual content they encounter on mainstream television, while considering other media exposure. It confirms that children prefer to learn about sex and relationships from media such as teenage magazines and soap operas. This was primarily because these media are a less embarrassing way to learn about relationships, more informative, more attuned to their needs and concerns. Sex education in school is criticised by children for being too didactic and too narrowly focused compared with the media in its approach.
The study finds that children are highly literate, aware of the television production process and do not necessarily trust what they see in the media. Several children recognised that ‘sex sells’, and can be used to build audiences. Realism is a crucial element to ensure that programmes serve an educational purpose and it was argued that this should not be sacrificed in order to reinforce a particular message (e.g. sex should not always result in pregnancy). Soap operas are most effective when they are not seen to be preaching but telling a credible story and encouraging viewers to make their own judgements.
Other key findings of the research include:
? Children make judgements about sex in the context of their own morality and place a strong emphasis on trust, fidelity and mutual respect in debates about sex and relationships in relation to media.
? Young people are able to make judgements about what they do and do not like seeing on television. The survey found that of the two thirds of respondents who have seen a programme or video that had ‘too much’ about sex in it, 64% carried on watching, whilst the remainder, 36%, stopped watching.
? Younger children do not necessarily always understand sexual references or connotations, particularly where they are in the form of comic innuendo or ‘suggestion’.
? There are some differences between the responses of boys and girls to media images. Girls are more ready to discuss sex in relation to media images than boys are.
? Family viewing can provide positive opportunities for the discussion of such issues as the majority of young viewers consume media in the company of others. Although 89% of children in the survey claim that they have a television in their bedrooms, 68% of children watch television ‘in the main room where everyone often sits’.
? Children (and parents) are aware of regulatory systems such as the Watershed and the film classification system, and use these as additional sources of information. Parents prefer to negotiate with children rather than decide on their behalf what they should see.
? Children are also enthusiastic about other media sources of learning such as radio, books, leaflets and advertisements. 60% thought that books and leaflets are useful, 20% that the radio is and 34% that posters and advertisements are useful.
Speaking on behalf of the sponsors Andrea Millwood Hargrave, Research Director, BSC, said:
“This study shows that children are savvy and ‘literate’ consumers, who are able to interpret and make judgements about sexual content in the media. They are not blank sheets on whom messages – either ‘moral’ or irresponsible – can be imprinted. But equally the media should be aware that they do in practice play an important role, in helping many children develop their understanding and judgement in this field. That places a premium on their being accurate and honest”.
Notes to the Editor
1. A summary of key findings of “Young People Media and Personal Relationships” is attached. The full text can be downloaded from ASA, BBFC, BBC, BSC and ITC websites (www.asa.org.uk; www.bbfc.org.uk; www.bbc.co.uk; www.bsc.org.uk; www.itc.org.uk ).
2. The report ‘Young People, Media and Personal Relationships’, by Professor David Buckingham and Dr Sara Bragg, is based on a research project ‘Young People Media and Personal Relationships’ conducted by the authors between June 2001 and July 2003. The project focused on how young people (aged 10-14) interpret and respond to the sexual content they encounter on mainstream television; and how they use these representations in forming their own understandings of sexual and interpersonal relationships. The primary focus of enquiry was on responses to material transmitted before the 9 p.m. Watershed. This included children’s and teen programmes as well as ‘family viewing’, for example in the form of soap operas, sitcoms and talk shows.
3. The research project included three main strands: (1) a comprehensive review of previous research in the field (available on BSC and ITC websites); (2) an extensive qualitative study involving over 100 interviews with a total of 120 young people aged from 9 to 17, and interviews with approximately 70 parents; (3) a questionnaire survey of almost 800 children.
4. The book ‘Young People, Sex and Media’ based on this research by Professor David Buckingham and Dr Sara Bragg is shortly due to be published by Palgrave Macmillan.
5. This research is the final report in a series of projects by the BSC and ITC, in partnership with other organisations, looking at issues relating to children and television. On 9 June 2003, “What Children Watch” was published by BSC and ITC; on 22 September 2003, “How Children Interpret On-Screen Violence” was published by the ITC, BSC, BBC and BBFC; and on 6 October 2003 “The Watershed: Providing a Safe Viewing Zone” was published by the BBC, BSC and ITC (see BSC and ITC websites for details).
Press contacts:
ASA Claire Forbes, Head of Communications, tel 020 7291 3065
BBFC Sue Clark, Head of Communications, tel: 020 7440 3285
BBC Press Office, tel: 020 8576 1865
BSC Robin Hull, Communications Manager, tel: 020 7808 1017
ITC Helena Hird, Senior Media and Public Relations Officer, tel: 020 7306 7745
66% of young people say that the media are a useful or very useful ‘way to find out about, love, sex and relationships’ in a study published today by the Advertising Standards Authority, British Board of Film Classification, BBC, Broadcasting Standards Commission and Independent Television Commission. This put the media on par with mothers - 66% of young people say they learn about relationships from their mothers.
