Kidvid's Eye View

La Hora de los Ninos

2010-03-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

Below are some images from the trailer for a new Colombian pre-school series, created by a multi-partner group including the regional channels in Colombia, Citurna Producciones, the government media commission, and production consultants in other countries.

Elements of the series are produced all over the country, so that the children on camera truly represent the diversity of the country.

The descriptions of the program elements below aren't literal translations of the text on screen -- my Spanish isn't that good.

Title graphics for La Hora de los Ninos.

Goal: Empowerment of children in a familiar environment.

Goal: Promotion of common values.

Goal: Model adults reading to children.

Goal: Show children reading to children.

Goal: Encourage and demonstrate free expression by children.

One place where children express themselves is in interviews in the Bear's House.

Tell stories that engage children in a world of imagination, with children at the center of the story.

Goal: Show children natural processes and how familar things are made.

Fred Forward "Ideation & Creation" Session Framing

2010-03-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

A number of people asked if I would post my opening framing from the session I produced this afternoon at the Fred Forward conference at the Fred Rogers Center in Latrobe, PA. I cut out some sentences that dealt exclusively with the task at hand for the session. I hope this rundown of challenges facing children's media professionals is helpful to others!

DK
--
Today, we face vexing technological, financial and societal challenges in developing children’s media. Here are some of the challenges I have in mind:

• Even by preschool, children are immersed in a multi-media world. The media industries often feel they have to be everywhere in order to capture children’s attention, but is “360 development” based on commissioners’ concerns or on children’s needs and abilities? As you generate your idea, give thought to different platforms’ or technologies’ unique capacities and advantages. There are good and bad reasons for choosing each; if you decide on a multi-platform concept, discuss how they’d work individually and together.

• Traditional financial models for children’s educational media are weak – public broadcasting is chronically under-funded, commercial telecasters pay ever-smaller license fees as channels proliferate, the advertising market is fragmented by expanding options. Producers have dwindling options to achieve their vision, and some of those raise troubling questions – content development overshadowed by merchandising concerns, advertising to audiences too young to know its meaning, shows developed for global markets by removing any trace of unique culture. How will you pay for your media concept – and make a living yourselves – without disrespecting children and families?

• We want media ideas that are truly, madly, deeply educational. We have great models of what works on television, and growing research into effective education via digital devices. But we run the risk of cheapening the term “educational” by using it to market outcomes rather than input. Every child has unique needs, interests and abilities: we need to tell parents what ingredients went into the stew, why we chose them and why we believe in them; they’ll tell us whether the stew pleases and nourishes their kids. In short – underpromise and overdeliver. Focus on ensuring a strong learning foundation beneath your idea.

The future of children’s media depends on our solving these challenges. We can only achieve the level of quality we envision, parents long for, and children deserve by untangling the Gordian Knot. Creative excellence starves without sound economics; sound economics depend on our finding media’s appropriate roles in children’s lives; those roles evolve from parents’ trust and children’s engagement; and those comes from creative excellence. Back where we started.

Fred Rogers was a master of that balancing act, in large part because he stayed simple and true to a vision, supported by knowledge of child development. He often quoted “The Little Prince”: that which is essential is invisible to the eye. Done right, our balancing acts and compromises are invisible to children and parents, but any creator of programs, websites, games, products or apps wrestles with them daily.

This session’s goals have less to do with outcomes than with the process. No one expects you to solve all our problems today. Instead, your task – developing a creative media concept around emotional literacy – is designed to encourage sharing experience and expertise across professions, and playing with the processes and language of creative development. We may disagree at times about what children want, need, deserve or delight in, but I hope we can stipulate to two ideas: 1) children’s media aren’t going away, so we need sustainable strategies for giving families our best work across the growing array of technologies; and 2) children, like adults, seek and are entitled to a variety of content that engages, enlightens, informs and entertains them.

2010-03-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

I’ve been quite critical of Kwedit, the new “promise to pay” company that lets gamers and others borrow real-world money to make purchases in online environments. Borrowers can repay without interest in a variety of ways, including at local 7-11 stores. Since the New York Times profiled Kwedit and Steven Colbert took it on in a commentary, Kwedit has been at the center of a storm of protest over enticing children into deficit spending before they’re old enough to understand it.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and Kwedit must be reeling over that lost opportunity. It’s cost them considerable time in the press and on Twitter, repeating the mantra “Kwedit is not credit, it’s for teens and older. We're not a lender, there's no interest.” But, given their cutesy name, cartoon duck mascot, initial partners that sound like kid-friendly sites, and coverage that routinely uses the word “kids” they’ve got quite a hill to climb.

To their credit (not gonna do it…the kid-like, can’t resist punning name is part of their problem), CEO Danny Shader and some of his executives called me to discuss the company and the commotion, in response to my critiques.

Here’s my one-sentence assessment; you can choose whether to read my more detailed thoughts that follow: Kwedit actually has a compelling concept with substantial positive potential, if ring-fenced from children (and Kwedit and I disagree on the appropriate age).

CEO Shader talked about the concept’s genesis: an alternative to the existing high-premium means for the “unbanked” – people with resources but no credit or debit card – to pay for online transactions. One of Kwedit’s clients is PokeTalk, an international phone calling service; they’re set to introduce deals with various adult-targeted games. Kwedit has morphed from its initial aim, but had these been their inaugural partners, I suspect their debut would have passed unnoticed.

I’m a Boomer, a digital immigrant, and not a gamer. The concept of spending real life money for virtual goods – food for your digital dog or a more powerful weapon in a fantasy game – feels distasteful to me at a time when people and nations have overspent and overleveraged themselves into crisis.

As I considered Kwedit, I had to rethink this bias. I recently chose the free, ad-supported version of an iPhone game over the $2.99 no-ads edition; others might opt to pay. Why shouldn’t those who prefer role-play games have the same options I appreciate for word games – paying to enhance the virtual experience? Even in physical space, if I buy a fancy running watch (it doesn’t make me faster or fitter, but it’s a tool I appreciate), is that different from gamers buying “bits” that do the same for them?

One hurdle leaped, but the next still smacks me in the face. Everyone – children and adults – needs to learn not to spend money they don’t have on products they don’t need. We’re surrounded by buy-now, pay later opportunities from blizzards of pre-approved credit card applications to no-interest/no payment come-ons in stores to swipe-and-go machines even for tiny purchases. Kwedit is launching into a world rightly primed to be skeptical of its “play now, pay later” ethos. It’s not a perception of their making; they’re not creating a market, but they are plying one.

We trust adults to make these decisions, but we protect children and teens. You have to be 18 to enter into a legal contract or get a credit card without an adult co-signer.

Kwedit chose 13 as the age of consent for its service as a nod to COPPA compliance. They’re not bound by age restrictions on credit services because you make a “Promise” and not a legal agreement to repay, and because there’s no interest charged. 13- to 18-year olds are encouraged – but not required – to get parental permission before using Kwedit.

To quote English author G.K. Chesterton, “to have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.”

Teens are impulsive; they’re wired that way. In the midst of a game, presented with a “play now, pay later” opportunity, they’re unlikely to think through the consequences. (An interesting side note: CEO Shader says that so far, 50% of all players – not just teens – who click from a game into Kwedit leave the site without going deeper.) Shader notes that the risk is reasonably low; initial borrowing power is only a few dollars and the only penalty for default is restriction on future borrowing.

Still, why encourage teens to flirt with debt at all? Kwedit portrays it as a learning experience toward future, more consequential, situations like the credit card offers when they head off to college. Shader cites a favorite book, Blessings of a Skinned Knee, as encouraging parents to allow reasonable risk-taking (including reasonable failure) as a means for building self-reliant children. I understand the point, but I believe we’re teaching the wrong lessons at the wrong time – building the house of cards before ensuring a strong foundation underneath.

The foundation for managing credit is learning to budget. That’s why parents give children allowance; that’s why there are youth-targeted reloadable debit cards. Some online sites allow parents to load a virtual allowance that the child can draw down. These are the safest financial risk-management trainers: when it’s gone, it’s gone. The young person learns to manage a budget or to manage disappointment.

These methods also place the negotiation between child and parent where it belongs -- up front. The rules are set before the money is granted. Kwedit, by contrast, puts the discussion after the promise. Teens are encouraged but not required to talk with parents before borrowing.

One option for users who find they can’t pay is “Pass the Duck” – a request sent to a third party to log into Kwedit and cover a promise. Adults can pay the bill and teach their children that someone else will bail them out. They can pay but negotiate payback terms – the best solution, but a conversation that parents want to have beforehand. They can decline to pay and leave their child on the hook; of course, since this is just a “skinned knee” debt, the lesson would seem to be that debt has only minor consequences, unlike the real world of mounting interest.

While the amounts are smaller, Kwedit would do well to note parents’ fury with mobile phone companies that allow young people to rack up unanticipated text or download charges. It should also note the findings of the most recent American Express Spending & Saving Tracker that found 91 percent of parents focused this year on instilling lessons of financial responsibility in their six- to sixteen-year-old children.

CEO Shader cites Kwedit as a response to the prevalence of “friendly fraud” – kids using parents’ credit cards without permission. If a teenager is engaging in this practice, the family has a larger issue to manage than allowances and budgeting. Moreover, a player isn’t going to steal a parent’s credit card if s/he has the money to repay. Kwedit, then, becomes just a more savory, above-board means to the (again, post purchase) conversation about fiscal responsibility.

To be fair, the site includes an extensive parents’ page with tips and links for talking about money with your teen, and a teen page with lessons on money management. I’d be amazed, however, if more than a tiny fraction of teens and parents actually read the site. All you need to sign up is an e-mail address: activation is instant and there’s no request for birthdates or other age verification. Those steps don’t stop underage users but might provide one more opportunity for financial education and rethinking (perhaps Kwedit needs a “waiting period” for teen users).

Kwedit tracks users’ behavior with a Kwedit Score that rises and falls depending on your payment reliability. The company makes much of the fact that initial borrowing limits are very small ($3-5), but the website also says that “by being responsible and paying your Promises on time, you’ll get more and more Kwedit from the games you like to play.” A real-world credit score is based on a complex array of behaviors and accounts; a Kwedit score is solely determined by your internal reliability. This creates a worrisome direct link between good behavior and added risk, little nudges toward the cliff of a user’s ability to pay.

A few notes about the site that seem apropos here. I signed up for a Kwedit account; at no time during registration did it ask me about opting out of Kwedit or third party marketing or messaging. The Privacy Policy says it is possible to opt out from one’s profile page, but I can’t find such a link. Nowhere on my profile page could I find my Kwedit Limit. The parents’ site talks about Kwedit as a financial literacy tool, calling it “a fun way for your teen to start understanding some money basics: 1) save; 2) don’t spend more than they have; and 3) only borrow what they can pay back.” I find nothing in the mechanics of the site itself that would prompt such reflection.

