Newsround (TV Series 1972  - Onwards)



 

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. 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 Manchester studios. Newsround, along with the rest of the BBC Children's Department, is expected to move to the new MediaCityUK development at Salford Quays by 2011.

 

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:

The Wrong Trainers: a series of six animated films dealing with child poverty. The programme won the 2006 Royal Television Society award for best children's programme and the 2007 BAFTA children's award for best factual programme.

 

The Worst Thing Ever: a dramatised documentary revolving around a child's experience of their parents' divorce.

Newsround on Knives: an animated look at knife crime from a child's point of view.
Gone: interviews with four bereaved children.

 

Whose Side Are You On?: a drama on the role of bystanders in tackling bullying featuring Joe Calzaghe, Aston Merrygold, Patsy Palmer, George Sampson and Gemma Hunt.

Caught in the Web: a dramatised documentary on Internet safety featuring case studies from real children, narrated by David Tennant and nominated for a BAFTA in October 2010.

 

Living with Alcohol: a special about children's experiences with alcohol, presented by Barney Harwood.

"Ricky Investigates": a six-part investigative series which began on 28 September 2010
A one-off Newsround Investigates documentary on arson in schools was broadcast in May 2006.

 

Newsround Showbiz Main article: 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 & Thalia Pellegrini and produced by Sinéad Rocks. The programme was axed in 2005.

SportsroundMain Article: Sportsround

 

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

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

 

Former presenters/reporters

John Craven (April 1972 - June 1989)

 

Lucy Mathen (19761980) Lucy was the very first dedicated reporter for John Craven's Newsround and the first female British Asian to appear on a nationwide BBC Television news programme. She co-presented "Newsround Africa" with John Craven. She then left to live in the USA for three years. In 1989 she left journalism to retrain as a doctor. 

Paul McDowell (1979? - 1985)

 

Roger Finn (1985 - 1991)

Howard Stableford (1984)

 

Helen Rollason (1986 - 1990)

Juliet Morris (1990 - October 1994)

 

Krishnan Guru-Murthy (1991 - October 1994)

Julie Etchingham (October 1994 - February 1998)

 

Chris Rogers (October 1994 - 1999)

Kate Sanderson (July 1997 - September 2001)

 

Matthew Price (1999 - 2002)

Becky Jago (September 2001 - February 2003)

 

Rachel Horne (December 2002 - April 2006)

Thalia Pellegrini (October 2003 - September 2007)

 

Lizo Mzimba (1998 - May 2008)

Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes (December 2001 - August 2008)

 

Laura Jones (December 2002 - 15 August 2008)

Ellie Crisell (February 2003- October 2008)

 

Jake Humphrey (10 September 2005 - 27 August 2008)

Helen Skelton (November 2007 - July 2008)

 

Adam Fleming (February 2002 - July 2009)

Maddy Savage (August 2008 - August 2009)

 

Gavin Ramjaun (September 2007 - September 2009)