Save Kids’ TV was a coalition of parents, producers, artists, educators and others passionate about screen-based media used by children in the UK, and concerned for its future in the face of intense financial pressures.
The campaign activity of Save Kids’ TV has been taken on by a new organisation – The Children’s Media Foundation which has a broader remit but espouses the same aims – to continually improve the media choices of UK kids.
Formed by a merger of the Children’s Film and Television Foundation and Save Kids’ TV, the CMF’s purpose will be to pursue quality in children’s media of all kinds, on all platforms. It will work with the academic community, to stimulate and disseminate research around kids and media, act as Secretariat for the new All Party Parliamentary Group on Children’s Media and the Arts, and generally provide a focus for parents, educators, policy makers and the press on all matters relating to children and their media lives.
To learn more about Save Kids’ TV’s successor organisation please go to: http://www.thechildrensmediafoundation.org/
Helping Kids Learn Financial Literacy with TV
When you are choosing your card, there are a number of factors which you need to take into consideration before you formulate your decision. They include:
- Age – You must be over 18 to apply for a credit card.
- Credit rating – Your credit history shows how responsible you have been about paying previous bills, and this information is used by the issuer (such as MobileHawk.co.uk) in order to determine how much credit to give you on the card. You need to be able to show the issuer that you are deserving of their credit. Therefore, it is advisable to get a copy of your credit report before you apply for a credit card, so you can be sure that it is accurate and find out whether you have a good or bad credit rating.
- Spending needs – How much do you think you will be spending on the card each month? This will help you determine how much credit you want to apply for, and also whether you need a card with an exceptionally low interest rate compared to other features. You may also need a card which has high or no spending limits.
- How much you will use the credit card to buy travel – If you travel abroad a great deal, then it is advisable to get a credit card that gives you offers on insurance or baggage protection automatically when you use the card for travel expenses. This will stop you from having to incur further costs by buying them separately.
- Payment structures – This refers to whether you will be able to pay off the full amount of your credit card every month, or whether you will be transferring balances through to the next month regularly. If you think that you can pay off the card each month then the APR you have on the card will not be one of the determining features. However, if you will maintain a balance on your card each month, make sure that you choose a card which has a low APR so you will not be paying too much in interest. Some credit cards also offer advantages to both these paying structures.
- Special interests – You need to decide which of these are important when choosing your card For example, if you want your credit card to offer you additional features such as airmiles or cash back rewards when you spend money on the card. How much money you will be spending and what you will want to use the features for (e.g. airmiles if you travel a lot) will determine which card is best for you.
- Number of credit cards you already own – Why exactly do you want another one? What do you want this credit card to do which none of your other ones already do?
- Income – How much money you make will determine how much credit you are given by the issuer and what type of card you will be offered. One notable example is the AMEX Black credit card, which is only available for those who earn over a certain amount.
The problem…
Some people think that children are well served by the channels providing programmes for them, and their favourite websites. But few realise that many of the programmes are imports and many of the websites are associated with programmes or products which do not originate in the UK.
In 2007 Ofcom reported that only 1% of the content watched by children in the UK was newly made in Britain. The rest was a diet of imports and repeats. This situation has been made worse by the collapse in advertising revenue on the commercial channels for children, which means that commissioning of new children;s content has severely diminished, whereas only a few years ago CITV and FIVE’s Milkshake provided healthy competition for BBC Children’s.
Our children need and deserve a media diet as rich and stimulating as previous generations enjoyed – and they should be able to see content which reflects their everyday lives and the culture of the country they live in. Children need to hear their own voices, experience their own stories and see the places they live in, if they are to become rounded, engaged citizens.
More about the background and context in our info page.
Save Kids’ TV Campaign Achievements:
- Sept 2006 – SKTV launches with wide public support from parents,educators, the media industry and concerned academics
- 2007 – the intial SKTV campaign stimulates the Ofcom Report on the children’s market and the failure of commercial public service broadcasting. It reveals only 1% of the children’s television programmes watched by UK kids are newly made in Britain – the rest are repeats or imports
- 2008-2009 Save Kids’ TV contributes to the Digital Britain consultation on the future of telecommunications and broadcasting. STV proposes a “funded destination” – a body financed to commission programming for the VOD space in partnership with broadcasters and in competition with the BBC – a “public service alternative”.
- 2009 – Politicians of all parties agree that there has been a significant decrease in local spending on media for kids in the UK
- July 2010 – the BBC lists “outstanding children’s content” as one of its five content priorities – for the first time in its history
- November 2010 – Channel 4 commits to spending on interactive content for the 10-plus audience, to meet an acknowledged shortfall on all other platforms
- 2011 – SKTV commissions research into the advantages provided to producers of children’s content in competitor countries – including Europe. Our report on the lack of a “level playing field” for UK content-makers is presented to the DCMS.
- 2011 – meetings with the Broadcasting Minister explore new possibilities for funding alternative public-service content, given the downturn.
- 2011 Save Kids’ TV sets up the first All Party Parliamentary Group for Children’s Media and the Arts – which will continue under the Children’s Media Foundation umbrella.
- 2011 collaboration begins on the first research project to assess the links between societal engagement and locally produced television – once a gain, a project to be inherited by the CMF.
More about the history of the Campaign in our info pages
The campaign continues at the Children’s Media Foundation. Please support if you can.