:00:02. > :00:12.week, Newsround is 40 years old. But is it still serving young
:00:12. > :00:24.
:00:24. > :00:31.Welcome to NewsWatch. Later in the programme: Was he given the oxygen
:00:31. > :00:34.of publicity? Does a 100-year-old event deserves a much time on the
:00:35. > :00:38.news? And do they look cramped in a new home?
:00:38. > :00:45.While we will off-air for Easter, another programme was celebrating
:00:45. > :00:49.its 40th birthday. First, John Craven's Newsround. Back in 1972,
:00:49. > :00:54.the idea of a news programme specially targeting children was a
:00:54. > :00:56.radical one. Then, as now, he's round did not shirk from covering
:00:56. > :01:00.the big stories. Even when they were potentially shocking or
:01:00. > :01:05.distressing. But it has moved on from the days of John Craven and
:01:05. > :01:09.his sweaters. Now it is several editions a day on TV including
:01:09. > :01:12.specials on subjects like autism and domestic violence and a
:01:12. > :01:22.significant online presence. Some take issue with the programme's
:01:22. > :01:51.
:01:51. > :01:55.Good morning. Welcome to Newsround... Won 14-year-old told
:01:55. > :02:00.me he enjoyed watching Newsround over the years, but identified a
:02:00. > :02:04.programme. -- problem. It's a very good programme, it meets the remit
:02:04. > :02:12.it needs to. It uses techniques to target the audience very well.
:02:12. > :02:17.However, I've noticed a bit of a gap. There is the Newsround for the
:02:17. > :02:22.six-12s and then there are programmes on BBC Three, like Young
:02:22. > :02:28.Person's Question Time, for the older late teens and early adults.
:02:28. > :02:32.But the 12-16 age range is not really getting catered for. Young
:02:32. > :02:35.people of all ages today have a host of possible entertainment and
:02:35. > :02:41.distractions providing competition which was unimaginable four years
:02:41. > :02:46.ago. In a multimedia age, how can use round keep its audience and its
:02:46. > :02:49.relevance? In a moment I will be put in some of those points to Joe
:02:49. > :02:54.goblin, in charge of BBC services for children. First, let's hear
:02:54. > :02:58.from one of the young people he is trying to reach, 12-year-old
:02:58. > :03:04.Lachlann Hinley, in our Edinburgh studio. You are a Newsround viewer,
:03:04. > :03:10.what do you make of it? I think it is good. But I think it is good and
:03:10. > :03:17.Tony or 12. It doesn't really give you the in-depth news that a you
:03:17. > :03:20.could expect if you were over 12, from 12 to 16. What would you like
:03:20. > :03:26.to see and hear gender? What is missing that you want to see and
:03:26. > :03:36.hear about? The sort of things which are on the main news, such as
:03:36. > :03:39.
:03:39. > :03:46.politics, things that may be are not that interesting for six to 12
:03:46. > :03:51.age range, like politics and economics. Maybe it should be more
:03:51. > :03:56.focused on real, current news. about your school friends? Do they
:03:56. > :04:01.feel the same as you? To some extent, do you think the Newsround
:04:01. > :04:05.editors are may be underestimating their audience? Yes, I do. At my
:04:05. > :04:12.school it is sort of half-and-half. Some people are interested in
:04:12. > :04:16.reality TV. Popular music. But some people are interested in economics
:04:16. > :04:24.and politics. So I think there needs to be... Newsround should
:04:24. > :04:28.still be there, for half of the people. But there should be a new
:04:28. > :04:34.one for those that want to find out more about politics, economics and
:04:34. > :04:39.more real, current affairs. Stay with us. Joe Godwin, nobody is
:04:39. > :04:42.saying it is an easy thing to please everybody with Newsround.
:04:42. > :04:48.But here you have examples of people saying they should be more
:04:48. > :04:53.serious news and not everybody is interested in the latest reality TV
:04:53. > :04:57.show. In a way, Newsround has been accused of fulfilling its remit for
:04:57. > :05:06.its target audience, which is quite hard to argue with, in Airwave. I
:05:06. > :05:11.think one of the key issues of this is that Newsround fancied CDC --
:05:11. > :05:16.and CBBC is aimed at that audience. I take a point about provision for
:05:16. > :05:22.older teens. In reality, we know from research and the letters and
:05:22. > :05:26.e-mails that I get that a lot of teenagers do still watch Newsround.