Kwedit goes to great pains to say that your Kwedit Score is an internal statistic only, and cannot affect your real-world FICO score. Kwedit executive Loree Hirschman promises that the company’s privacy policy strictly forbids them from selling your Score to third parties. I hope this clause is airtight, because users’ scores and histories would be incredibly valuable, especially for teenagers reaching 18 and becoming fair game for credit offers.

Thus far, I’ve addressed only Kwedit’s intended audience of 13-18 year olds (Shader says their core target is 18-34 – they have no incentive to attract people with no money or means to repay). The bigger problem, in my mind, is that by setting their lower limit at the COPPA-mandated age, they’re almost certainly attracting underage customers.

Kwedit has specifically avoided partnering with sites known to be aimed at young children and tweens – Club Penguin, Webkinz, and so on. Two of the three sites listed as Kwedit partners at launch are FooPets and Puzzle Pirates. I visited both, because in name and style they give every appearance of appealing to older kids and tweens.

FooPets considers use of its site – agreeing to its terms and conditions – to be a legal agreement; those under 18 need an adult to register. Common Sense Media rates the site “Iffy” for 13-15 (based on cost and privacy) though its parent member rating is “On for 11+.” You could say this proves that FooPets is not aimed at children, but is also raises the issue of the ‘gappers’ – children (and teens) whose parents have signed off on using FooPets but weren’t asked whether they want their children to engage in Kwedit’s intermediary service.

Kwedit’s Hirschman says, “we do not rely upon other sites' policies…the only way a consumer can make a Promise is to come from another site to which we are linked, and we only link to sites whose target users are at least 13 years old. This just restricts the beginning of the funnel, but we then further restrict our user base: when users enroll in Kwedit, they must affirm that they are at least 13 years old and agree to *our* terms of use, the first sentence of which clearly states they must be at least 13 years old.”

This is fine legally, but we all know that underage players routinely tick through boxes asking if they’re 13. Further, it doesn’t really answer the question of parents who have OK'ed the play, but not the ‘borrow now, ask later’ part.

Puzzle Pirates offers different game levels. Some are aimed at kids under 13 and some above; some are free and some for paying customers. There are paying areas for younger players (they get a monthly “prize”). Kwedit’s Hirschman says Puzzle Pirates is only making Kwedit available to a subset of its users; she’s unsure if that includes children under 13.

After exploring Kwedit in depth, I see it as a risky service that tempts kids too early toward deficit spending and could alienate parents. I don’t, however, believe that they are as cwaven as cwitics cwy (it was all bottled up…I had to let it out!).

Not that they asked, but my free advice to Kwedit would be:

1) Raise your minimum age to 18, or require documented parental approval for 13-18 year olds;

2) draw a bright line that avoids partnering with sites that are likely to attract children under 13, not just those aimed uniquely at them;

3) Add age as a factor in determining Kwedit limits, cap teen limits and/or allow parents (see #1) to set a cap for teens;

4) Make your next prominently-announced partners games or services that are clearly meant for adults;

5) Excise kids and teens entirely from your talking points about Kwedit, and focus on why resourced adults would want to use the service – avoiding credit cards fees and interest, lack of a bank account, micropayments without giving out your credit information online, and so on.

Kwedit won’t have a second chance at a first impression, but with caution, humility and repositioning, this duck could have a shot at a long tail (that it…I Promise).

Tokyo Toy Store

2009-10-21T00:44:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Tokyo last night, with one day to explore before we begin work tomorrow morning. I am here to chair the audiovisual juries for the JAPAN PRIZE, the premier international competition for educational media, convened by the public broadcaster NHK. I'll be posting from here over the next week, though I have to be circumspect since JAPAN PRIZE is not an "everyone watches, everyone discusses, everyone votes" contest like PRIX JEUNESSE.

I spent a bit of my day at one of Tokyo's biggest toy stores, on the Ginza, to see what's hot here. Mostly, the rule seems to be "if it's cute, make it move."

That said, there's still room for old fashioned "acoustic" (as oppposed to electronic) play. This one, I suspect, is meant for adults rather than kids...a pachinko-style decision-maker.

Then, for those who have trouble waking up, there's this digital clock and target...it comes complete with the gun. "Tell me why I don't like Mondays"?

Quote du jour

2009-08-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Is it possible that media, news and technology literacy could be the new civics class?
- McCrae Parker, VP of Strategic Initiatives, Youth Radio

What's the New What? - Sex Without Condoms is the New Engagement Ring
Boss of Me

Journal of Media Literacy Education

2009-08-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Frank Baker and the Media-L listserv for this release:

The National Association of Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) unveiled the premiere issue of its Journal of Media Literacy Education Sunday night, August 2, at the NAMLE conference in Detroit Michigan.

Volume 1, Issue 1 can be found here: http://jmle.org/index.php/JMLE

Each issue of the journal is divided into three sections:
Articles
Voices from The Field
Professional Resource (reviews)

To access all of the journal, be sure to register (it's free). Follow the link "register" to set up your username and password.

Contributions are encouraged. The deadline for submissions for the second issue is October 1, 2009

Parents and Media Literacy -- Fear or Facilitation?

2009-08-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

The session on parents and media literacy took a somewhat frightening turn, as a number of people in the audience reacted with amazement (and perhaps even a little disdain) to findings that parents prefer to regulate media in their own households over government regulation. At least two audience members suggested we need to educate parents to demand government intervention; but where is the media literacy gain in telling families that they’re not capable and need Big Brother to do it for them?

This discussion followed on an excellent challenge by Faith Rogow about the disconnect between how we train teachers to provide media literacy education – an inquiry-based foundation – and how we most often deal with parents in media training settings, which tends to be to scare them with media effects findings, then tell them what to do.

One effect often posited about media’s influence on audiences is that it leads them to have a more negative or fearful view of the world. Based on reactions from some of the researchers, educators and pediatricians in this session, we may well be creating that fear in what we tell them about the mediated world, even more than what that world contains for many or even most kids. If you lead into media literacy with the dangers, it’s very hard then to change up and promote the positive potential.

OK, editorial finished. Below is a more dispassionate rundown of this session.

Kelly Mendoza of Temple University studied parents and their family Internet use strategies, particularly how they balance protectionism (defined primarily by the media effects research model) and empowerment (more attuned to the cultural studies and new media literacy models). She explored what strategies parents use along this continuum, using four variables: internet mediation strategies, confidence in using strategies, perceived usefulness of strategies, attitudes about children’s use of Internet.

Mendoza found that parents say they are reliant on rules about time and where kids can go (but recognizes that there is often a disconnect between what kids and parents report about what the rules are and how well they are enforced). Fewer parents report asking questions about what their kids are doing on line, and even fewer report encouraging their children to be creators online.

Parents reported little confidence in filtering and monitoring tools, a concern for the researchers given the size of the market in this software. At the same time they also claimed little confidence in their own ability to guide children to productive ways to be online creators.

Parents said they were very concerned about content, especially about inadvertent exposure to inappropriate content. Still, most parents deal with such incidents as they happen, rather than taking preventive measures.

Interviewed about their best hopes for the Internet, the parents focused on the “wealth of information” aspect, the Web as research resource. Few talked about its potential for communication or connection.

Catherine Chiarello, a lecturer on parenting digital kids, noted the gap between the typical advice given to parents and the realities of kids’ and families’ lives today. “Timers are great for cooking, but they stink for trying to regulate a kid who’s in the middle of a game. The advice not to have media in the bedroom is fine, but most kids today have laptops.”

So, Chiarello focuses on management strategies designed for the particular family – different strategies for a kid who is susceptible to bullying vs one who gets along with a wide variety of others; different needs of a latchkey family vs. one with a parent home most of the time. She also advocates understanding that this is a young person’s world, one that they are born into while we are reacting to it as a new and changing landscape.

Laurel Felt, Annenberg School for Communication, USC, conducted a pilot study on parents’ perspective on media and their children. Her hypothesis was that parents’ SES, their own childhood media experiences, and the age of their children would influence perceptions about children and media.

SES did impact parents’ preference for TV regulation – but regulation by parents, not government, broadcasters or independent organizations; low SES parents are most in favor of parental regulation.

Regarding children’s age and perceptions of TV quality, parents of now-adult children perceive TV quality as highest (perhaps a function of nostalgia?); parents of pre-school children also had reasonably high assessment of quality, while parents of elementary age children had the lowest view.

Finally, the more time the subjects had spent watching TV as a child, the higher opinion they had of current TV quality.

Emily Hunt, Parent and Teacher Media Education Manager at Common Sense Media, demonstrated the organization’s action-oriented materials program, built around positive and practical strategies and information on parents’ central concerns. Media offer Common Sense an opportunity to strengthen the home/school connection.

Media Literacy Exercise: Tree Octopuses

2009-08-03T06:30:00.001-07:00

Take a group of students; divide into smaller groups.

Assign the following research topic: Tree Octopuses.

Send one group to the Internet, another to the encyclopedia, another to the library, etc.

See how many groups come back with information on the Tree Octopus.

Science Resources and Media Literacy - Hidden Persuaders

2009-08-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

The presentation on media literacy resources and science learning, led by Daniella Quinones from WGBH Educational Productions, diverged into a fascinating back and forth about vetting educational resources for accuracy and bias. To borrow from “Shrek,” doing so is like peeling an onion; sometimes it’s necessary to go several levels deep to find clues.

The “About Us” section of a website may reveal potential sway, as might a list of funders; however, corporate backing or profit motive isn’t the only form of influence. The “Integrity in Science” database, for example, is a project of the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has its own point of view and interests.

Quinones produces Teachers Domain, a WGBH project supported by the National Science Foundation and others, linking to 2200 different resources (video, websites, etc.) in science, social studies, English, math and performing arts.

For reference, other resources noted in the session for educational video and other resources included DLESE – Digital Library for Earth Systems Education, Source Watch (a project of the Center for Media and Democracy, the Adolescent Literacy and Science Collection (part of Teachers Domain), iTunes U, Safari Montage and Net Trekker.

NAMLE: President's Address

2009-08-03T06:15:00.001-07:00

Sherri Hope Culver (shown left talking to her video doppelganger), President of the National Association for Media Literacy Education opened the NAMLE conference in Detroit noting that participants came from 34 states and 7 countries.

Culver’s President’s Address posited that 2009 will prove to be the tipping point for media literacy as a “social epidemic” – it is being taught in all sorts of new places, formal and informal, and the meme is central to every emerging platform from YouTube to Facebook to Twitter. We have gone almost instantly, Culver said “from ‘how can I find that out’ to ‘I can find anything – see it, watch it, download it, edit it…’ and media literacy adds the key question, “but should I.” Availability, access and fear – the perfect storm for media literacy.

But, if we stop talking about what media literacy isn’t, or why different organizations have different definitions, the opportunities are stronger than ever to integrate media literacy into the highest levels of education.

The Senate is working on a bill that would provide federal matching fund for states to support 21st century technology skills, including media literacy and critical skills. The Department of Education, as well, is incorporating media and technology education.

Even in popular culture, media literacy has edged its way into the mainstream. NBC’s “30 Rock” deals explicitly (the “Snapple product placement” episode) and implicitly (behind the scenes of a conglomerate company with media as one tentacle) with media literacy issues. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” has covered topics like ownership, censorship, access and product placement; young people can watch the series, then go online and see the webisodes that were being produced on TV.

