As technology and gadgets demand increasing amounts of children’s time, children’s news producer Kristin Granbo asks: Is there still a need for specialized children’s news in the digital era?

Children’s news can no longer be defined as just a 15 minute bulletin aired on TV at 5pm. Why? Because the audience is busy at that time of the day. In fact they are busy at all times, all day: sending “snaps” to each other, liking pictures on Instagram, sharing links on Facebook and watching hilarious YouTube videos. How are children’s news programmes supposed to divert their attention as they swim in the ocean of content providers out there? And how can journalists convince them that they should be their preferred choice when they can also find so much content elsewhere?

Kristin’s report looks at the current landscape and takes a snapshot, talking to journalists working in the field about where they think the next steps in innovation should come from.

The Polis/ EBU Journalism Fellowship offers journalists under the age of 35 working for EBU Members the chance to win a prestigious online journalism research fellowship based in London. The month-long fellowship is open to journalists who wish to carry out a short piece of original research into an aspect of contemporary news media practice. The subject should be related to online, mobile or social media with a particular focus on how media change is impacting on editorial, ethical or political aspects of journalism.