Voice of the Listener and Viewer (VLV) represents the citizen and consumer interest
in broadcasting and works for quality and diversity in British broadcasting.

Children and Television: Facing the Future Took Place On The 
Thursday, 1st November, 0930- 16.45pm, London, Euston.

It is just over a year since Nigel Pickard and Janie Grace were appointed controllers respectively of BBC and ITV children's programmes. It is just a month since the government gave approval for the BBC's two new digital channels for children: one for the pre-school ages, the other for pre-teens; and for a new digital radio station that will include children's and family speech programmes. 

Meantime, ITV has suffered a huge fall in its advertising income which has caused it to cut the funding of its children's programmes and to drop its plans to launch a digital children's TV channel. The conference will provide the first opportunity for the two Controllers to speak about their new situation. 

Children have been exposed to unprecedented scenes of disaster and tragedy in 2001, first during the foot and mouth epidemic and later through coverage of the attack on the World Trade Centre. A panel of specialist editors, producers and presenters will explain how they deal with such issues and the role that television can play in helping children to cope with disaster and bereavement.

Other speakers gave facts about child audiences, about opportunities presented by the new media and make a cri de coeur for quality and the funding to ensure it.

The speakers included: 

Nicci Crowther, Producer, Pagoda Family 

Helen Cresswell, Author and scriptwriter

Janie Grace, Controller, Children's ITV Programmes

Jocelyn Hay, Chair, Voice of the Listener & Viewer  

Billy Macqueen, Director, Darrell Macqueen Ltd

Peter Murphy, Director of children's programmes, Zenith Entertainment

Nigel Pickard, Controller, BBC children's programmes

Matthew Price, Presenter, ‘Newsround’ CBBC

Juliet Roberts, Producer, Victoria Real Ltd

Lea Sellers, Producer, ITN

Ben Thomas, Presenter and Reporter, 'Ffeil', Welsh language children's news programme broadcast on S4C

Philip Whitehead, MEP,Director Brookside Productions

Madeline Wiltshire, Producer, Libra Television 

Tickets £80, student and individual concessions £18.50.

Click here for form details.

For further information and tickets, please contact: Linda Forbes on 01474-352835, 
Fax -01474-351112. e-mail: vlv@btinternet.com

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