(Below, Renee Hobbs uses her Flip video camera to document Sherri Hope Culver's speech up close.)

Journalists Weigh In

2009-07-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

The first journalists' coverage of the Senate Commerce Committee hearings are starting to come out. Here's Reuters' take.

As noted previously, the hearing ranged afield of the Children's Television Act itself. The Act limited only the minutes of commercials per hour, not the content of commercials, but Reuters cites FCC Chair Genachowski talking about protecting children from "inappropriate marketing."

This article from EasyBourse notes the one area where Chairman Genachowski seemed ready to regulate immediately -- making firm the FCC's tentative conclusion that interactive advertising to children should be banned without explicit opt-in permission from parents.

In conclusion...

2009-07-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Senator Rockefeller closed the hearing by talking again about how he was "shot down" by the Committee (his "own side of the Committee," he added) when he tried even to talk about First Amendment issues in a hearing on violence and obesity last year.

Writer's note: When it comes to extending the Children's Television Act, I wonder if the primary issue isn't the content of the programming, but the platform on which it is delivered. Would the FCC have the authority to mandate educational content or other restrictions on platforms that don't use public airwaves? That will be the most interesting conversation to watch as these issues move forward under a new Chairman.

Ultimately, this hearing was only tangentially about the Children's Television Act -- the scope of which was limited to educational and informational content mandates, commercial time restrictions and the establishment of the late and lamented "National Endowment for Children's Educational Television" (unless I missed it, Sandy Calvert didn't cite this precedent in introducing her idea for a think tank/production center).

Certainly, there was attention to adding more programming for the 6-12 year old audience, and to limiting commercialism; however, the tone was much more about how to support parents in an increasingly complex media environment, and how to surround kids with quality content(including entertainment!).

Here are the most encouraging things I heard in that light:

we've evolved from talking only about tools that block what we don't want, to developing means for helping families navigate to what they do want;
we are talking thoughtfully about the home-school connection -- not trying to replicate school learning via home media, but using the power of technology so that formal and informal learning tools can work in concert;
the panelists from industry we talking about their role in ways that suggest they are coming to see "360 commissioning" as not about themselves (we need to be everywhere!), but about the child and ensuring that they can find content for their needs, abilities and interests in the places they feel most comfortable.

2009-07-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) asked for evaluations of current blocking technologies.

Sandy Calvert noted Amy Jordan's research at the University of Pennsylvania finding that most parents had a difficult time programming their V-chip.

Jim Steyer thinks we're very close to simpler technologies for navigation -- finding and blocking. The V-Chip technology, he said, was meaningful, but the rating system was meaningless; 3rd party, independent ratings are the answer.

In the fall, Common Sense ratings will appear via the Interactive Program Guide for all DirecTV families. The "little read button" is crucial because it's at the "point of decision."

Klobuchar also serves on the Agriculture Committee, and wanted to ask about food advertising and character promotion guidelines.

John Lawson reiterated that Qubo's guidelines were called the "gold standard," but said Qubo found it very hard to get recognition since they are digital channels. This hearing was a valuable opportunity to bring them to light.

Cyma Zarghami talked about Nickelodeon's decisions on not using characters tie-ins with certain foods, about meeting regularly with its food advertisers, and about trying to support parents in their efforts to manage their families' food and media lives.

2009-07-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

Senator Nelson (FL) asked Sandy Calvert to expand on her proposal for a center to study, develop and produce media.

Calvert cited the Sesame Workshop model, where research, education and production work toghether. She reiterated that there is not a financial model that has worked sustainably for older children.

Nelson followed up by asking why we limit commercial minutes, but don't regulate commercial content.

John Lawson replied that self-regulation can be effective, again citing Qubo's content and marketing guidelines.

Gary Knell talked about the United Kingdom model, where the BBC has multiples more money than US public TV and where food marketing restrictions were imposed and "the sky did not fall in."

Jim Steyer supported FCC Chair Genachowski's statement that he intended for the FCC to make firm the ban on interactive advertising to children. He also noted that Common Sense Media had recommended to the FCC and Congress a plan for ad content restrictions during family-oriented programming like sports, citing the difficulty of explaining erectile dysfunction to a five-year-old.

2009-07-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

Senator Rockefeller began the question period talking about children as consumers of media; Jim Steyer stepped in to remind the Committee that children are media creators, not just consumers, and that heightens the need for digital literacy, and knowing the "rules of the road."

Senator Mark Begich (AK) is asking questions first: he is concerned about the 6-11 age group gap in educational programming. Without mandatory requirements, he asked, how do we get good content for that age group? And how do we get kids to watch it -- his 6-year-old has already migrated to older kids' programming.

Gary Knell responded that kids are natural media learners; by the time they enter school, they are digital learners. Sesame Workshop is talking with the Department of Education about media uses that bridge the home-school connection.

The problem is that there is not a lot of advertising money for this age group, except for entertainment. We have to figure out a way to get the best of Hollywood and the best of Silicon Valley working together to captivate and educate this age group.

Begich followed up this same question with Cyma Zarghami.

Nickelodeon research with kids, since the early days, found that they could best help kids by guiding them in navigating the world. They get formal education at school, but want support in relevant social learning from TV. As kids watch kids on Nick that look like them and have the same problems (or exaggerated versions of the same problems), they gain self-esteem.

2009-07-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

Jim Steyer, Common Sense Media:

Senator Rockefeller said this was a transformational moment in media, and we need to look at this issue not just regarding the CTA, but regarding the domestic and international security of our country, given the educational needs of the next generation.

1) Educate; 2) Empower; 3) Protect -- these are the three core values regardless of platform.

On education, there needs to be more quality educational content across all platforms. The second part of education is to provide digital literacy and citizenship learning for kids and parents. Kids who are not digitally literate will not compete.

On empowerment, that's the "little red button" that Senator Rockefeller asked about. Common Sense Media rates and describes content across multiple platforms to give parents the ability to make good choices.

Regarding protection, it has to come not only from industry, but from Congress and the FCC. We can balance First Amendment Freedoms with protective regulations. This primarily comes from adult content, not from the children's channels like Nickelodeon.

This is a truly bipartisan concern. Think big and think dramatic.

2009-07-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

Cyma Zarghami, Nickelodeon:

Nickelodeon was made for older kids who were mostly watching adult programming. It was meant to be a place where kids could have fun and be themselves, as it can be tough to grow up today.

Nickelodeon follows the guidelines of the CTA, even though as a cable channel is was not required, and feels the commercial limits have been helpful. Still, Nickelodeon does not believe further or extended regulation is needed. Across the day, Nick serves all audiences - preschool in the morning, older kids in the afternoon, families at night (coviewing is increasing).

Between Nickelodeon and Noggin, the channels air several hundred hours weekly of educational programming. Further, it has offered news (Nick News), public affairs (Kids Pick the President), and social welfare campaigns. Nick has also extended into new platforms in order to serve children where they are and with the technologies they prefer; but it always includes safety tools for families.

2009-07-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

John Lawson, ION Media:

Lawson is testifying in his role as a member of the National Association of Broadcasters' Board, as well as his role with ION, which operates the Qubo children's service among other channels. ION is also pioneering mobile DTV, and held up his phone which was live-streaming the ION service (but too small for Senator Rockefeller to see from the dais).

Lawson presented Qubo's diverse and multi-lingual programming services, for the age group Gary Knell noted was least well served. He also noted Qubo's food marketing guidelines, which he said had been called the "gold standard."

He also pointed out that broadcasters work closely with their communities, beyond their direct programming service to kids.

The challenge, Lawson noted, was in restrictions on distribution -- getting multiple digital channels into cable and satellite homes.

2009-07-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Sandy Calvert, Children's Digital Media Center and Georgetown University:

The 1990 Act was a recognition of television potential for benefit. The requirements were minimal -- 3 hours per week -- still the 2008 Children Now study called the results "Educationally Insufficient." At the same time, we are falling behind the world in many aspects of learning.

New technology permits HD, multi-casting and interactivity. Public TV is experimenting with these tools for individualized learning. Commercial broadcasters have been less active in pursuing this.

1) requre commercial broadcasters to expand their E/I offerings on TV and online;

2) expand the players involved, especially to include interactive media creators;

3) allocate funds for studying, testing, creating and distributing high-quality media, particularly interactive.

2009-07-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Gary Knell, Sesame Workshop:

This is Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary, and it's amazing to think about the changes in the media landscape since that time. What has remained constant is the need to harness the educational power of television, and the need to limit the potentially harmful influences.

In the 2010 context, however, aspects that informed the Children's Television Act have become obsolete; today's children will never know a world without cell phones.

Today, there are 47 pre-school educational TV series; in 1969, there were two. The big need is for the next age group -- 6-12; there is almost nothing for them.

We are pleased that the new Broadband Act emphasizes education; as we see the merger of formal and informal learning via technology this will be crucial.

We should also be attending to public health issues regarding children and media. We have made progress on healthy foods and marketing guidelines among media, marketing and food companies; however, we need more than ever to focus on media as a health solution.

2009-07-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Rockefeller:

Do you believe the three-hour rule is working? The FCC has the power to unilaterally require more than three hours; would you consider that? The FCC has shown little interest in enforcing the Act thus far; what can the FCC do?

(Rockefeller then expressed concern that kids are doing their homework later in the evening, and so watching prime time programming, which is not covered by the CTA...)

Genachowski:

The rules for reporting E/I programming -- public files, FCC filings -- worked for the technology at the time. Now, that kind of information should be online and easily accessible to parents. We will revamp the FCC website to provide more information about what is being offered as E/I.

The next step for the FCC is to evaluate what is being offered across the marketplace -- cable, satellite, etc. There's good news in what's being offered via cable, but many families don't have access. Our inquiry will look at quantity and quality, tools and parental enforcement.

2009-07-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

Rockefeller:

Given all that children have access to now, does the standard of 20 years ago stand up, as to what is appropriate for children to learn from?

Genachowski:

Every generation of kids finds different entertainment compelling. I'm not a programmer and don't pretend to know what kind of programming will attract and educate viewers. I do believe that our creative talent can continue to generate educational and informational programming in keeping with the times and with what remains constant in children's needs.

We have creative talent and we have demand on the part of parents. I hope technology can bridge that in a way that is supported by a strong business model.

2009-07-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

Senator Pryor (AR):

I am concerned that children now have access to video streaming and more via their cell phones. This mushrooms the challenges we have, because even the most attentive parents have difficulty monitoring mobile content. Does the FCC have any plans to look into this?

Genachowski:

As part of the Child Safe Viewing Act, the FCC will catalog all the tools available to parents.

As to the mobile, we want our kids to be on computers, to have access to information, to have open vistas to education; at the same time, we have to respond to parents' concerns about the other content their kids may be accessing.

The key is to give parents tools to let them exercise their choices. They prefer to do it themselves and not have the government do it for them, so what can we do to prompt innovation of what parent want.

