Call for ‘grit’ in children’s TV

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 7

Call for ‘grit’ in children’s TV

"Give thildren grit in 11 their telerision diet,” says ' Mr Edward Barnes, head of children’s programmes for British Broadcasting Corporation Tefevision. The grit Mr Barnes talks 1 abou is programme content > which makes children think. ■ v iolence sometimes came tinder the heading of grit, Mr feme's has said in , Christchurch. But it coulc not be excluded from children’s drama because the programmes then became unrealistic and bland, and children would not watch them He is more concerned about cruelty, and believes that violence has no place in children’s television if it shows people enjoying hurting otiers. Mr Barnes would not show "Holocaust” to young children, but believes the pgroamme would be worth while and educational for 10-year-olds to watch with their parents. The 8.8. C. bought the] New Zealand-made drama, | "Hunters Gold,” and broad-i cast an edited version during i the young children’s time-j slot at 5 p.m. Close-ups of i

fists slamming into faces | were cut from the film. Mr Barnes is in New Zealand at the invitation of Monitor, a group formed to press for better television programmes for children. He has spoken to broadcasters and the public about his work with the 8.8. C. The 8.8. C. children’s department broadcasts to, children aged between three and 13 each week-day from! 3.55 p.m. until 5.40 p.m. j Mr Barnes said that the regular children’s block in the afternoon gave children tt eir own television service, and a guarantee that the programmes would be suitable and easily understood. Drama, documentaries, American cartoons, and; news bulletins were shown; in the daily segment. The children’s news bulletin, the "John Craven Newsround,” concentrated on news of particular interest to children, and simplified and ‘ explained the “hard" j news happening in the 11 world. I based on the British pro■j gramme of the same name, j The 8.8. C. itself made 65 | per cent of the children’s I programmes it showed. The

rest were bought from other countries or independent film-makers. Mr Barnes disagreed; vehemently with a sugges-l tion that it might be better to dispense with children’s television completely, So that Miklren .yere forced to be' “doers” : instead of “watchers." . "A .very" important minor:it .of children have particu- ! lai - needs ; from television,” ;hc said- 'Children in Britain watch about 20 hours of

television a week but prob-; [ably watch more here, so if ! . television was on only in ; the evenings, they would pot I watch the documentaries. They would watch 'Wonder

Woman’ instead, because it is less demanding. iTfeey would consume 'only, rubbish.” Because children were not so tired in the . afternoons, and because the programmes: were suited to their tastes' thev regdily consumed 1 the j “grit” along with the I tub- i bish. . . Mr Barnes has not had much time to study the yietying habits of New Zealand children, but he did say that they seemed to watch a lor more television than British' Children. He said that h' had read that children in Australia watched up to 60 hours of television in. a week. The Television One programme. “Spot On,” was praised by Mr Barnes, who said that it was a very, “constructive” programme. He said that the New Zealand version of “Playschool,” wh'ch is based on a 8.8. C. programme kit, was “a I delight.”

■; “Romper Room,” also ! iwas criticised by Mr Barnes for being “silly” and “voy- : eurisfic.” However, -the Brit- . ish original was not a 8.8. C. ' production. He said that no official re- ' Search was done on audience: ■ reaction' to programmes .Mimed at children aged under l five, so the 8.8. C. presenters . I af- “Playschool” went vis- >: itingonce-e very six weeks 5 J to si>, \yith children watching' - i the. .programme.. • i If is difficult to imagine the sartorially elegant Mr ‘ Barnes sitting cross-legged ! with three-year-olds in front ■ df a television set, but he ’ insists that he does. His own I three children are adults, 1 and he is waiting eagerly to '■ become a grandparent. 1 He feels that he is entitled I to be a grandparent, but I I until he becomes one he borrows friends’ children, who ■ tel! him what they think of 3 the programmes they see on ’ television.