:05:26. > :05:33.Over the years, has there been a gradual slide towards more
:05:33. > :05:38.celebrity, more reality TV, more pop music and football? Has there
:05:38. > :05:41.been a shift? The news agenda has not changed. The first Newsround of
:05:41. > :05:45.April 1970 to lead with a story about Ospreys in Scotland. Let's
:05:45. > :05:51.not kid ourselves that 40 years ago it was leading on the economy and
:05:51. > :05:57.it was all hard news and now it is all pop. Newsround has already
:05:57. > :06:03.talked about Syria, Ivory trafficking. It has had a piece
:06:03. > :06:07.about The Voice and Britain's Got Talent and it's had some stories
:06:07. > :06:13.about tiger cubs. But that is a very traditional mix. Tonight at
:06:13. > :06:15.5pm they will be running on Syria. We talk to children of all ages
:06:15. > :06:19.about Newsround and we know that they are very interested in the
:06:19. > :06:24.serious issues going on in the world. What are the main things
:06:24. > :06:28.that have changed since John Craven's day? Presumably the rise
:06:28. > :06:31.of internet and social media, enormous competition for you as
:06:31. > :06:36.programme makers? The main things that have changed are exactly that,
:06:36. > :06:40.it is the competitive environment. A lot of grown-ups who don't still
:06:41. > :06:44.watch children's television will be amazed to know that the UK is the
:06:44. > :06:52.world's most competitive children's television market. There are 35
:06:52. > :06:57.dedicated children's talents -- channels. 40 years ago there were
:06:57. > :07:00.no PlayStations, no texting, no tweeting. As I sat down as an
:07:00. > :07:06.eight-year-old to watch the first episode, by choices might have been
:07:06. > :07:08.to watch that, watch something on ITV or go outside. The growth in
:07:08. > :07:13.choice has been the most significant thing. That is why it
:07:13. > :07:19.is remarkable that Newsround is still as important as it is. What
:07:19. > :07:29.do you think about what you have heard? Is that a reasonable case?
:07:29. > :07:29.
:07:29. > :07:38.Yes. But I still think there is a gap. On Newsround, it does mention
:07:38. > :07:47.Syria. But it's a bit... It's like popular music is more important and
:07:47. > :07:57.Syria. Which I think... I think it needs to get the same things that
:07:57. > :07:57.
:07:57. > :08:01.the real news has. Thank you very Newsround's 40 it is not the only
:08:01. > :08:05.anniversary around. In case you haven't noticed, and you probably
:08:05. > :08:14.have, it is 30 years since the Falklands war and 100 years since
:08:14. > :08:17.the Titanic set sail on its fateful voyage. News of the disaster
:08:17. > :08:21.brought frustration and despair to the streets around the port. Day
:08:21. > :08:27.and night, the crowds strange to read the casualty lists. Some
:08:27. > :08:37.viewers felt that television was providing an ocean's worth of
:08:37. > :08:47.
:08:47. > :08:52.documentaries, dramas and news There were more complaints last
:08:52. > :08:58.weekend about this. What has happened? Cambridge have stopped!
:08:58. > :09:03.We stopped rowing, there is a man swimming between the boats. A lone
:09:03. > :09:07.swimmer, stop the race, narrowly avoiding injury himself. It emerged
:09:07. > :09:11.he was protesting, apparently about elitism.
:09:11. > :09:21.The disruption was certainly dramatic. But did BBC News give too
:09:21. > :09:33.
:09:33. > :09:40.Tuesday morning saw the dawning of a new era for Breakfast, as it took
:09:40. > :09:42.up residence alongside Newsround and some other programmes at the
:09:42. > :09:48.corporation's new-ish base in Salford. The move has been
:09:48. > :09:54.controversial. Some guests are found it quite convenient. Are you
:09:54. > :10:04.mourning people? I am, but I only lead four minutes away from here.
:10:04. > :10:08.Did you walk? I jog! Salford! Bill is moving to Salford. In two weeks
:10:08. > :10:12.we will be discussing who has made the move, what impact it has had on
:10:12. > :10:15.the programme and how it will look in its new studio. I know there is
:10:15. > :10:25.still a red sofa, but other changes have not gone down well with some
:10:25. > :10:49.
:10:49. > :10:53.Finally, fancy a job? The post of BBC director general was advertised
:10:53. > :10:56.this week. Experience as a programme-maker or journalist was
:10:56. > :10:59.described as desirable but not essential. Chairman Lord Patten
:11:00. > :11:03.said the role will require the wisdom of Aristotle and the
:11:03. > :11:07.striking power of Wayne Rooney. If you have an equally snappy summary
:11:07. > :11:12.of the qualities you think the next director general needs, we would