Pryor:

What is the status of research into the educational effectiveness and quality of programming listed as Educational/Informational"?

Genachowski:

We don't have a deadline for when this will be completed.

2009-07-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Rockefeller:

1) How would you feel about a simple, little red button on the TV set that you push and find out instantly how the next program is rated for family values, etc.? Many parents cannot manage the current V-chip ratings technology.

2) The bulk of the CTA applies only to broadcasters; it is narrow and broadcast-centric. Does this limitation make sense today? Should we only be concerned about children's interaction with media over the public airwaves?

3) How should the CTA be updated?

Genachowski:

Broadcast is the only form of distribution in 15 million homes approximately. With respect to cable, parents just want to make sure there are appropriate channels and programs across the array. They want tools to find the right programs for their children, and to exercise control over what they don't want.

We should think big and expect big things from entrepreneurs and inventors, to create for parents the tools they want -- specific content for their child. This will involve the web, but also the converging technologies in TV sets. The FCC will explore the state of the marketplace in tools like this.

2009-07-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Genachowski:

1) Important to prepare kids educationally for the future.

2) Video content should not treat children as "little consumers."

3) It is crucial to empower parents with tools.

4) Important to recognize the varied roles of parents, government and the private sector -- support parents while sustaining the First Amendment.

The private sector must ask if it is doing all it can.

The FCC can and will conduct an inquiry on how best to protect children in a digital world, and will also look at the opportunities of the digital world to support the goals of the Children's Television Act.

Tempted to say that the FCC should firm up its stance that interactive advertising is off limits to children, except with explicit opt in from parents.

Genachowski has ordered a revamp of the FCC website on children and television to make it more useful.

2009-07-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

FCC Chair Julius Genachowski is making his opening statement.

1) Children remain our most precious national resource. It is as essential as ever to educate and protect them.

2) TV continues to have a powerful effect and broadcast TV remains unique -- the exclusive source of visual media for many families.

3) Much has changed since 1990; broadcasting has gone digital offering new opportunities and new challenges; multichannel broadcasting has expanded greatly; the Internet has grown; gaming has exploded; children have access to mobile media.

Today, parents worry not only about the TV, but about the computer, the game console and the mobile phone. Parents have to play "zone defense."

2009-07-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

Senator Rockefeller is expressing his skeptcism about digital mobile media; he notes that his kids read the NYT on their iPhones, but he insists on the paper version because he's afraid the digital version leaves out context.

The paper version doesn't?

2009-07-22T11:21:00.001-07:00

Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on the Future of the Children's Television Act:

Senator Rockefeller opened the hearing (with no other Senators in their seats) saying he intended not be too aggressive in the hearing because he tried that before and discovered that the others on the Committee felt there were First Amendment issues at stake. Rockefeller said he was very concerned about violence and other challenging content (not sure how this jibes with the focus on educational programming mandates).

2009-07-09T08:26:00.001-07:00

For anyone dropping in who enjoyed my postings from Showcomotion, I've launched a Children and Media Professionals' social network, where you can join in the discussions on an ongoing basis.

Please come join us at http://www.childrenandmedia.ning.com.

2009-07-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

We are not what we are but what we make of ourselves (Anthony Giddens, 1991)

Family and youth marketing consulting Barbie Clarke delivered a compelling presenting on her longitudinal research into kids and social networks (OK, as longitudinal as you can get with a class of online site that's only been popular since 2005 but feels like it's been there forever). Clarke, a child therapist by training, is a principal in Family Kids and Youth.

When Clarke began her research she was derided for saying she wanted to focus on children as young as 10; everyone said that was way too young. Now, a few years in, she wishes she'd looked from the start at children as young as 7! Even so, Clarke's ethnographies are among the very few looking at early adolescents.

Clarke posits that in the developed world, we've eliminated many adolescent "rites of passage" around puberty. To some extent, she says, digital technology has become a substitute rite – at age 8, 40% of kids have mobiles; by age 12, over 90% do. Purchasing data also shows a "summer rush" to buy mobile phones (akin to "back to school" clothes shopping) for children about to begin secondary school, as they will be more independent outside school hours.

Clarke believes there are two myths about time on social networks:

children spend lots of time "alone" on computers -- most of the time they are surrounded by a virtual community of friends via IM or social networks, "talking" about day-to-day stuff like setting plans – it's ultimately the kids who aren't online who lose social currency and are outside the group; and
children are likely to meet predators online -- most kids she's interviewed are well aware of stranger dangers, and counsel each other to take precautions; the kids she found to be most vulnerable to predators are those who are vulnerable in the real world, as well.

Clarke, like others, has noted that kids jump from social network to social network over time (see Paul Tyler's comment here). She posits that this migration has to do with kids' growing sophistication of knowledge about sites -- many start with Piczo which is very easy and intuitive; they may move on to MySpace which offers more protective possibilities but is still relatively transparent. The current favorite, Facebook, is far more open and requires more care; it’s easier not to set your privacy options than to set them. Migration is also technology driven, especially as convergence makes handheld devices more complex and omni-functional.

Clarke suggests that for clues to where kid will go next, we keep an eye on the Japanese market, where technology and trends tend to precede Europe and North America.

More details from Clarke's own keyboard are available on her blog.

Due Out Any Day

2009-07-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

David Buckingham of the University of London's Institute of Education, is just days away from releasing his long-awaited report on the impact of commercialization on children and childhood. The report was due out in advance of Showcomotion, and Buckingham was booked to speak about it, but the release was delayed.

The report was commissioned by Ed Balls, the British Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.

Four heads are better than one

2009-07-03T08:24:00.001-07:00

The trouble with blogging from Showcomotion, as a sidelight to being a conference delegate and speaker, is that I can only attend one session at time. Moreover, there's not really time to write up one session before the next one starts (hence my game of "catch-up" here and now).

Fortunately, Showcomotion has four dedicated bloggers -- all students or recent graduates -- who have been covering most conference sessions. You can read their perspectives here.

"Broadcast" on Digital Britain Panel: Don't Hang the Bunting

2009-07-03T08:16:00.003-07:00

The session on the deeper meaning of the Digital Britain report -- the UK Government's plan forward for broadband and media content -- coincided with my PRIX JEUNESSE "Treasure Chest" session, so I was not able to attend. Broadcast Magazine, however, has a very good summary.

Three studies tracking digital video trends

2009-07-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

Catching up on one session from earlier today:

A Showcomotion session featuring three complimentary reports on digital kids introduced not-so-surprising statistics (that is, familiar numbers in their similarity to American figures), but some useful and unique perspectives.

Randal Thomas of QMedia presented an online survey of 850 children 11 – 14, commissioned for Showcomotion, covering online video consumption and its implications for television.

Two-thirds of the kids have TV in their room; this is more common among the middle class than among the very wealthy and very poor. A similar number have their own computer, with 60% having Internet access in their rooms (mostly via home wifi).

A stunning 96% have their own mobile phones; 73% have hand-held game consoles and about 80% have a portable MP3 or MP4 player.

Looking at video consumption online, 95% have watched TV on their computer via Internet, 59% via an MP4 player or ipod, 57% through a games console, and 34% via hand held games console.

As other studies have found, girls are primarily communicators online; boys are gamers and “window shoppers” (researching products they want to buy or receive); however, across all kids, IM and social networks are the most frequently used applications.

Here's is a (slightly fuzzy...dark room) photo of a chart showing most frequently used sites and applications, charted with popularity by gender on the X axis and popularity by age on the Y axis:

And here are two charts reflecting what kinds of online experiences kids choose based on their mood, and then what kinds of games, specifically, they choose based on mood:

Those who watch digital video tend to watch music videos and user-generated-content; fewer watch complete movies or TV shows, but the researchers speculate that will increase as broadband gets better. Asked which device they’d choose as best for watching different genres, most choose TV for almost all genres, except music videos where screening online allows them to watch what they want when they want it.

Will Wiley of Sparkler conducted a similar study among younger children – ages 6-12. This younger group sees the web as a place to have fun – through games, activities, video clips and sites related to favorite TV shows.

Sites to tend to sex segregate, but it’s the “skin” of most sites that determines whether it draws primarily boys or girls. The functionality beneath the surface is often the same – gaming, art projects and activities, stories and clips, etc.

Younger children tend to stick with purpose-made children’s content, where older kids surf kids’ and adult sites. Younger kids are more individual in their choices while older children are more social; 6-9 spend less time online revisiting familiar sites while 9-12 take longer and more varied journeys. Younger kids use “semi-literate” navigation – for example, not typing in full URLs but instead relying on search functions with predictive text or search memory to find favorite sites with just a few letters.

Not surprisingly, the more engagement a site demands, the fewer kids do it. So, the fewest young people make and post videos which demand a lot of investment, and the greatest number play casual games.

6-12s look for the games everywhere; to some extent they see the web as another games platform like their Xbox or Wii. Given this orientation, under 12s aren’t attracted to social networks, saying “there’s not enough to do; where’s the game.”

Hamish McPharlin of research firm decipher set out to test how families would use the ultimate digital home entertainment system. Decipher installed the most up to date equipment – TVs, PVRs, portable video players and such in 15 homes across England.

At first, decipher didn’t tell people what all the equipment did, instead letting them figure it out for themselves. In some cases, it was the children who navigated their way through features, like the boy who claimed the family portable video player as his own. After some time, decipher started a social network for the families in the study, where they could share discoveries and tips, and where the research team could ask questions of all.

Over time, the television remained the center of families’ viewing experiences – they found it sociable and timely. Families added time for VOD and mobile options (total viewing went up 30%), without taking away from previous TV time, though live TV viewing did decline.

Given all these viewing options, the families didn’t become less tolerant of advertiser supported programming and didn’t even mind embedded advertisements; however, as they gained more control over their viewing, they did raise their expectation for “targeting congruency,” ads that reflected digital technologies potential to target commercial messages based on accrued information.

Looking Back to Look Forward

2009-07-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today's closing plenary session was about finding creative inspiration, in tribute to the late Oliver Postgate, and his partner Peter Firmin, creators of Smallfilms. In a barn, the two of them produced some of the best-loved British animation of all time...done simply.

Series like "Bagpuss," "The Clangers," "Noggin the Nog" and "Ivor the Engine" are stars in the British TV firmament, and some have found a new home for parents and kids to watch together on Nick Jr. UK -- 8-10 pm, 7 nights a week.

Nick Jr UK MD Howard Litton showed a delightful promo for this block, with a tip of the rabbit ears to "Teletubbies." A boy playing in his backyard is dressed in a homemade spacesuit for a time machine trip to the 60's. He opens a door in the front of the spacesuit to reveal a screen showing "The Clangers." At the end of the promo, the boy reappears in perfect 60s granny glasses and wig!

A final word for the day from Richard Goleszowski, Creative Director of Broadcast and Development for Aardman: "Kids don't get bored because programs move too slowly; they get bored when they can't understand what's going on. At the animatic stage, we know what every character in every second of 'Shaun the Sheep' is thinking, and if we don't we fix it before we go on."

