Children's Television in Britain
The rise of more commercially-based, global media has significant implications for the child audience. Many are concerned that the public service tradition of children's television is threatened, and that quality and diversity in programming will be impossible to sustain.
Children's Television in Britain challenges the romantic nostalgia that surrounds contemporary discussions of the subject. Based on an extensive research project, it provides a critical review of the history of children's television in the UK, and a realistic assessment of its future prospects. It looks at how broadcasters have defined the child audience; at the changing nature of children's programming; at the impact of commercial competition and new technologies; and at the role of audience research. The books contributes towards debates about the regulation of children's television; and it offers a case study that will be of more general interest to students and academics in the field.
David Buckingham is a Reader in Education at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, University College London, UK. He has written and edited numerous books about children and the media, including Children Talking Television (1993), Moving Images (1996) and The Making of Citizens (1999).
Hannah Davies is a freelance writer and researcher. She is the author of the Channel 4 report How Children See Themselves on Television (1996).
Ken Jones is Lecturer in Education at Keele University and is author/editor of four books, including Right Turn: The Conservative Revolution in Education (1990) and Education After the Conservatives (1996).
Peter Kelley has been a research officer on several projects concerned with childhood, including the ESRC Children's Media Culture Project.