The Bookseller.com

5th December 2008

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C4 campaign for literacy week

27.09.07 Caroline Horn

Channel 4 is putting a big campaign behind its literacy week in October with billboard and newspaper advertising and major on-air trailers by newscasters, presenters and children's authors.
"This is one of the biggest campaigning seasons Channel 4 has ever launched and the whole channel is backing it," said Dorothy Byrne, C4's commissioning editor for current affairs.

The week-long focus on literacy begins with "Richard & Judy's Best Kids' Books Ever" on 26th October. It also includes a "Dispatches" programme on literacy standards in the UK and a series of three films following a school for a year as they introduce synthetic phonics.

"We want to galvanise the nation," said Byrne, who was inspired to commission the series because of her own child's reading difficulties. "We want to convince parents their children have the right and the ability to read so they must demand success from their schools."

But there are currently no plans to make children's books a regular focus on R&J. "This programme and the R&J Christmas show were commissioned as special one-off features and it is unclear as yet whether either of them will be repeated," said marketing consultant Alistair Giles, who works with the production company behind R&J, Cactus TV.

The hour-long programme will run vox pops with celebrities and authors talking about their favourite childhood books and select its "best kids' books ever".

Children will identify eight winners in four categories (5+ Early, 7+ Developing, 9+ Confident and Fluent) from a shortlist of 19 titles chosen by booksellers and Cactus TV. The children judging the 5+ award will vote for their favourite books based on trailers, and each will choose their favourite to read before the show. Children aged 7+ will be given half of each book to read and will vote on the ones they most want to finish. In the older categories, children will read and discuss the books before deciding the winners.

Retailers and publishers will be told which two titles have won each category on 8th October and stickers will be provided for these books, as well as the other shortlisted titles. POS material, including posters, will be distributed in early October.

Caroline Horn Channel 4 children's literacy