#showco09

Doesn't the Magnet Interfere with the Built-in Computer?

2009-07-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

In an "interactive showcase" session, Mal Ogg of History & Heraldry, a manufacturer and marketer of "impulse buy" items such as "Zipper Pals" and refrigerator magnets, said he'd recently spotted one of their magnets on Bill Gates' fridge, in a TV piece on appliances of the future.

He also showed a publicity shot of the Black Eyed Peas in which Will.i.am was wearing a "William" Zipper Pal. Publicity you can't buy.

#showco09

The Family that Plays Together

2009-07-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

"It's so hot here in Sheffield...

How hot is it?

It's so hot here in Sheffield that I think the wireless service in the Showroom took a brief nap.

In any case, here are two brief bits from the session on family gaming -- "The Family that Plays Together":

In response to an audience question on parents' being uneager to play games with their kids because the children are so much more accomplished (or simply skilled), one panelist noted a change in game design strategy: "The fundamental change in gaming in the last 10 years is that we used to focus on frustrating the player if necessary; now we want to make the player feel smart. Even if you don’t do well, the idea is that you're not humiliated and something happens."

Session producer and moderator of Atomfire Productions responded that his company is designing a “Play Together” game for the Wii, in which the screen is splits, and two players of differing ability can each contribute to progress by completing tasks of different difficulty.

#showco09

"8 out of 10 Kids"

2009-07-02T05:22:00.001-07:00

A few gems from this morning's "8 out of 10 kids" session at Showcomotion - a clever game built around children's entertainment developments of the past year plus media profiles of ten Sheffield students.

Paul Tyler (digital media "gun for hire"; creator of CBBC's "Bamzooki" – Social networks are like localized storms – people come in en masse and harvest what they want from the current hot site and then when it's used up they move to the next. So Facebook was the flavor of last year; Twitter is current; and who knows what will be next.

Helen McAleer (Walker Books, former head of children's for BBC Worldwide) - People who work in the publishing industry tend to love books, and so it’s especially hard for them to make the shift to other forms of distribution. But that’s where the kids are, so we need to deliver graphic novels to mobile phones and find new ways to present preschool content.

Estelle Hughes (3Line Media) and Jocelyn Stevenson TT Animation) – The BBC needs competition, but top-slicing the license fee to support Channel 4 serving children won’t add new money, just move around what’s already there. 30 million UKP was lost when CITV left children’s; that has to be made up from somewhere to get back to level.

Interestingly, the top three toys in the UK last year were all boy-oriented: Hot Wheels (3), Pixar "Cars" (2), and "Ben10" Action figures (1).

#showco09

Swimming Upstream?

2009-07-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

Peter Salmon, Director of BBC North -- and therefore in charge of the relocation of CBBC to Salford Quays -- submitted to Q&A from radio host Richard Bacon and the audience, as the opening keynote to Showcomotion 2009.

The interviewer and audience were in a challenging mood, particularly after Salmon said "the values and insights, the collective experience of the storytelling and talent" in British-made children's content was one of the "three or four most important things the BBC does."

Bacon questioned whether that assertion was belied by changes in scheduling, cutting back or shifting children's content on the primary broadcast channels, that have damaged audiences for long-running CBBC programs (or, in honor of my hosts, programmes).

Salmon replied that "no one is happy with those losses, but the importance of children’s programing is revealed in the proportion of the license fee it receives, and in the central nature of CBBC" in plans for the Manchester (Salford) relocation. Starting with children’s television, Salmon hopes to place the BBC at the center of a community in the North that includes independents from all kinds of media, and that gives audiences a place to come to connect with their favorite content.

Still, Showcomotion producer and Save Kids' TV Board Member pointed out that the BBC had rejected SKTV's requests as part of the BBC charter review, that children’s programming be named the “Third Leg” of public service – identified as a priority along with news and regional content -- and that a fixed proportion of funding be ring-fenced for children. "We don’t want to create a situation where some genres 'travel in first class'," Salmon answered, while others are left behind.

#showco09

Come on baby, do the Showcomotion...

2009-07-01T05:11:00.001-07:00

For the next few days, I'll be blogging from Sheffield, England, and the Showcomotion Children's Media Conference. This is one of my favorite annual meetings, as it's always forward looking and positive. Even in the deepest times of difficulty for the UK children's media industry (and that's not to say things aren't still pretty challenging...), the attitude at Showcomotion has always been "so, where do we go from here," instead of hand-wringing or "whinging."

Much of that "where do we go" has focused on expansion beyond traditional television, and Showcomotion is truly and deeply a multi-platform discussion.

More soon from the pre-Conference co-production workshop, a combination of expert panels, a pitching simulation, and speed networking.

#showco09

Successful End to a Successful Trip

2008-07-07T15:54:00.003-07:00

It doesn't take long being around me to ascertain that I have two obsessions -- kids' media and distance running. So, I was pretty thrilled when Showcomotion organizer Greg Childs not only asked me to return and present my annual PRIX JEUNESSE "Suitcase" screening, but also if I would run the British 10k road race on Sunday, July 6, as a charity runner for his cause of choice, The Multiple Sclerosis Trust. What a challenge -- to do something I love in the heart of a city that endlessly fascinates me, for a worthy cause that is important to someone I greatly respect!

So, before returning home today, I ran yesterday. Unless you are Stefano Baldini (2004 Olympic Marathon Champion) or Lornah Kiplagat (one of the world's premier women in the marathon), this is a run not a race. With 25000 people participating (probably about 75% of them for various charities), a very narrow start line near the Wellington Arch, and no seeding by anticipated pace at the start, all but the elites spend much of the race weaving in and out of slower traffic.

Still, it was a spectacular course through Trafalgar Square, along the Embankment to the Tower of London, back to Westminster Bridge, around Parliament Square, and finishing on Whitehall.

Below are a few photos from the run. If any should inspire you to support the MS Trust, the site for giving will be open for a few more weeks here.

Online safety

2008-07-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

In Showcomotion's closing session, the question was raised why we never seem to get to discussing the creative foundations, processes and possibilities of the digital world. Showcomotion Producer Greg Childs, principal of Childseye Consulting noted that not just at Showcomotion, but at almost every conference on digital social networks and spaces, the theme veers quickly to problems and threats.

As if to prove the point, almost simultaneously with the closing session came this article from the LA Times about online bullies, thieves and cheaters, and this Huffington Post article on media addiction.

Five guidelines for companies'/brands' best practices in social networks

2008-07-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

Maurice Wheeler, Founder and Planning Director of Digital Outlook, laid out five key ground rules for companies or brands seeking to have presence on social networking sites.

1) Help me, don’t sell to me – don’t just put up an ad, but offer something of community value.
2) Keep it real – don't pretend to be something you're not, either by disguising your site as a fan site or by representing yourself as a happy customer. Today's youth have very quick bulls**t detectors (and some technical tricks) and will find you out and embarrass you.
3) Make it unique -- whatever you offer in your social network space should be unavailable anywhere else, even in your other marketing or promotion.
4) Be open and accepting whatever the consequences – if you are attacked or criticized, resist the urge to lash back, respond or delete the offending content. Take a deep breath, and let your community defend you.
5) For us by us. Offer opportunities for the community to contribute; sense of ownership is vital.

What will the gatekeepers keep?

2008-07-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

In a session on the difficulty of bringing together the game industry and the TV industry, one panelist pointed out that now that many gaming consoles are Internet connected, it's not just possible, but easy for game manufacturers to continually update in-game advertising. The billboard your avatar walks past today with a McDonald's ad could well be promoting Coke tomorrow.

Suddenly, games are ad-supported, continually updating media...or what used to be called "television."

For a time, ongoing revenue stream was the major argument from TV gatekeepers why the game world needed to collaborate with them. Now...not so much.

The Eclectic Slide, Part II

2008-07-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

Also from Seth's presentation, a mapping of the digital world and homage to the London Tube:

The Eclectic Slide, Part I

2008-07-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

A Powerpoint slide from the presentation of Chris Seth, Managing Director of Piczo Europe, speaking during the "Social Media: Realising the Opportunity" session:

The Channel of Me – I know best how to create, assemble, organize and consume my experiences.

The Channel of Us – We are self organizing with the power, trust, scale and social currency that only we can provide for ourselves.

Salute Your Shorts

2008-07-04T02:55:00.000-07:00

Early on in my children’s TV career, as I looked around the world, I was taken especially with the countries (most often in Europe) that used children’s blocks to escape the tyranny of 30 and 60 minute programs. Blocks could feature a five-minute documentary followed by an 11-minute animation and a two-minute video clip. Not only could content could find its appropriate length, but also while kids would know that the block was made explicitly for them, it wouldn’t be predictable enough to let them click away during something that didn’t appeal – what if their favorite segment came up next?

Now, in the manic, mobile and mash-up age, short content for television has renewed life, and this was the topic of the GET SHORTY session. Short-form has both financial and creative appeal: it enables a telecaster to test out a concept before taking it to a longer-form series, or to take content risks, at a lower level of investment. In some cases, channels are using it as an opportunity for user-generated content. Others – like Nickelodeon UK – are using shorts to drive their social awareness or public service campaigns.

Here are links to some of the programs presented:

Pedro and Frankensheep
Nick UK’s See Something Say Something
The Zimmer Twins
The McLeod Brothers (see especially The Odyssey in 15 seconds)

Whither (or is it "wither"?) Public Service Media?

2008-07-04T01:13:00.001-07:00

A “question time” session on the state and future of public service broadcasting began by questioning the use and definition of the term itself. BBC Children’s Controller Richard Deverell noted that the regulator Ofcom’s definition from five years ago – quality, creativity, serving all and measurable outcomes – remains valid; what’s changed is the range of companies, channels, platforms and venues where public service content is being provided, that weren’t necessarily considered or included originally.

Janey Walker, Head of Education and Managing Editor of Commissioning for Channel 4, added that the audience demand must also be part of the equation in defining public service content, though, and that is is dangerous to define it solely in terms of commercial market failures (i.e., public service is to fill gaps that the market can’t or won’t); Channel 4 wants to reach as many people as possible, and it shouldn’t diminish public service value if they use a popular format and put it on at 8 in the evening.

Blogger’s Note: A few years back, especially when I was working on the “One Mission Many Screens” report for PBS and the Markle Foundation, we used the term ‘public service media’ to replace ‘broadcasting’ in recognition of the public’s migration to multiple screens. In evolving now to ‘public service content,’ defined in large part by its “purposes and characteristics” (a term used by regulator Ofcom’s Head of Market Research James Thickett), how will this affect the concept of publicly funded or at least publicly sanctioned media outlets…under that definition, do bloggers and YouTube become part of public service media?

Another major debate during the “Future of Kids’ PSB” session was whether the advocates for British-made children’s media – principally PACT (the producers’ alliance) and Save Kids’ TV – have been “too nice,” and whether it’s time to harden their campaign.

Everyone seemed to agree that the strength of the activists’ argument is that it’s a “nice” one – everyone with children wants the best for them. Janey Walker suggested using that as a starting point on the high ground, but said ultimately the battle would be won by using the hardest-headed accountants who can come up with sustainable funding plans.

