...Media Guardian H/W 9...

Channel 4 axes TV schools programmes
· £6m education budget to go exclusively to internet
· Projects will cash in on social networking sites


For years they have been a fixture of Channel 4's schedules, but next year early morning programmes for schools will become a thing of the past - replaced by a sweeping initiative on the internet.
In a pioneering move for a broadcaster, the £6m annual budget spent on education programmes aimed at teenagers is being moved from traditional TV shows to multimedia projects. From 2008 schools programmes - which have included Greg Dyke's Get Me the Producer, Let's Talk Sex, with Davina McCall, and My Big Gay Prom, will be replaced by internet projects, games and interactive stories.
The two-year experiment is being headed by Janey Walker, the Channel 4 managing editor, who took over the company's education portfolio last year after the departure of the high-profile business leader Heather Rabbatts.
Some projects will utilise the popularity of social networking sites such as Bebo and MySpace, while others will use purpose-built web services and online games.
Get a Life will transfer the fly-on-the-wall documentary format to the internet, by following 21 teenagers over the course of a year. Participants will try to gather support from around the internet to reach their goal, through social networking and video sharing services. One teenager will attempt to regain custody of her child, while another will try to win the Eurovision Song Contest.
Walker said research indicated that schools TV was failing to reach its target audience. "It was very clear that we had to do something," she said, "because at the moment what we do is spend £6m commissioning TV programmes aimed at 14- to 19-year-olds and then put them out in the morning when they're at school."
But executives admit they are taking a gamble. "It's an experiment," said Matt Locke, the former head of innovation at the BBC, who will run the project. "It's a risk, and it might not work. We might end up with something that looks really dull, or we might end up with something that's really vibrant and interesting. That's what we're going to find out."
However, the bold plan is likely to be criticised. Educational programming has been a core purpose for the publicly funded broadcaster since it launched in 1982. The 2003 Communications Act stipulated that its output must "include programmes of an educational nature".
Critics of the broadcaster include the former ITV chief Charles Allen, who said last year that Channel 4 was fixated with repeats and American imports, and was mislabelling entertainment programmes such as Scrapheap Challenge as "education".
Multimedia plans
Get a LifeUsing YouTube and MySpace, 21 young participants will try to achieve individual personal goals
City of ViceAn online game based on a new series exploring Georgian London
InsidersA new spin on traditional careers advice, with a network of blogs based on real-life contributors
4PioneersA social networking service for teenagers who have considered starting their own business