Kids are almost absent in our news and current affairs. This week a service that breaks the mould is back - offering news on topics chosen by local kids and - crucially - reported and produced by them as well. And it doesn’t shy away from the tough stuff in the headlines.
Toka'i Lea'aetalafo'ou - 11 from City Imapct Church School reporting for Kea Kids News. Photo: supplied
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When the Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced the return of Home Learning TV on TVNZ this week he said the feedback on the first round of it during the nationwide lockdown was that there was a fair bit for younger kids to watch - but not so much for bigger kids.
That is not a new problem in New Zealand
A recent NZ On Air review of what kids watch found plenty of programmes for infants, toddlers and juniors and the TVNZ-hosted on-demand service HeiHei is focused on their needs.
But older primary school-age kids were poor cousins by comparison.
And they are almost entirely absent in our news.
One effort to cut through that last year was Kea Kids News, short news-style reports by and for kids in video hosted by Stuff and TVNZ on Demand with public funding via NZ On Air.
It was the brainchild of producer Luke Nola, whose science discovery shows for kids include Let’s Get Inventin and Nanogirl and the Imagonauts. But KEA Kids News was designed to get Kiwi kids from 7 to 11 years of age involved in current affairs - it broke new ground by getting them to pick the issues and report and produce the stories themselves - with a little help from producers and journalists.
When it first appeared last year, some Kea Kids News stories were picked up by the mainstream media. Fittingly, the first one was actually about kea. Nine-year-old William Ellis’s report on the birds being poisoned by lead-head roofing nails in Arthur's Pass was reported nationwide.
The first season of stories didn't shy away from hard news stuff, like explaining the changes in gun laws after the Christchurch mosque attacks - and what happened to the banned weapons.
Kea Kids News also tackled the story it couldn’t have foreseen - but which is impossible to avoid: Covid-19.
Kea Kids News investigates what happens to guns banned by the law change last year. Photo: screenshot
The first series included a special season made during lockdown including an exclusive report on a school at the heart of one of the biggest clusters.
In a recent funding round brought forward because of the Covid crisis NZOA backed a fresh season of Kea Kids News for 2020.Among the first stories published this week was the story of a girl from a family transplanted from Hollywood Hills to the Waitakeres during the Covid crisis.
Many more stories are in production and on the drawing board now in spite of Auckland’s lockdown. New bulletins will screen every Wednesday and Friday at 12pm at stuff.co.nz/KEA.
Are Kiwi kids really interested in news?
Another thing revealed by NZ on Air’s recent survey was that online platforms YouTube and TikTok are the most popular outlets for kids today - but neither of them are a natural home for news.
Colmar Brunton found kids’ interest in news increases as they get older. Fourteen percent of 12-14 year olds watch the news.
But only 5 percent of 6-8 year-olds enjoyed news and talk shows; 8 percent of kids surveyed aged 9-11 were keen.
Even so, Kea Kids News was the fourth most-watched local children’s programme last year behind longrunning 'What Now', and 'Fanimals', and 'Moana' - even though it isn't broadcast on any mainstream TV channel.
And ‘the news’ came in behind only YouTube, Teen Titans and The Simpsons as their preferred viewing.
'News' beats 'SpongeBob' in a world cloud of kids' responses when asked for their favourite shows and viewing. Photo: screen / NZ On Air
“The Simpsons, Lego Masters, SpongeBob - these are long-term properties that have been around for ages. But the news is ahead of SpongeBob,“ Kea Kids News producer Luke Nola told Mediawatch.
“When this research was last done in 2014 the news didn’t even factor,“ he said.
“Are real things weirder than we could make in cartoons?“ he wonders.
“Even though I like writing stories and making stuff up, the real world is definitely weirder and crazier than we could write. I mean, look at Trump and Covid-19 and these crazy adults going mad. Kids are probably looking at that and thinking: ‘Whoa - that’s crazier than Gumball,“ he said.
“Any kid in New Zealand could be a KKN presenter and we’ve given them a voice. We had 132 different presenters last season and each story has a different kid presenting it,” he said.
“Last season we couldn’t get into the tiny towns - just the main centres,” he said.
“But this season our crew and I come to your regional town and do stories. We are fully mobile. The kids in the regions are the coolest kids in New Zealand - authentic, funny and not embarrassed to be on screen,“ Luke Nola told Mediawatch.
“ The 7 to 8-year-olds and the 8 to 11-year-olds are two different creatures and two different mindsets,“ he said.
“We go into schools and get a class together and everyone has a go at getting a presenter. Some kids can’t do it and that’s okay but they will get a chance,“ he said.
Even the most senior of journalists get told from time to time by editors their ideas are wrong – or their story is no good. If that’s galling for experienced journalists, is rejection be crushing for the kids?
“We are now very familiar with the term ‘spiked’ when your term story is rejected by the editor. Janine Fenwick and Carol Hirschfeld (of Stuff) work with us to make sure our stories are relevant and hit the mark for stuff.co.nz,” he said.
“We have to earn that place and we have learned the the difference between a magazine show and what ‘news’ is,“ he said.
“Having stories rejected is part of journalism. That’s just the reality and it’s disappointing. But it doesn’t happen too often,” he said.
How does Kea Kids News tackle the number one topic of the times - Covid-19?
“We are currently doing a story on whether 12-year-olds should wear masks. We have a sequence called ‘Kidsplaining’ where we answer questions like ‘what is a genome?’ and ‘what is a virus’?
“Our vision for this is definitely to grow and keep it going. I think there’s definitely a chance to extend this beyond where we are now,” he said.
“When I was a kid the news was boring - and something adults watched. But now it’s engaging and immediate, even if it can be scary. Kids are interested . . .and the research has proven that,” he said.