From John Craven to Lizo and beyond, the children’s news show has been an institution for generations of kids. Why get rid of such a reassuring classic?
When you grow up, you still think children’s TV is the way you left it. To many of us, Newsround is still presented every weekday by John Craven, or by Lizo Mzimba, just before Neighbours. Except, of course, that it isn’t. The children’s news show was shifted to the CBBC channel early in 2013, and soon it may barely be on that channel either.
With the rise of on-demand television and the changing ways children consume news, CBBC is asking Ofcom if it can cut Newsround bulletins on their channel from 85 to 35 hours per year. At the same time it will “evolve” and expand its offering for children on its website. The iconic teatime bulletin, a broadcast that has run every weekday since John Craven’s Newsround in 1972, will be cut. All that will appear on the channel is a short morning bulletin, which is still popular and shown in schools.