Concern at axing of show

Sydney
17 August 2003

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Concern at axing of show

Sydney’s Catholic school principals and students have expressed disappointment at the ABC’s axing of its long-running children’s current affairs television program, Behind the News.

Seventy-three per cent of school principals surveyed by the Catholic Education Office, Sydney, said their students watched the educational program, which is designed for upper primary and secondary students.

The 25-minute program, which been running for 34 years, was axed as part of the national broadcaster’s recent $26.1 budget cut.

“Behind the News helps students make sense of the news and links their classroom learning to the world of today,” said Br Kelvin Canavan, executive director of Catholic Education Office Sydney.

Principals said that their students would be disadvantaged by the withdrawal of the program.

Sr Gaye Reynolds of Our Lady of Mt Carmel Primary School, Mt Prichard, said that teachers appreciated the well-researched production as a valuable teaching resource.

Mary Nixon of St Joseph’s Primary School, Como, said that Behind the News “acts as a stimulus to class discussions and debate, opening the children’s eyes beyond their own backyard”.

And Anne Colreavy of St John Vianney Primary School, Greenacre, said her students would be deprived of “a high quality and appropriate medium which provides them with opportunities to analyse news and current affairs, gain a global view of issues affecting themselves and others, develop visual literacy skills, and become critical viewers”.

Year 5 student Gabrielle Allan, from St Brendan’s Primary School, Annandale, summed up the feelings of many of her peers when she wrote to the ABC: “Behind the News showed me there was news for kids.

“BTN told me about war, but in a kid’s perspective.

I liked BTN. It showed me news other than the news that adults watch.”

Fellow student Matthew Thoms was more forthright.

He wrote: “You’re depriving us of a major point in our learning. For the sake of education, bring (Behind the News) back.”

The National Catholic Education Commission has also expressed concern.

The commission’s chairman, Mons Tom Doyle, said: “BTN is a program that is highly valued in Australian Catholic schools.

“There is very little educational television specifically designed for upper primary students, and BTN provides an excellent way of helping them to understand current affairs.

“It is used by teachers in many Catholic schools all over the country every week. It is an important resource.”

Mons Doyle added: “The provision of educational programming is part of the ABC’s charter and the commission is concerned that this decision appears to go against the charter.”