ISSN: 1329-878X

Children's Television Policy: International Perspectives No 93 November 1999 Order form Abstracts

Contents

Abstracts

CHILDREN'S TELEVISION POLICY: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

Children's television: A barometer of the Australian media policy climate - Wendy Keys
In relation to media policy, children's television is 'special' on a number of levels. The ways in which childhood is constructed and defined are complex and often contradictory; the state of children's television can be used as a barometer of the broader media policy climate; and the subject of children's television has mobilised strong, active and 'successful' interest groups. The following discussion is based on analysis of the introduction, development and trajectory of children's television policy and production practices in Australia from the 1945 'List of Principles to Govern Children's Programs' (radio) to the debates, issues and policy initiatives raised in the Australian Commonwealth Government Productivity Commission Inquiry into Broadcasting in 1999.

Regulation of children's television in Australia: Past and present - Nadia Mencinsky and Belinda Mullen
The provision of quality television programming made specifically for children has been a significant issue in Australia since television was introduced. From 1979, specific requirements have been in place to ensure children have access to a variety of quality television programs made specifically for them, including Australian drama and non-drama programs. This article traces the development of these requirements and how they have led to the current Children's Television Standards (CTS).

The Children’s Television Standards (CTS), administered by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), are widely regarded in Australia and overseas as a notable example — if not benchmark — for how to regulate children’s television in the public interest. The article also examines some key trends in programming since 1979 and identifies areas of the standards which are problematic and/or might need to be revised to ensure the expected outcomes are still being achieved.

Production of Australian children's drama: Is there a future? - Kate Aisbett
To mark the twentieth anniversary of the introduction of the children's programs classification scheme (1979-99), the Australian Broadcasting Authority, the Australian Children's Television Foundation and the Australian Film Finance Corporation commissioned a joint research project on C classification programs. The research investigated trends in programming over the 20 years of the classification scheme and current issues related to the financing of children's programs. This paper explores current developments in the production and broadcast of children's television in Australia and the place of regulation in facilitating the community's desire for quality Australian children's programs.

Children's television policy in the United States: An ongoing legacy of change - Dale Kunkel
This article examines the evolution of children's television policy in the United States, analysing the forces that have shaped and influenced the nature of regulation in this area. For many years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) functioned as an obstacle to any formal regulation of children's television. The FCC's stance, however, was overcome by the Congress when it enacted the Children's Television Act of 1990, a landmark statute that established an educational programming obligation for broadcasters and restricted advertising to child audiences. Since that law was adopted, controversy has ensued about the legitimacy of stations' efforts to fulfil their children's programming obligation. The FCC responded by strengthening its rules implementing the Children's Television Act, and recent studies suggest that, for the first time, regulation is reaping rewards in terms of improving both the quality and quantity of television for children in the United States.

Public service goes to market: British children's television in transition - David Buckingham, Hannah Davies, Ken Jones and Peter Kelley
This article analyses recent moves towards a more commercial, multi-channel environment in British broadcasting, and the consequences of such an environment for children. Contrary to those who have feared for the abandonment of a 'Great Tradition in children's broadcasting, the article suggests that the situation is more complex and ambivalent. The new environment has seen an increase in the amount of provision for children, both on terrestrial and cable/satellite channels, although whether this increase will be maintained over the longer term is less certain. The article also challenges nostalgic conceptions of cultural value, and argues that the opposition between commercialism and 'quality' needs to be re-thought: the growing commercial role of the BBC, for example, may result in it becoming more responsive to its audience. Ultimately, however, there remains a need for greater accountability, and for greater public involvement (not least by children) in the practice of media regulation.

Children's television: The German situation - Ben Bachmair and Dirk Ulf Stötzel
This article provides an overview of the current state of and future prospects for children's television in the Federal Republic of Germany. It begins with a brief description of current television provision for children, and of children's viewing patterns, and it suggests that views of children's relations with the medium are heavily influenced by social class. The article goes on to describe the structural features of broadcasting and of media regulation in Germany, paying particular attention to the federal structure and the balance between public and private. The implications of this situation for children's programming are then analysed, with particular attention paid to the heavy regulation of advertising on free-to-air channels, and the need to protect children's slots in the context of a general move towards specialist channels. The article concludes by outlining the terms of recent public debates about the social purpose and quality of children's television.

Kumara kai or the Big Mac Pak? Television for six- to 12-year-olds in New Zealand - Ruth Zanker
The producers of local television for children in New Zealand face daunting challenges. No public-service channel exists in New Zealand's deregulated television environment and the country has a small population of 3 million. This paper draws on a year-long production case-study of a publicly funded flagship magazine program for six- to 12-year-olds and considers the strategies used by a range of other productions targeting the same audience. This paper raises questions about the rationale of current funding mechanisms.

Pulling together the ABC: The role of ABC online - Fiona Martin
Public service broadcasters facing multiple threats to their existence are simultaneously grappling with their transition to an era of digital broadcasting and networked information services. At stake is the continued need for a 'public sphere' in an increasingly diversified, commodified mediascape. This article draws on interviews with key ABC personnel between 1997 and 1998, press reports and relevant academic literature to examine the development of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's online publishing activities in the context of a recent proposal to part-privatise ABC Online. It considers the role of ABC Online as an 'information broker' in the public domain, and as a catalyst for changing modes of cultural production within the corporation. It then challenges the 1997 Mansfield Review's assessment of ABC Online as a 'non-core' activity of the corporation. Finally, it outlines options for future resourcing of the service, dependent on further research outcomes.

Misreading the crisis: Issues in Australian media representations of Indonesian politics - Nick Fredman
This article critiques differing approaches to analysing Australian media representations of Indonesia, and argues that an analysis of ideology and language is key to understanding this discourse. Many mass media commentators have been caught by surprise at the rapid development and severity of the economic and political crisis in Indonesia, and there has been ongoing confusion in media accounts of the crisis. The article explains this in terms of the contradictions that representing an authoritarian political system has created for the Australian media, which is underpinned by liberal-democratic ideology. These contradictions were held in check by the creation of several myths around Indonesia's apparent economic successes, the possibilities of peaceful change and Australia's national interest. The onset of a major crisis, however, has brought these contradictions to breaking point. The article also suggests some connections between the liberal discourse of a closer engagement with Asia and Australia's racist history.

It's never a five-day shoot: Queensland screen funding policy and the local animation industry - Rebecca Farley
A number of structural and policy changes have swept through Queensland's film funding organisations since 1996. Nonetheless, a monocular, rose-tinted view of what constitutes 'industry' has remained. Animation is one of many areas which are under-served, if not actively restricted, by this romantic view of industry.

This paper looks at the capacity of Queensland's film funding bodies to fulfil the Arts Office's slogan: 'to ensure success for Queensland's cultural industries', both in their previous (1997) incarnation and since the implementation of the Weekes Report recommendations in 1998. It then engages with the aspects of industrial practice which are hampered by these gaps in policy.

The film script as blueprint: Collaboration and moral rights - Steven Maras
This article discusses and evaluates the definition of the film script as a blueprint which has come to play a prominent role in organising the relations between different film workers, as well as the 'conceptual' and 'practical' aspects of production. The article examines the implications of this idea in thinking about the process of production, its planning and execution, and its collaborative dimension. First formulated in a period of centralised 'scientific management', the article argues that, despite changes in the production context of film making, the blueprint idea continues to have a key place in narratives about creative control, and the organisation of work and materials. As a way of focusing the issues further, the strategic use of this idea in the context of an Australian Writers' Guild submission on moral rights is explored.