ACT to Unveil Initial Results of Kids’ Content Study

MONTREAL: The Alliance for Children and Television (ACT) will be announcing the preliminary results of the largest study to date on Canadian children’s and youth programming at the upcoming Children, Youth & Media Conference, taking place November 19. 

Led by the Université de Montréal communications department’s Centre for Youth and Media Studies (CYMS/GRJM), the study covers programming across 19 different networks to provide a better understanding of the role of media, particularly Canadian content, in young peoples’ lives. The study’s initial phase analyzes the content of Canadian children’s programming in major TV markets across the country. The research team, under the supervision of Dr. André H. Caron, will focus on a selection of shows that reflect the variety of offerings in the Canadian landscape, while differentiating between public and private networks. The team is currently analyzing a sample of more than 1,000 hours of programming aired throughout Canada in spring 2009. Indicators will include variables such as age and gender representation in children’s programming, as well as the presence of foreign cultures and languages.

The data will then be compared with the results of a larger study conducted by the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television (IZI). The study, Children’s Television Worldwide: Gender Representation, includes such countries as Germany, Australia, Chile, China, the U.K., Israel, India, Japan, South Africa, Sweden and the U.S.

“This two-phase study not only covers some traditional key components of children’s programming, such as context and actions, but also social and psychological aspects related to character attributes, such as the character’s role, race and, for the first time, emotional well-being,” said ACT’s executive director, Caroline Fortier.