Newsround


Newsround is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972. It 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 were provided by BBC News. The programme is aimed at 6 to 10 year olds.

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, such as Richard Whitmore, came from the main BBC News bulletins and Huw Edwards presented in 2005.
The programme gradually developed its own presentation team, including Helen Rollason, with Craven in the dual role of chief presenter and programme editor. For most of its first two decades, Newsround drew upon the BBC's network of national and international correspondents such as John Humphrys, Michael Buerk and Martin Bell. The programme gradually developed its own small reporting team, including Lucy Mathen, and long-serving space editor Reg Turnill.
Shortly before Craven's departure, the show was renamed Newsround, and was then presented by a rotating team including 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, included 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 updated its opening in May 1987, with computer graphics, although this look was originally planned for January 1987. In September 1990, a space look was introduced. The multi-coloured look appeared in January 1994, with further updates taking place on 1 September 1997, 11 February 2002, 30 May 2006, and 13 October 2008.
Newsround was the first British television programme to break the news of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger on 28 January 1986. 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. With this included a new theme, titles and presenting team. 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 Dock10, MediaCityUK in Salford Quays on Monday 21 November 2011
In July 2020, the programme's teatime edition was axed by the BBC after being on air since 1972, they concluded that children can no longer turn on traditional television channels when they return home from school and would focus on the morning edition instead which will be aimed at schools, where it is often used by teachers in classrooms, in addition to investing in the programme’s website.

Broadcasts

On weekdays, Newsround is broadcast on the CBBC Channel with a five-minute bulletin at 7.40am and ten-minute bulletins airing at 8.15am and 4.00pm.
Weekend bulletins are also broadcast on the CBBC Channel. The Saturday edition includes five-minute bulletins at 8.55am, 12.00pm and 1.35pm. The Sunday edition includes five-minute bulletins at 10.00am and 12.10pm and a ten-minute bulletin at 1.45pm.
The programme was traditionally broadcast as a fifteen-minute programme on BBC One at 5:00pm. The final BBC One edition was broadcast on 20 December 2012.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, weekday bulletin times were altered to 9.15am, 12.10pm and 4.00pm due to all schools closing in the United Kingdom.

Former presenters

YearPresenterTenure
1972–1989John Craven 17 years
1976–1980Lucy Mathen 4 years
1979–1985Paul McDowell 6 years
1984Howard Stableford1 year
1985–1991Roger Finn6 years
1987–1990Helen Rollason3 years
1988Terry Baddoo 1 year
1990–1994Juliet Morris4 years
1991–1994Krishnan Guru-Murthy3 years
1991–1992Paul Welsh 1 year
1994–1998Julie Etchingham4 years
1994–1999Chris Rogers5 years
1997–2001Kate Sanderson4 years
1998–2008Lizo Mzimba10 years
1999–2002Matthew Price 3 years
2001–2003Becky Jago2 years
2001–2008Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes7 years
May 2002 – October 2002Adam Smyth 1 year
2002–2006Rachel Horne4 years
2002–2008Laura Jones6 years
2002–2009Adam Fleming7 years
2003–2007Thalia Pellegrini4 years
2003–2008Ellie Crisell5 years
2005–2008Jake Humphrey3 years
2006–2011Sonali Shah5 years
2007–2008Helen Skelton1 year
2007–2009Gavin Ramjaun2 years
2009Barney Harwood 1 year
2008–2013Ore Oduba5 years
2009–2013Joe Tidy4 years
2010–2014Nel Hedayat4 years
2013–2018Ayshah Tull5 years
2015–2019Nazia Mogra2 years

Editors

Newsround Specials

A variation on the regular format of Newsround is a series of short documentary films, previously broadcast under the title Newsround Extra but now called "specials", 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.
Newsround Specials in recent years have included:
award for best children's programme and the 2007 BAFTA children's award for best factual programme.
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 & produced by Sinead Rocks. 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. The last review aired in 2009, and since then the final bulletin of the year is hosted by all presenters who discuss their most memorable news stories.