The report is based on the research project Young People, Media and Personal Relationships, by Professor David Buckingham and Dr Sara Bragg of the Institute of Education, London University. It is the first study to focus on how young people (aged 10-14) interpret and respond to the sexual content they encounter on mainstream television, while considering other media exposure. It confirms that children prefer to learn about sex and relationships from media such as teenage magazines and soap operas. This was primarily because these media are a less embarrassing way to learn about relationships, more informative, more attuned to their needs and concerns. Sex education in school is criticised by children for being too didactic and too narrowly focused compared with the media in its approach.
The study finds that children are highly literate, aware of the television production process and do not necessarily trust what they see in the media. Several children recognised that ‘sex sells’, and can be used to build audiences. Realism is a crucial element to ensure that programmes serve an educational purpose and it was argued that this should not be sacrificed in order to reinforce a particular message (e.g. sex should not always result in pregnancy). Soap operas are most effective when they are not seen to be preaching but telling a credible story and encouraging viewers to make their own judgements.
Other key findings of the research include:
? Children make judgements about sex in the context of their own morality and place a strong emphasis on trust, fidelity and mutual respect in debates about sex and relationships in relation to media.
? Young people are able to make judgements about what they do and do not like seeing on television. The survey found that of the two thirds of respondents who have seen a programme or video that had ‘too much’ about sex in it, 64% carried on watching, whilst the remainder, 36%, stopped watching.
? Younger children do not necessarily always understand sexual references or connotations, particularly where they are in the form of comic innuendo or ‘suggestion’.
? There are some differences between the responses of boys and girls to media images. Girls are more ready to discuss sex in relation to media images than boys are.
? Family viewing can provide positive opportunities for the discussion of such issues as the majority of young viewers consume media in the company of others. Although 89% of children in the survey claim that they have a television in their bedrooms, 68% of children watch television ‘in the main room where everyone often sits’.
? Children (and parents) are aware of regulatory systems such as the Watershed and the film classification system, and use these as additional sources of information. Parents prefer to negotiate with children rather than decide on their behalf what they should see.
? Children are also enthusiastic about other media sources of learning such as radio, books, leaflets and advertisements. 60% thought that books and leaflets are useful, 20% that the radio is and 34% that posters and advertisements are useful.
Speaking on behalf of the sponsors Andrea Millwood Hargrave, Research Director, BSC, said:
“This study shows that children are savvy and ‘literate’ consumers, who are able to interpret and make judgements about sexual content in the media. They are not blank sheets on whom messages – either ‘moral’ or irresponsible – can be imprinted. But equally the media should be aware that they do in practice play an important role, in helping many children develop their understanding and judgement in this field. That places a premium on their being accurate and honest”.
Notes to the Editor
1. A summary of key findings of “Young People Media and Personal Relationships” is attached. The full text can be downloaded from ASA, BBFC, BBC, BSC and ITC websites (www.asa.org.uk; www.bbfc.org.uk; www.bbc.co.uk; www.bsc.org.uk; www.itc.org.uk ).
2. The report ‘Young People, Media and Personal Relationships’, by Professor David Buckingham and Dr Sara Bragg, is based on a research project ‘Young People Media and Personal Relationships’ conducted by the authors between June 2001 and July 2003. The project focused on how young people (aged 10-14) interpret and respond to the sexual content they encounter on mainstream television; and how they use these representations in forming their own understandings of sexual and interpersonal relationships. The primary focus of enquiry was on responses to material transmitted before the 9 p.m. Watershed. This included children’s and teen programmes as well as ‘family viewing’, for example in the form of soap operas, sitcoms and talk shows.
3. The research project included three main strands: (1) a comprehensive review of previous research in the field (available on BSC and ITC websites); (2) an extensive qualitative study involving over 100 interviews with a total of 120 young people aged from 9 to 17, and interviews with approximately 70 parents; (3) a questionnaire survey of almost 800 children.
4. The book ‘Young People, Sex and Media’ based on this research by Professor David Buckingham and Dr Sara Bragg is shortly due to be published by Palgrave Macmillan.
5. This research is the final report in a series of projects by the BSC and ITC, in partnership with other organisations, looking at issues relating to children and television. On 9 June 2003, “What Children Watch” was published by BSC and ITC; on 22 September 2003, “How Children Interpret On-Screen Violence” was published by the ITC, BSC, BBC and BBFC; and on 6 October 2003 “The Watershed: Providing a Safe Viewing Zone” was published by the BBC, BSC and ITC (see BSC and ITC websites for details).
Press contacts:
ASA Claire Forbes, Head of Communications, tel 020 7291 3065
BBFC Sue Clark, Head of Communications, tel: 020 7440 3285
BBC Press Office, tel: 020 8576 1865
BSC Robin Hull, Communications Manager, tel: 020 7808 1017
ITC Helena Hird, Senior Media and Public Relations Officer, tel: 020 7306 7745
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