Not happy about the cancellation of Behind the News...Yagoona Public School students Robert Crichton, Lan Nguyen, Jacqueline Pham, Alaa Badran and Ahmad Akkaoui.

Don’t pull the plug on BTN

By Kerri Carr

Students at Yagoona Public School have written letters to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation explaining why Behind the News should not be cut from the station's programming.

Behind the News has been listed among the programs to go, because of a lack of Federal Government funding. Teacher Noreen Navin said topics explored on Behind the News are "an integral part of the writing program" at her school.

She said that recently Behind the News did a behind the scenes story about how the show is made.

"At the end of the story they said, 'we welcome your feedback on this'."

"I asked the kids what they wanted to do.

"It was their initiative to write their own individual letters to send to the ABC and Communications Minister Senator Richard Alston."

Comments in the letters included:

"BTN helps people who don't speak English properly."
"BTN give us more information on what is happening around the world and it improves our talking and listening skills."
"BTN...has a cool website where we can find more information."
"Please leave BTN the way it is. Please think over your proposal. It is a great news programme which others will enjoy."
"I urge to ask you not to cut the BTN programmes, there are plenty of other programmes that you could cut, please do not cut BTN."
"This show has changed by life and opinion about the world, people and animals so please don't cut BTN. Let other children experience what I have."

For further information

September 2003 contents