Inside PBS Blog

This is the second part of a series of posts that go behind the scenes of the production of a new PBS KIDS website.  Check out the first post, which includes an initial homepage design for the new site.

As mentioned previously on Engage, PBS KIDS and the National Black Programming Consortium's New Media Institute (NMI) have partnered to produce Speak Out!, a project that invites kids to tell the new president their thoughts on the environment, health issues and education.

NMI selected three independent media producers to create the Speak Out! website (working with the PBS KIDS Interactive team).  The producers come from varied media backgrounds.

Travers Johnson is a blogger for BET's YOU(th) VOTE initiative and a citizen reporter for CNN's iReport.com.  Allison Caviness is the founder of Diamond Films for Social Change, a documentary film production house focused on content creation for non-profit organizations.  Michelle Garcia works as a producer for Independent Sources, covering New York's ethnic media, while working on her own documentary about the Texas border wall.

The producers interviewed six children in New York City about their thoughts on the environment, education and health.  The videos of these interviews are an important piece of the project's website - kids will be able to watch others their age respond to questions about the three issues.  The producers hope the videos will also inspire kids to share their own ideas on the site.

Allison Caviness prepares to film C. for Speak Out!

Scott Cummings, Assistant Director of PBS KIDS Interactive, explains the difference between using real videos and PBS KIDS characters that children may look up to: "We and the producers believe that if the users see someone that they will view as a peer rather than a character they will give us original responses rather than mimicking the example."

I asked Michelle about the filming process to get a better idea of who the kids appearing on the site would be and how kids ages 6-11 could relate to a topic like the environment or healthcare.  Michelle shared two stories that showed kids' awareness. One child with whom the producers spoke related the litter and polluted water she sees in parks to the need to protect the global environment.  Another child mentioned that clean air would help kids with asthma problems. 

Scott also reassured me that kids know more than I may have thought: "We see a wide range of levels in our users when it comes to big issues like these, from savvy to silly. I do see a lot of things that surprise me when working with kid generated content on pbskids.org (both the insightful and the imaginative!)."

Michelle mentioned that kids seem to be more intuitive than adults might perceive, adding that in her experience, kids "expect grownups to do the right things and live by the truisms that govern kindergarten playgrounds.  Be considerate.  Be honest.  Be generous.  Be part of the solution."

What do you think? Are the kids you know aware of issues like protecting the environment? At what age should kids start to become aware of issues in the news?

For tips on talking to kids about the news, and pretty much anything else, check out advice from the experts over at PBS Parents.

This series will continue here on Engage in the coming weeks, as Speak Out! launches and kids submit their thoughts on what the new President needs to know.  What questions do have about the production process? Do you have suggestions for features the producers should include? Share your feedback using the comments below, and stay tuned.

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