Behind the News - end of a series and of an era

"BEHIND THE NEWS – END OF A SERIES AND OF AN ERA"
by Tony Ryan - reproduced with permission

The final program of Behind the News marks more than the end of a long-running and extremely popular series. It also effectively marks the winding down of educational programming by the ABC. While it is easy to say – and has been said within the ABC - that all programs on the ABC (from the Science Show through to the weather report) could be said to be educational in some sense of the word, with the demise of BTN, the national broadcaster has now effectively brought to an end over seventy years of programming produced specifically for use in schools.

Early days of BTN - presenter Richard Morecroft.

My own direct involvement in BTN was minimal – I was a member of a committee which considered the establishment of a weekly national TV program on current affairs, production of a pilot item from South Australia when the program was being trialled, and production of several segments in the early 1970s. However, as unit manager of ABC Education Radio and TV (and Publications) in SA through until 1985, I saw its development into a confident, well produced and extremely popular icon of ABC Education. In addition to daytime general audiences to ABC TV, the weekly audience in schools for over much of its 30+ years has been in the vicinity of one million students, thus provided a much-needed means of bringing younger viewers to the ABC.

The seventieth anniversary of educational broadcasting by the ABC passed this year, with no celebration or recognition whatsoever. Over those years, countless number of Australian students have listened to Schools Radio and watched Schools Television programs. And many of the issues now facing educators and parents about children and media were hotly debated when radio was introduced into schools, and in the 1960s when ABC TV for Schools expanded into a major part of the production activities in each of the six state capital cities around Australia.

While I quote South Australia, similar issues were being debated in other states. Early experiments with radio for schools were carried out in most Australian capital cities in the mid-1920s, building on work done by the BBC in the UK. Following the formation of the ABC in 1932, Dr Charles Fenner in South Australia was given the task of forming a Cinema and Radio Committee. And in 1933, Brompton Primary School in Adelaide was chosen for the official launch of the Schools Radio initiative in South Australia.

Immediately steps were taken to ensure that children gained maximum educational benefit from the programs. We read in Special Notes for Teachers in 1934, “Teachers in charge of classes that listen-in are asked to note that mere passive reception of the talks with folded arms may not be productive of the best results.” And in a later volume “Experience shows that a large number of students crowded together in a school yard, or into a large classroom without any supervision or opportunity for self-activity, receive little or no benefit from the broadcast lesson.” Early discussion on these radio programs centred on whether they provided direct teaching, or enrichment to the curriculum, or entertainment.

To the best of my knowledge there has never been any systematic research into the role and impact of Schools Radio on primary and secondary schools throughout Australia, and especially in the context of smaller Rural Schools. Many will remember programs like The World We Live In, Places and People, This Land of Ours, and Let’s Join In for primary schools, and the excellent approach of the legendary Heather Gell who really captured the strengths of the medium of radio to introduce children to music and movement. Kindergarten of the Air was also an initiative of the Schools Radio service – established in Western Australia during World War 2 when it was seen as inadvisable to send very young children to school in case of air raids. And in radio, this was the time of an experiment with what was called RadioVision, radio programs which were broadcast while students were watching a pre-ordered film strip.

There was also an amazing range of programs for secondary schools, including Senior English through to foreign language programs, presented by many significant educators of the time – in South Australia, radio brought to schools the voice of educators such as Colin Thiele from the Education Department, Dr H H Penny from Adelaide Teachers College, and Douglas Mawson and F.W Mitchell from The University of Adelaide. Fully dramatised radio programs brought to schools across Australia the voices of Keith Michell, Ron Haddrick and Alexander Hay, the writing skills of Morris West, and the young voices of later-famous people such as Don Dunstan and John Bannon.

With the advent of Television for Schools in the late 1950s, many of the early programs took a direct teaching approach. Following the release of the Weeden Report in the early 1960s, Commonwealth funding led to the expansion of the ABC’s commitment to educational programming, specifically to provide much needed initiatives in the teaching of science and mathematics. This was the time when many import series appeared on Australian TV – including The Web of Life, Nuffield Physics and similar “packages” from the USA and the UK, of TV programs and student publications, to the consternation of many teachers. The success of the Russians in being first into space was having an impact on Australian schools.

Again, there was healthy dialogue between educators and broadcasters about the role of TV programs and a need to achieve a balance between programs that instruct, educate or entertain. In most states, local series were produced, including programs for teachers to assist in the implementation of new local maths and science initiatives.

Early item on the history of aviation being filmed in Adelaide by ABC Education Producer John Gleeson (right) with Producer's Assistant Marg Williams.

Many of the producers within the ABC – most were qualified and experienced teachers – were also of the view that TV could educate without necessarily over-committing the organisation to direct teaching programs. Again in SA, producers like Geoff Barnes, Ian Mills and John Gleeson produced a wonderful array of programs in the area of History and English, using actors and a variety of TV production techniques. In addition to the range of studio-based direct teaching programs on science and mathematics, all-film documentary programs were produced on whaling at Victor Harbor, and the story of Burke and Wills, and many fully dramatised programs were produced on location – for example Shakespearean plays from Bonython Hall at The University of Adelaide.

So where does Behind The News fit into this scenario? The World we Live In was a long-running radio program which nationally featured each week the impressive voice of H.D Black (later Sir Herman Black, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney) and in South Australia Dr H H Penny. With increasing feedback from teachers that, although the radio series was excellent, would the ABC consider producing a weekly current affairs TV program. It was in this context that first discussions were held on an initiative which eventually became Behind the News.

The range of print and other materials produced by the ABC to support teachers and students is extraordinarily impressive. In addition to teachers notes, with separate publications for each state, and large wallsheets containing all programs for the term, the ABC also produced student publications. To mention just one, the annual Sing book was available to virtually every student, and will be fondly remembered by many people who learned songs each week through radio. These books have now become collectors items!

BTN has also had an excellent support system for students. Initially in print form, in more recent times, the value of the program was enriched by extensive background material on the internet, and encouraged students to extend their use of the internet in the context of activities arising from BTN.

Radio for Schools gradually disappeared in the 1980s – possibly its time had come, although as indicated above, its impact on five decades of Australian children has never been adequately researched, especially in the areas of literature and music. Through to 2003, the ABC’s commitment to educational TV continued, but in a greatly scaled down service when compared to the richness of the offerings from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. The demise of BTN leaves the ABC’s commitment to schools at possibly its lowest level since 1933. While the possible commercial replacement for BTN is still to be seen, the use of media in schools to promote commercial interests must be of concern to teachers and parents alike, and to the wider Australian community.

Some references

• Anders, D: Fifty Years of Education Broadcasting, Pivot Volume 10, Number 3 (SA).
• Bull, C: Teaching by Television, Australian Journal of Education, Volume 8, Number 3, October 1964
• Gilmour, C et al: The Role of ABC Educational Broadcasting, ABC June 1979
• Jones, A.W.: Television for Teacher Training - A South Australian Experiment. The Education Gazette (SA) October 16 1961.
• Whitburn, J: Schools Broadcasts and their Place in Education. The Education Gazette (SA) September - December 1935.

Tony Ryan was ABC Supervisor of Education in SA from 1975 to 1985. He is now Archivist for The Australian College of Educators.