Adam Minns, speaking for PACT, noted that the advocates may not have achieved all their goals, but said they’ve made undeniable progress since Showcomotion 2006, when the movement was born: there has been press coverage, Channel 4 has proposed investing 10 million UKP in teen programming, and Ofcom’s CEO was quoted that “children’s is the ‘bleeding edge’ of public service issues.”

Anne Brogan agreed, but said while the topic is on people’s lips, it’s not yet achieved action. She paraphrased MP Ed Vaizey from the night before as saying, “I’m with you but I won’t put money or time in.” This led the BBC’s Deverell to suggest that it’s time to make politicians uncomfortable if they do nothing.

It's a Lego world...

2008-07-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Also from the "Welcome to my World" session, this factoid:

There are 52 Lego bricks in existence for every person on earth.

What did you build with your 52 bricks today?

Eight Personalities in Virtual Worlds

2008-07-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

In the "Welcome to my World" session on virtual worlds for children, researcher Lizzie Jackson from the School of Media, Arts and Design at the University of Westminster, cited eight different personality types her team had identified while studying users of the CBBC's "Adventure Rock":

Explorer-Investigators consider their time on the site to be “outdoor” play inside; they tend to be confident and curious;
Self-stampers are working at presenting themselves to the world, and rehearsing for the next stage in their lives: being teens;
Social climbers are competitive and concerned with their "ranking," in online space, especially compared to others;
Fighters are interested in death and destruction, violence and superpowers, though often beneath this surface is a study of rules and structures;
Collector-consumers seek to accumulate anything offered up that has perceived value; and
Power users share the benefit of their knowledge and experience with others, often helping newcomers or those who are struggling with pathways and strategies;
Life System Builders create new lands or elements, then populate their environment;
Nurturers love to look after avatars or pets and teach others.

Session participants were asked to rate themselves on the scale above, with regard to views about kids and virtual worlds.

Things that make you go hmmmm....

2008-07-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Ten -- or even two -- years ago, had you heard the following line at a children's media conference, would you have wondered what planet you had landed on:

I need to buy a disco floor for my igloo.

Whose Space is it Anyway?

2008-07-03T05:47:00.000-07:00

Below are some key quotes from the opening Showcomotion Session, "Whose Space is it Anyway," which played out as a game show between two teams made up of kids' media experts and teens.

On the impact of the funding shortages for children's media and attention from government, referring back to Ed Vaizey's address:

Adrian Mills (Myriad Learning) -- People won’t know what happened until its too late. At the moment, there is a plethora of channels and programs, but five years down the road the reservoir will dry up. However, as a political issue, trying to fight for attention from Members of Parliament, it will never compare to knife crime, the economy or health care.

Nigel Pickard (RDF Television), also referring back to Vaizey – A tax break is too easy, it won’t solve the problems if there aren’t enough broadcast platforms, no end user. On the other hand, it’ll be fantastic for animation and should have been there 15 years ago.

On the Byron review of safety and digital media –

Pickard - It was an eminently sensible piece of work that took 250 pages to state the obvious.

Mills – Whenever the government immediately says it will implement all recommendations in a report, you know there’s nothing very challenging. What it lacked that would have been useful was a rebuttal to the extreme views of people like Aric Sigman, who believe consuming media will result in an entire generation of children who are depressed and retarded.

Tanya Byron (psychologist and author of the Byron Review) – Industries have to take responsibility, but they also have to be supported to find the way forward. What should come next is a time of collaboration among government, industry, experts, kids.

On perceptions of most media as divorced from education --

Mills – Education and media have drifted apart because the concept of schools TV was never re-invented; we need to re-engage in the idea of media’s role in children’s learning, not based on a 1950’s model, and not disregarding the ongoing important role of TV.

At the end of the session, asked what kinds of TV they liked, the two teen girls on the panel mentioned Grange Hill and Byker Grove as shows they best related to; sadly, both have been discontinued.

Vaizey: Kids' TV Caught in the "Perfect Storm"

2008-07-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

Showcomotion Chair Anna Home (former Head of Children’s Programmes for the BBC) introduced Shadow Minister Ed Vaizey by talking about the “special and particular scrutiny” received recently on children and the media in the UK. She cited multiple governmental reports from various sectors (Vaizey estimated that number at 14!). Home said it was great that the children’s media industry and culture are being taken so seriously, but wondered if it all was happening too late to take the values of PSB forward into the future.

Vaizey spotlighted the conundrum of children’s media policy today. In the UK government’s broad “Children’s Plan” on the difficulties in bringing up youth today, the second point of the executive summary referred to the “danger of television,” whereas it wasn’t until page 45 that the report mentioned the medium’s positive potential. The environment is “somewhat hostile and somewhat suspicious and I don’t think it should be that way,” Vaizey (father of a two year old) said.

He also noted that children’s TV is caught in “the perfect storm” – more regulation makes it less advantageous for broadcasters to produce new content, while the fast-changing technology environment is making innovation ever more necessary.

Vaizey demurred from taking a stand on any of Ofcom’s four proposals for ways forward, or from a fifth proposal to create a central commissioner of domestic children’s PSB content for use across channels. He did say, however, that the industry’s lobbying efforts for tax incentives (particularly by the producers’ lobby PACT) has been very effective – they haven’t asked for the world and they have been clear and responsive to issues raised, he noted, citing in particular PACT’s argument that if tax incentives prove useless, no one will use them, but they represent a small investment with big benefits if they are effective.

Tax incentives, Vaizey proposed, make sense for industries that are in the business of risk, because they give companies incentive to keep money at home, keep regulation to a minimum and act in a very targeted way.

When it came time for questions, the largest concern from the audience was whether government concern can be turned to action in time to save the industry. Vaizey admitted that it’s unlikely anything would happen before 2010, when the next election is likely to take place, and that he’s not convinced the case for more urgent intervention has yet been made.

Disclaimer: As an American visitor, this report is filtered through my own understanding both of the British political system and of what Mr. Vaizey said; others at Showcomotion or simply those who know the environment are very much invited to clarify or comment!

Showcomotion 2008: Theirspace

2008-07-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Sheffield, England, and the Showcomotion conference. This is the fifth gathering, and it’s become one of my – and the British children’s media industry’s – favorite meetings. For me, at least, this is because it’s perpetually forward looking. Even last year, when UK children’s TV seemed to be at a nadir in finances and morale, there was no hand-wringing or “woe are we” attitude, but instead a figurative rolling up of sleeves and commitment to getting closer to the audience to do more with less.

One sign of the value UK professionals assign to Showcomotion: there are 119 contributors (speakers, moderators, producers) this year, and virtually all are volunteers. They’ll be speaking to roughly 400 people in the audience.

The 2008 Showcomotion theme is “Theirspace,” an assessment of new ideas, best practices and how well we as adults are providing content for all the old and new places young people access media. (I am here, as always, to present screenings and discussion of children’s TV from around the world, drawn from the recent PRIX JEUNESSE, perhaps, the most “traditional media” session of the conference.)

More than any year before, the speakers come from gaming, social networks and other digital development, though of course there’s still strong representation from the TV channels and independent producers. Among the most interesting sessions, as well, should be those dealing with policy – tonight the shadow (opposition) minister for culture and broadcasting will open the conference, and tomorrow there will be opportunities to question regulators and activists, plus a chance to feed into the BBC Trust’s review of service to children.

And the winners are!

2008-06-05T00:40:00.000-07:00

Up to 6 Fiction: A Sunny Day - ARD/SWR-Germany

Up to 6 Non-Fiction: Numbers and Beards - SVT-Sweden

7-11 Fiction: The Magic Tree: Devourer of Books - TVP-Poland

7-11 Non-Fiction: The Wrong Trainers - CBBC-UK

12-15 Fiction and Non-Fiction: Sexteens - Artear-Argentina

Theme Prize (Gender): Mortified - Nine Network-Australia

UNESCO Prize: Genji - KRO Youth-Netherlands

UNICEF Prize: Buddyz on the Move - SABC-South Africa

Next Generation: Tsehai Loves Learning - Ethiopian Television-Ethiopia

Interactivity Prize, Pre-School: Oline - Danmarks Radio-Denmark

Interactivity Prize, School Age: CBBC Me and My Movie - CBBC-UK

Children's Jury, Fiction: Desperados - CBBC-UK

Children's Jury, NonFiction: Mathematica - NHK-Japan

International Youth Jury: Under Pressure - ARD/NDR-Germany

Heart Prize: On the Block - RTE-Ireland

Sheep Thrills

2008-06-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

Sheep = Funny

Not just my opinion, but the learned conclusion of the PRIX JEUNESSE moderators, after their deconstruction of the discussions over the past week. Their finding is based on Shaun the Sheep, Jakers and The Wonder Pets.

Baby TV

2008-06-04T07:13:00.001-07:00

The very first TV show for babies (up to 18 months) I ever saw was here at PRIX JEUNESSE, as far back as 1988. "Tik Tak," from Belgium, was five minutes, daily at 5:55 pm, meant to give parents five minutes to prepare dinner (does that sound familiar to today's debates?). It consisted of colorful images and black and white geometrics, spinning and bouncing and moving. It was simple, with no vast claims of educational value, just a daily engaging TV break.

As we look for information on the efficacy (or lack thereof) of baby TV, perhaps we need to look farther afield. Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, has been doing baby programming for 20 years, and its representatives say they have an extensive research library. Their lead researcher will be in the UK for the July Showcomotion conference, and coming to the US after that; I'll be in Japan for the long-running Japan Prize, so I hope to have a chance to examine their findings on baby TV.

The PRIX JEUNESSE "Finalists"

2008-06-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

The finalists for tonight’s PRIX JEUNESSE Award Ceremony were just announced. In this case, “finalist” includes the top three rated programs in each major category (12-15, 7-11 Fiction, 7-11 Non-Fiction, Up to 6 Fiction, Up to 6 Non-Fiction), plus contenders for the special prizes: UNICEF, UNESCO, Next Generation, Gender, Youth and Children’s Juries. So, not every program in the list below will take home an honor, and some may win more than one.

In any case, the geographic, genre, content and other diversity of the list below is impressive! I’ll be reporting the winner as soon as possible after the ceremony.

Nominees – top three in each category, plus the special prizes (UNICEF, UNESCO, etc.)

Sexteens, Argentina – A short clay animation encouraging safe sex

The Daltons, Netherlands - The full cast returns to a drama series that was a hit ten years ago; now, the young children are teens and this episode deals with first loves forming and breaking

Love Agents, Sweden – Tweens give relationship advice and help a peer make a date

Under Pressure, Germany – A crime drama with teen protagonists

Buddyz on the Move, South Africa – A non-fiction offshoot of the legendary South African drama series “Soul Buddyz,” here a village of children helps a classmate afflicted with HIV get a cell phone so she can keep up with her classmates, and helps her grandmother keep her house.

Mathematica, Japan – Clear and innovative graphic demonstrations of math concepts.

