Newsround

Newsround

The Newsround logo
Format Children's news magazine
Created by Edward Barnes & John Craven
Presented by Ore Oduba
Ricky Boleto
Hayley Cutts
Leah Gooding
Joe Tidy
John Watson
(See full list)
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s) English
Production
Editor(s) Owenna Griffiths
Location(s) BBC Television Centre, London (1972–2011)
MediaCityUK, Salford (2011–)
Running time 5 - 15 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel BBC One
BBC Two
CBBC Channel
Original run 4 April 1972 (1972-04-04) – present
Chronology
Preceded by BBC Television Children's Newsreel
Related shows Newsround Specials
Sportsround
Ffeil
External links
Website

Newsround (originally called John Craven's Newsround, before the departure of Craven) is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972, and was one of the world's first television news magazines aimed specifically at children. Initially commissioned as a short series by BBC Children's Department, who held editorial control, its facilities are provided by BBC News. The programme is aimed at 6 to 12-year-olds.

Contents

History

Originally known as John Craven's Newsround, it was mostly presented by John Craven between 4 April 1972 and 22 June 1989. Originally, stand-in presenters came from main BBC News bulletins, including Richard Whitmore. The programme's reporter was Lucy Mathen. By the 1980s, the programme had developed its own presentation team including Roger Finn and Helen Rollason with Craven in the dual role of chief presenter and programme editor.

Shortly before Craven's departure, the show was renamed Newsround, and was now anchored by a rotating team of presenters. Past presenters have included David Bull, Juliet Morris, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Julie Etchingham, Chris Rogers, Kate Sanderson, Matthew Price, and Becky Jago. Regular reporters on the programme, who have also presented it, include Paul McDowell, Paul Welsh, Lizo Mzimba and Terry Baddoo.

The distinctive opening theme used for the first fifteen years of the programme was not composed especially for it, but is instead the opening eight bars of a 1968 cover of Johnny One Note by Ted Heath and his Music. The closing sting used the last couple of bars of New Worlds by John Baker, recorded by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Newsround was the first British television programme to break the news of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger on 28 January 1986. As the event was shown during the opening titles, it is often erroneously stated that the tragedy happened live on air, but it in fact happened about fifteen minutes earlier. This edition was presented by Roger Finn, who had only recently joined the programme.

The programme was also first in Britain to report an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in Vatican City in 1981 and provided the first reports from the Windsor Castle fire of November 1992.

In February 2002, Newsround expanded from a sole ten-minute programme on weeknights to through-the-day bulletins seven days a week to tie-in with the launch of the CBBC Channel. In 2009, a small bureau for the programme was opened at the BBC's former Manchester studios. As part of the relocation of the BBC Children's Department, Newsround began broadcasting from new studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays on Monday 21 November 2011.

On air

On weekdays, a two-minute bulletin airs at the start of the CBBC Channel's transmission at 7am. One-minute bulletins are broadcast on BBC Two at 7:25am. Five-minute bulletins air on the CBBC Channel at 8:25am and 6:25pm. Recently, Newsround introduced a number of short 60 second bulletins in addition to the other digital updates, shown at 3.25pm, 4.25pm and 5.45pm on the CBBC Channel.

The main ten-minute edition of Newsround airs on BBC One at 5:05pm.

Bulletins are also broadcast on the CBBC Channel during the morning on weekend.

Presenters

Years Presenter
2008–present Ore Oduba
2008–present Ricky Boleto
2009–present Leah Gooding
2011–present Joe Tidy
2011–present John Watson
1972–1989 John Craven
1976–1980 Lucy Mathen
1979–1985 Paul McDowell
1984 Howard Stableford
1985–1991 Roger Finn
1986–1990 Helen Rollason
1990–1994 Juliet Morris
1991–1994 Krishnan Guru-Murthy
1994–1997 Julie Etchingham
1994–1999 Chris Rogers
1997–2001 Kate Sanderson
1998–2008 Lizo Mzimba
1999–2002 Matthew Price
2001–2003 Becky Jago
2001–2008 Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes
2002–2006 Rachel Horne
2002–2008 Laura Jones
2002–2009 Adam Fleming
2003–2007 Thalia Pellegrini
2003–2008 Ellie Crisell
2005–2008 Jake Humphrey
2006–2011 Sonali Shah
2007–2008 Helen Skelton
2007–2009 Gavin Ramjaun
2008–2009 Maddy Savage
2009–2012 Hayley Cutts

Newsround Specials

A variation on the regular format of Newsround is a series of short (typically 15-minute) documentary films, previously broadcast under the title Newsround Extra but now called "specials",[1] which have been a regular feature since the late 1970s. Two or three series of these documentaries air during the year, which replace the regular bulletins on one day of the week (for Extras it was usually Monday, although sometimes on Fridays, particularly during the 1980s).

Newsround Specials in recent years have included:

A one-off Newsround Investigates documentary on arson in schools was broadcast in May 2006.

Newsround Showbiz

A light-hearted entertainment news round-up, originally known as Newsround Lite and introduced as part of the CBBC Channel's launch in February 2002. The latter version of the show was hosted by regular Newsround presenters/reporters Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes, Adam Fleming, Rachel Horne and Thalia Pellegrini, and produced by Sinéad Rocks. The programme was axed in 2005.

Sportsround

A Saturday morning sports magazine show introduced in September 2005, it was cancelled in December 2010 and replaced by Match of the Day Kickabout. In 2010 it was presented by Ore Oduba with reporters Des Clarke and Jon Franks.

Newsround Review of the Year

Until 2006, a half-hour review of the year special was produced for broadcast during the Christmas/New Year period.

See also

References

External links