This document presents the results of a two-year study of a British Broadcasting Company children's news program which examined the goals and routines of the programmers, the program content, and audience response. Observations were made of program routines, the content was analyzed, and responses to the programs were obtained during informal, unstructured interviews with small groups of children 8 to 11 years old at 15 London schools. As a control, 10 families were interviewed at home and, at one school, mothers and children were interviewed together for part of the session. The study focused on two specific news events, the 1981 riots in Britain and the 1982 Falklands conflict. Both events were considered to increase children's interest in the news and to be important in children's political concept formation. An attempt was made to make the newscasts interesting through use of visuals and, at the same time, to present the news in a manner that would allay fear and/or imitation of the violence shown. While the program met its own aims of programming, the findings indicated that the news bulletin, like others of its kind, was primarily a form of television entertainment for its viewers rather than a source of political socialization. (21 references) (CGD)