The Gift, Norway – Children submit a request to give a friend a special gift; here, two girls arrange a day as a fashion model for a friend who is recovering from cancer.

On the Block, Ireland – Youth made documentary about the dismantling of their neighborhood housing estate, and their impending move to new homes.

The Wrong Trainers, UK – Animated stories of children living in poverty in the UK.

Desperados, UK – Comedic drama around the formation of a wheelchair basketball team.

Genji, Netherlands – A little girl learns martial arts to ward off a bully who terrorizes her and a blind friend.

The Magic Tree: Devourer of Books, Poland – Multi-PRIX JEUNESSE winner Andrzej Maleszka’s newest episode of his anthology series, this one about a cupboard that turns books into cakes that give the consumer all the book’s knowledge.

Shaun the Sheep, UK – Aardman Animation series built around a sheepdog and his flock.

Mortified, Australia – An early teen-angst sitcom covers crushes on older boys and fear of having “the talk.”

Peek a Boo – Happy Hands, Japan – Baby TV that has been on air for 20 years in Japan.

Numbers and Beards, Sweden – Not a math series, just an innovative, if not unusual, way of sharing a love of numbers with pre-schoolers.

Outside, Netherlands – Documentary footage of children at play, animated to reveal their fantasies

A Sunny Day, Germany – A one-off animation in which a very proud sun rises, spends the day, and sets, showing all the people and animals who are influenced by its rays and heat.

Adriaan, Netherlands – Adriaan’s dog, Spottie, has died; he and his father make plans for the burial.

Christmas with Linus and His Friends, Norway – Part of a 24-episode Christmas mini-series, Linus’ little sister, given to lying about everything, runs away to “Japan.” We see the adventures she has, but only at the end of the day do her parents realize there’s more to her tall tales then they think!

Tsehai Loves Learning, Ethiopia – Puppet series targeting Ethiopian children’s physical and emotional health.

Ending on a High Note

2008-06-04T02:38:00.001-07:00

I have no say in, or knowledge of, the nominees for the Next Generation Prize, but I have a personal favorite. The contest’s final program to be screened ought to be a competitor for this prize.

“Tsehai Loves Learning” is a puppet program dealing with social and emotional issues, done on a shoestring by a husband, wife and small team in Ethiopia (Shane Etzenhouser and Radiet Alemu are here; Bruktawit Tigabu is at home, about to deliver Shane’s and her first child!). The writing is direct and clear, using simple interactivity in the style of “Blue’s Clues” to invite children at home to participate. The characters aren’t fancy, but they are well conceived and colorful, culturally familiar and empathetic.

In the competition episode, Tsehai the giraffe is trying to figure out why his friend Tsinat is sad. The storytelling is supplemented by games to identify emotions by facial expression, and by Tsehai interviewing children about their experiences with emotions. When Tsehai finds out Tsinat is sad because his mother died of AIDS, he tells a story that reassures Tsinat that his mother loved him very much and is watching from above.

The producers have such a strong sense of their culture and audience that mentoring from a developed-world producer or writer or director wouldn’t rob Tsehai or their next project of essential cultural roots or loving nature.

One in eight children in Ethiopia is an AIDS orphan.

Building the Next Generation

2008-06-04T02:18:00.001-07:00

New to PRIX JEUNESSE 2008 is the “Next Generation Prize” for promising talent shown by the person or team behind a competing program. The award is meant in particular for “a program produced under difficult circumstances, with scarce finances, or in a developing or emerging production environment.”

The award includes cash, but also a year of mentoring toward a new project, by experts from one of the broadcaster sponsors behind the prize – Nickelodeon UK, Disney Germany, BBC, the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, KRO Youth and ZDF/Germany.

I asked Bernadette O’Mahony, representing the ACTF, what they were looking for in the Next Generation Prize-winning entry. “We were looking for somebody who, with resources – financial, plus support and advice – has the ability to grow and create something that is worthwhile for their audience. We wanted to help as developed world companies, without taking away the essential cultural nature.

“We looked at the experience of the overall team, but mostly the role of the young professional (“young” being defined more as early in a career than chronological youth) at the core, since the prize goes to an individual. We looked at what kind of support they had around them, and then at the creativity and quality of what they were doing now.

2008-06-04T01:51:00.000-07:00

It’s always around this point of PRIX JEUNESSE that I realized about 80% of the people around me have been operating for almost a week in a language that isn’t their first. For many years, the festival was run simultaneously in English, French and German, later adding Spanish. Every program and plenary session was translated live, and there were parallel discussion groups in each of the languages. Once that became financially impractical, PRIX JEUNESSE decided to run in English, with all programs either translated or subtitled, and discussion groups run primarily in English, but with bilingual moderators where possible.

Still, the English spoken by so many of the participants from all over the world is so proficient and fluent that it’s easy to forget the intellectual strain it must be to translate everything – six hours per day of TV, formal discussion sessions, lunchtime conversations, information sessions – from English as you take it in, and then back into English as you contribute.

A few years back, I attended a PRIX JEUNESSE offshoot in Chile, run entirely in Spanish. I spent the first day being resentful that no accommodation was made for me…and then realized that this is what it must be like for most people at PRIX JEUNESSE.

2008-06-04T01:48:00.001-07:00

This morning’s five minute lecture – an innovation for 2008’s theme of gender and children’s TV – was on why boys always win in the end. For the 2006 PRIX JEUNESSE, all but two programs featured boys in the lead role. In many cases, the characters weren’t stereotypical – an Israeli documentary about a boy pursuing a peace club wth Palestinian children, a sympathetic and emotional profile of a stuttering German boy, a female Swedish pre-school science show presenter – but these are the basic numbers. It would be interesting to project them back over past festivals and see if this was an anomaly.

This much I can say, based on the most recent two programs to screen – little sisters are nothing but trouble…from Mongolia to Norway.

Death for an Early Age

2008-06-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Since few pre-schoolers worry about taxes, perhaps the toughest topic to take on in children’s TV is death.

We’ve just seen a movingly simple drama from KRO in the Netherlands, in which Adriaan (roughly six years old) and his father go to get a coffin for Spottie the dog, and then bury him in the neighbor’s woods. The program takes its time in telling the story; it’s not afraid to rest its gaze on Adriaan’s face and register his very real emotions, not does it rush through a burial in which Adriaan is too angry to say his goodbyes. Adriaan quarrels with the carpenter’s son when he asks too intrusive questions, but when the son accompanies the family to bury Spottie, the two reach a friendship.

On the other hand, in conversations since I wrote the above paragraphs, I’ve heard from others that the family in the film was cold and unfeeling in how it dealt with Adriaan, and that the program never allowed the boy to truly show sadness.

But – as Reading Rainbow used to say – you don’t have to take my word for it. The program is on KRO Youth’s wonderful YouTube channel. Here’s the link – watch and let me know what you think.

Adriaan and Spottie

Pardon the especially poor photo quality.

2008-06-03T11:15:00.001-07:00

Every year, someone asks why there are no children at PRIX JEUNESSE. There are two simple answers – the first is that this is a professional gathering, designed for expert analysis of program structure, development, content and age appropriateness. The second, and more compelling, reason is that children don’t naturally sit for 8 hours at a time watching television, not even with the aid of coffee and the promise of good German beer.

The festival has developed means of getting young people’s reactions to the finalists. A group of Munich schoolchildren judges the 7-11 category shows, and for the first time in 2008, seven international youth juries of teens year olds (including one organized by the ACCM, WTTW and the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival) screened, discussed and voted on the 12-15 category.

Still, every once in a while, children appear at the festival. One participant brought her 10-month-old baby (who was closely studied during the one “baby TV” entry, from NHK/Japan), and Meenakshi and Vinay Rai – filmmakers from India brought their two children, who often serve as their films’ presenters. Their youngest, Raghu, is the focus of one of the festival’s more controversial films, a dispassionate documenting of Raghu playing rather roughly with a kitten.

Team Arbeit!

2008-06-03T06:08:00.000-07:00

We’re currently watching the Nick Jr./Little Airplane series “Wonder Pets,” but since it was submitted for 2008 by Nick Germany, the episode is screening in German. As much as I’m used to seeing voiced over animation when I travel, there’s something marvelous but a bit disorienting to a series you know well, especially with such distinctive voices, rhythms and repeating features, entirely familiar except for the soundtrack -- the eyes take it in but the ears aren't quite certain. Still, the Germans have done a remarkable job of finding perfect voices for the Linny, Tuck and Ming-Ming.

Was funktioniert?
Team arbeit!

Communicating Without Language

2008-06-03T03:31:00.000-07:00

What will a five-year-old do when sent into a room to get a piece of basic information from someone who doesn’t speak his language? “Wow How” from Korea tests this question, first with two girls tasked with getting a German visitor’s name and country, and then with two boys who have to find out her age.

The boys, in particular, react with shock at finding someone so different from them (“she looks like a mannequin”), but are also most innovative in devising a means of communicating, using blocks to show their own ages, which the visitor gladly shows in return.

Maleszka Magic

2008-06-03T02:04:00.000-07:00

Polish director Andrzej Maleszka has been a stand-out at PRIX JEUNESSE as long as I’ve been attending. In either 1998 or 1990, he brought a brilliant game show, set in a wooded park, in which mixed teams of Polish children who spoke no German and German children who spoke no Polish had to find ways to communicate to complete tasks.

Only a few years later, his genius as a drama director began to emerge. “Jakub” was the story of a boy sent out for milk who returns with a cow. “Kitten” featured a little girl who, disappointed that she got a cat instead of a dog for her birthday, wakes the next morning to find she can only speak ‘cat.’ “Tele-Julia” continued Maleszka’s love of magic, as an enchanted hat turned into a mega-TV antenna, and compelled the girl wearing it to act out whatever was currently on TV.

Maleszka has a winning streak at PRIX JEUNESSE dating to 2004 with his “Magic Tree” anthology series. The link among the films for TV Poland is that each traces the ultimate fate of some piece of a magic tree, that itself carries a bit of the magic. So, in “The Sceptre” (2006), two boys fight, with predictable results, over a baton that allows whoever holds it to compel others to do as they say. In “The Wooden Dog,” a boy’s sled runs by itself, since he’s allergic to dogs.

In 2008, Maleszka may be up for a “three-peat.” In a highly competitive category, people in the discussion groups loved “Devourer of Books,” where books put into a magic cupboard are magically turned into luscious cakes that imbue those who eat them with all the book’s contents. The class’ non-reader suddenly becomes the academic quiz champion, but was it magic…or just newfound confidence?

Much of Maleszka’s directing magic comes from his longstanding technique of spending a long time in workshops with his child actors, giving them time to become comfortable together.

Interactivity Prize - Play Along at Home

2008-06-03T00:17:00.001-07:00

Tonight, the finalists for the PRIX JEUNESSE Interactivity Prize present their sites to the audience; anyone who attends the session can vote to choose the winners in Pre-School and School Age categories.

