The Children’s Media Foundation launches 2017 Yearbook

Published with the support of ALCS, this latest annual publication brings together invaluable articles and essays on the current big debates in media for children.

The 2017 edition of the Children’s Media Yearbook, published annually in July to coincide with the Children’s Media Conference, has been edited by Terri Langan, a TV executive specialising in children’s and family content, and Frances Taffinder, assistant editor at Walker Books. The book aims to further the work of the Children’s Media Foundation (CMF) in protecting the quality and variety of children’s media and to increase the public’s understanding of the value of media made specifically for children and the issues arising from it.

With its contributors a mix of industry professionals, commentators, journalists and academic researchers, the Yearbook aims to be the “publication of record” for the industry it serves and beyond, providing a comprehensive and eclectic snapshot of the media children watch or play with, the people and companies who make and distribute them, and the research and policy issues that surround them.  The Yearbook is “platform neutral” and covers everything from toys and games to apps, film, radio and of course TV, in all its forms.

The CMF, which started life as ‘Save Kids TV’, is a not for profit organisation set up to advocate the improvement of children’s media on behalf of youngsters, and to campaign for the extension of choice and plurality. The CMF concerns itself with all matters associated with children and their use of screens – so, just like its Yearbook, covers all platforms. Current issues include: proposals to regulate commercial public service broadcasters to commission more children’s TV; a proposed new government fund which could be used to to finance children’s content; the lack of children’s film made in Britain; Channel 4 and children’s audience; and the safety and security of children online.

The CMF also aims to bring academic, institutional and commercial research closer to the industry on the one side, and policy makers on the other. The annual Yearbook aims to be part of this process, improving the quality of discourse around media issues and children. Every delegate at this year’s Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield will receive a free copy of the Yearbook, a valuable and important development which was made possible by ALCS and other sponsoring companies.

Want a copy of the CMF Yearbook?

Print copies are £10.00, while digital downloads cost £7.95 . For more information, see the CMF website.