The CBBC Thread

Was that because it was half term in some parts of the country?
As for today they appeared at 3.30 with an egg on the desk that's supposed to be an egg that the beast has layed, and left Oucho incharge of because he's gone on holiday to a spa.

I just how great and weird the links are, and how they sort of create a storyline everyday. Well done all involved.

Never let it be said that Newsround is dumbing down.



And I think the ultimate insult came just now when the ticker said, over a dramatisation of the US TV writers' strike "Laura's writing a script".

Shock horror! The Queen "dresses up in a posh frock"! In 55 years on the throne when has she been known to do anything but? Jeez, Newsround grows more unbelievable by the day.

"Laura's writing a script". What relevance did that have to the story being reported on? That's like George or Sophie saying on the Six, after reporting on the latest development in Barry George's appeal, "God I'll never forget when the boss told us Jill had died".

Newsround is a unique service in that no other broadcaster provides a tailored news service for a young audience. From that point of view its loss would leave a huge void. But the BBC are determined to run it down with ever-dumbed down narrative, its presenters dress and act more like "big brother or sister" figures instead of adults whom the audience can respect and the bias towards Harry Potter sometimes takes over. Time for a review, I think.

It was actually a little drama insert, showing a woman at a typewriter, angrily tearing up manuscripts, before tossing it off the table and screaming 'I quit!'.

The ticker ruined it.

Put that way it sounds more like an "and finally"-type light item at the end of the grown-up news. However, having a ticker to state the bleedin' obvious...

[quote="tvarksouthwest".
Newsround is a unique service in that no other broadcaster provides a tailored news service for a young audience. From that point of view its loss would leave a huge void. But the BBC are determined to run it down with ever-dumbed down narrative, its presenters dress and act more like "big brother or sister" figures instead of adults whom the audience can respect and the bias towards Harry Potter sometimes takes over. Time for a review, I think.[/quote]

Argh! The programme is for kids, Simon. Not for grown ups! Even John Craven was never fully suited and booted. He also went as far as never wearing a tie as he wanted to be approachable to a young audience. Whats wrong if someone is looking like a big brother or sister. If that's how today's audience wants it to make it more accessible then so be it.

Answer is: they don't. When the new 'Pacman' titles were introduced, comments left on the Newsround website called them 'childish', 'not very grown up', and 'infantile'.

I have no problem with it being a bit colloquialised, but Newsround in its present form is dire.

I know it's a childrens programme, and I know that the audience that they are aiming for has now gone to a younger audience (a bad move in my opinion), but they seem to be simplifying things a bit too much, I don't think its how they're putting the message across, I think it's how they're scripting it in my opinion.
At least they are still airing stories, as recently when there have been major stories, I have felt that they've misses some out.

I never suggested JC was "fully suited and booted" - he wasn't of course. In the early years he did wear a tie but certainly never a jacket, likewise any "adult" newsreaders like Richard Whitmore who stood in for him. The current presenters, however, often look as they are going to a party and given the nature of the programme they could do with toning it down a bit, that's all.

Believe it or not, I don't think it's essential for many adult presenters to wear a tie - they are perfectly capable of looking smart without one (weekend weather presenters on Breakfast) and any complaints tend to come from women who I'm guessing don't know what it's like to have a noose-like knot around one's neck day in, day out.

Making Newsround accessible by means of how the presenters dress is a side-issue really when compared to bigger picture, which is the editorial content and narrative.


Those comments were on the official website? If that's the case then it is very telling about the state of CBBC and what our good friend Mr Deverell (basically a management figure with no real experience of children's TV production, unlike his former ITV counterparts Nigel Pickard and Janie Grace) is doing.

I don't want the presenters to wear a tie.Seriously,I don't think Newsround's that
bad.It is slightly pro-Harry Potter but it's not that bad.

Harry Potter must be the only reason why Lizo is still there after almost 10 years!

And the fact no credible news organisation would ever employ him.