[press release from ABC]
Are we heading for a television future where kids do not get to see Australian programming made specifically for them? And could advertising in children’s programming be vital for ensuring Australian kids stories stay on our screen?
These questions will be addressed today at the Australia. You’re Watching It Conference, by Nigel Pickard, of Save Kids TV UK. Nigel will outline the British experience which has seen the UK industry go from one of the healthiest in the world (in 2002, UK regulator Ofcom estimated more than £161 million was spent in that year alone on original programming for kids), to today, where of the 113,000 hours of kids television output, only 1% is new UK content.
Other sessions include: ‘What Makes a Television Program Australian? With the new ‘Significant Australian Content’ test to be administered by Screen Australia, what is it that distinguishes Australian television from the rest in the world, and is this correct?
The Government review of the ABC and SBS in the digital media environment will also be discussed, with those for and against public broadcasting debating what kind of public media we need for a 21st century environment.
Australia. You’re Watching It is a joint initiative between the ABC, Screen Australia, the MEAA and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, to debate the potentially precarious future of public broadcasting and Australian content on our screens. This is a pivotal moment in our cultural history and now is the time to get the blue print for the media future right.
Today’s speakers include Nigel Pickard (Save Kids TV UK), Gillian Calvert (Commissioner for Children and Young People), Liz Aitken (Carlton Public School), Deirdre Brennan (Nickelodeon), Geoffrey Atherton (Writer), Georgie McLean (SBS), Garry Maddox (journalist), Jock Given (Institute for Social Research, Swinbourne), Dr Suzanne Rickard (Committee for Economic Development of Australia), Jenny Buckland, (Australian Children’s Television Foundation).