The Interactivity Prize was created as the Web Prize about 10 years ago, in order to reflect the growing presence of web sites linked to kids' TV shows. Now, as the environment has shifted, the sites have morphed from reminiscent of the associated TV show to full-fledged partners in extending kids' participation and enjoyment of what they've seen on television.

If you want to "play along" with the PJ Interactivity Prize, here are the URLs for the nominated sites:

Pre-School:

Oline
www.dr.dk/oline

Word Girl Website
www.pbskids.org/wordgirl

Are We There Yet? World Adventure
www.arewethereyet.tv

School age/Youth:

The Apple Core Game Studio
www.hetklokhuis.nl/gamestudio

CBBC Me and My Movie
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/meandmymovie

KetnetKick
www.ketnetkick.be

Cowboys, Indians and Palestinians

2008-06-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

Would Palestinian children understand an essentially American allegory as told by a Syrian-American filmmaker? In the Fiction 6-11 category, we just screened “Kemo Sabe,” a short independent film made in California under American Film Institute grants in the US, and aired on Al Quds TV in Ramallah.

Little Yussef (about 9 years old) is desperate to join the cowboy team in his neighborhood Cowboys and Indians games. The “captain” of the cowboys has said he needs jeans and a belt to be a cowboy, so he borrows his big brother’s jeans and acquires a belt with a big state of Texas buckle. Now, he’s got the goods, but finds the team reluctant to take him on. They finally do, but we notice as the two teams huddle up that Yussef is now the only non-white face on a wary-looking cowboy team, and all the disdainful-expressioned Indians are children of color. The captain of the cowboys says, “it’s going to be hard to know who’s who if you start mixing things up.”

The film closes with a quote from James Baldwin, “It comes as a great shock around the age of 5,6 or 7…to see Gary Cooper killing off the Indians and, although you are rooting for Gary Cooper, that the Indians are you.”

A colleague from Syria says he is working to acquire the film for his channel, but doubts children there will understand the American cultural essence of the parable. In any case, it seems like a strange and defeatist message to deliver to young children – you can’t escape your pre-determined lot. There’s also a not-very-hidden message about collaboration.

In the formal discussion groups (the one I attended, at least), the broad feeling was that this was made for adults, not children. Many thought any audience would understand the “cowboys and Indians” metaphor, given the global distribution of western films, but that children in particular would never make the association to the Middle East conflict (perhaps fortunately, per some?).

Others noted that the story was missing an essential conflict of a children’s story, because Yussef acquires the trappings of the cowboys, since he takes his brother’s jeans and his father buys him a belt (when his mother has said “no”). Would his transition (and subsequent disappointment) have been more meaningful had he had to work harder to make the transition?

How do you know you're at a kids' TV festival?

2008-06-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

Poverty Through a Child's Eyes

2008-06-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

The British government has vowed to end child poverty by 2020, and the animated short documentary stories of the BBC’s “The Wrong Trainers” show just how far there is to go. Each of the stories, in the words and voices of children living in poverty, visualizes government statistics about the root causes of poverty, such as drug use, low income or disability. By using different styles of animation, the stories protect children’s anonymity but also lend an appropriate and engaging style to the details of each child’s story.

“The Wrong Trainers” aired as part of CBBC’s “Newsround.”

In the type of whiplash change that is common due to PRIX JEUNESSE’s lottery-determined screening order, “TWT” was immediately followed by the US’ WGBH/PBS hysterical game show, “Fetch With Ruff Ruffman.”

Both shows got audience applause afterward.

Now, where was I?

2008-06-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long dry spell and "blocked" messages you may have received – Blogspot’s bots apparently decided this blog might be spam, and denied access temporarily. In any case, back to our previously scheduled festival! I've been saving up posts and will try to finish updating during the day today.

In any case, the football game ended as all good international “friendlies” ought to – in a 6-6 tie.

Bend it Like Barney?

2008-05-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

Wish me luck. Tonight is the biannual PRIX JEUNESSE soccer match. Most of those on the field will have started playing at age 3; I will have started playing at 7...o'clock.

Cake-ulus?

2008-05-31T08:05:00.001-07:00

We’ve moved on to the “7-11 Non-Fiction” category, and NHK/Japan served up a tasty post-lunch treat in “Mathematica II,” which finds engaging graphic ways to explain math problems. The show appears to be from the same team that created “Pythagora Switch” a few years ago, a pre-school pre-math series that used visuals like a man standing first next to children and then next to a volleyball team to show how someone can be (relatively) big and small at the same time.

None of the elements of “Mathematica” is particularly expensive; its charm lies in simplicity, humor and clarity. In the submitted episode, student chefs were given the task of figuring out which was bigger, a round cake or a square one of identical circumference. After various guesses, the chefs learned to “square the circle,” first measuring with finer and finer units (aided by clay animated cubic “Rockafellas,” each of which can break into eight “Rockakiddies”), then arranging fine slices from the round cake to approximate a square.

Formal Discussion: 12-15 Fiction and Non-Fiction

2008-05-31T03:51:00.000-07:00

Discussion groups are the heart of PRIX JEUNESSE. After watching hours of programs, the five moderators’ job is to try to manage the fire hose of stored up opinions and reactions, so that it’s released in a controlled and directed flow. The moderators try to find common themes for grouping the programs, rather than attempting to debrief each one separately.

For the first discussion, covering the 12-15 age group, I chose the bilingual Spanish-English group moderated by Adelaida Trujillo from Colombia. It was a tough discussion, dominated by the idea that young teens are an almost impossible group to reach, drifting away from the home and TV set to friends and portable, digital media (your mileage may vary based on cultural norms and technology base). An increasing number of broadcasters simply don’t create or distribute programs for kids older than 12.

In the past, the teen category has been dominated by “worthy” and serious issue-based programs. Interestingly, in 2008, several people noted that the stories were much more about emerging self-identity – “finding me” – than about engaging young people as involved citizens.

Others noticed that the teens in many entries were divided between the strong (taking control of their lives) and the fragile (buffeted by situations and events around them). Documentaries more often focused on the strong (perhaps, one person proposed, because the fragile are too tightly wound to be the protagonists of their own stories), while the scripted stories explored lives in flux, whether in drama or with a bit of humor as leavening.

The Media Litcom

2008-05-31T00:46:00.000-07:00

Currently screening is “Meanwhile, in Front of the Boob Tube” from Quebec, a broad sitcom with a critical viewing curriculum baked in.

The series is built around a household of young men and women whose lives play out as they sit in front of the TV and computer. The episode – in this case, the “A” story is about using a found credit card and the “B” stories are about one of the women’s use of “Butox” and the men’s obsession with lifelike “fake boobs” – is interspersed with clips of what they’re watching: overblown infomercials for everyday products (a Rube Goldberg device to reduce water pressure to a trickle), DIY shows (about making more attractive ransom notes from household items), and web ads for lifelike fake body parts.

A Market of Good Ideas

2008-05-30T09:55:00.001-07:00

PRIX JEUNESSE is not a market, but many refer to it as a "market of good ideas." Is the festival relevant for those whose travel is most often to MIPCOM Junior, or other events where buying and selling is the primary agenda?

Jan Willem Bult, Head of the Youth Department at KRO Youth Digital in the Netherlands, says "absolutely." Bult is on the road constantly, not only to markets and festivals, but also conducting production workshops and advising on programs and channels, especially in Latin America.

The biggest benefit of traveling so much, and going to both markets and festivals, is that they are so diverse you can find everything you need across your channel.

I don’t go to markets to be inspired, but for business, to get the programs I need for KRO Digital. PRIX JEUNESSE, on the other hand, is to broaden your horizons, to be inspired, to meet all the world cultures and explore questions like diversity and equality. These are things that many of us don’t even think about anymore because they’re so much a part of what we do, but it’s important to see how they play out in other regions and countries. PRIX JEUNESSE is vital – you become aware of your responsibility as a producer and broadcaster.

Of course, for Bult, that doesn’t mean the festival doesn’t offer up program leads.

Some of the programs here have an international market – it may be small, 20-30 broadcasters, but it is an important element in a schedule. Last festival, I found here 24 half-hours of drama from Norway – now gets the highest rating on my channel against any competition.

As a producer, if you put effort in finding good stories, you’ll get things beyond the ordinary, and you find out you’re making something fresh and new. It’s not a 52-part series so it won’t go to market, but it’s the kind of story people talk about.

Best line of the day

2008-05-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

In a program about football (soccer, for you Americans) playing twin girls, the inteviewer asks if they have boyfriends. One replies:

What kind of question is that; I thought we were going to talk about football.

Dart guns to date rape: the 12-15 paradox

2008-05-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

PRIX JEUNESSE, and the 12-15 age category in particular, slams home the duality of tween/teen life between maturity and innocence. Because target audiences for PRIX JEUNESSE entries can straddle the category, this one includes shows aimed at as young as 9 and as old as 18, but with those slender and confusing three years as the “sweet spot.”

In the course of the first morning’s screenings, we’ve seen the previously-referenced Argentine explicitly animated cautionary tale on safe sex complete with creaking bed and moaning sounds, immediately followed by a Dutch family dramedy in which one son plots his first kiss in one scene and makes a dart gun from drinking straws in another. We’ve seen tween-age Swedish “loveagents” help a peer ask his secret crush nervously for a first date, canoeing and sharing a chocolate fondue picnic, just before a Dutch boy makes the national news for organizing a teenagers’ boat in Amsterdam’s gay pride parade. Now on-screen is a Canadian high school soap episode featuring both date rape and pass-out drinking.

2008-05-30T03:58:00.000-07:00

As the animation industry presses west from Korea and Japan, to India and beyond, perhaps the next territory to develop will be Iran. The country sent a number of programs to the festival, and while most ended up in the video bar as not well suited to children, the overall quality of the animation itself was exceptional.

One that did make the finals was “The Red Fort,” in which a huge and fearsome army is taken down by tiny, biting ants. The colorful and innovative animation was rich, especially in showing massive crowd scenes in motion.

Pardon the quality of the "live" screen shots.

PRIX JEUNESSE 2008 is officially open

2008-05-30T02:54:00.000-07:00

The Director General of Bayerischer Rundfunk has declared PRIX JEUNESSE 2008 officially open, and the first program – a BBC drama – is spooling as I type. The international children’s TV festival is my favorite gathering because it’s built around the creative “state of the art” and health of our industry, rather than the business or issues.

This year, a record 400 producers, writers, executives and researchers from over 50 countries have come to Munich. There are 87 shows in the finals, and in a new twist, clips from all of them played in the opening session, perfectly synced to a violin/cello duet.

In the opening 12-15 age group, it’s clear that identity will be a strong theme – personal identity, cultural identity, sexual identity. Of course, this is an eternal issue for adolescents, but the opportunity to see if from a variety of cultural perspectives – a British boy discovering he was donor-conceived, a Dutch teen joining his first gay pride parade, animated Argen-teens learning about safe sex, a Colombian photographer shares his neighborhood, Canadian young activists – is eye-opening. The first discussion session comes tomorrow morning, and it’s easy to anticipate conflict over some of the more open and explicit stories.