Thought for the Week - 3rd April 2022

Dear Friends,

April 4th marks the 50th anniversary of the children’s television news programme, Newsround, which burst onto our screens in 1972 hosted by John Craven who is perhaps today known to us more for presenting the farming programme Countryfile. Those of us of a certain generation grew up with Craven telling the stories of the day, always introduced by his familiar welcome, ‘Hello again’, and his natty collection of jumpers. Initially commissioned as a six-week experiment by the BBC it was the brainchild of TV executive Edward Barnes who was concerned that children were not hearing about stories that were important to them and relevant to their lives. He is quoted as saying, ‘I wanted children to feel that our news was very much their news’, and the presentation of the programme was focused on bringing the news in a way that children could understand and relate to. I for one will never forget that it was Newsround that broke the story of the Challenger Shuttle disaster in 1986 explaining in a calm and measured way to the young audience what had happened. The art of journalism and explaining things in ways which are understandable and make sense to the public is a gift, and we live in a society that has the freedom of newspaper and news programmes to report on the stories that are making the headlines. Contrast that with some other places that we know of where the news media is strictly controlled by the government and we can all recognise just how precious it is to live in a free and stable democracy, even though there are still many issues to grapple with. I was interested to learn this week that the patron saint of journalists and writers is St Francis de Sales who was born in 1567 and was a bishop of Geneva, and who is quoted as saying these inspirational words about God which we can reflect on. ‘The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.’

Grace and peace,

Neil

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