Do you think Angelina Jolie would ever run for political office? Ten years ago, five years ago, even two years ago, I would have said no way. I would have said that Angelina feels like she can do the most good by working the system from the outside. But in the first heat of Angelina and Brad Pitt’s divorce, there were claims that Brad was disconcerted by Angelina’s gradual move to politics, and that she seemed to be moving towards a political career… in the UK. I thought that was just part of his smear campaign, just an attempt to paint Angelina as a harpy who made him unhappy in every way. But considering that 2018 was the year where women stood up and said “f–k this, I’m running for office,” I’m starting to wonder if Angelina’s long-term plan is going to be focused on UK politics. She’s building a real life for herself in the UK, and now this:
Angelina Jolie has joined an upcoming BBC current affairs show for children set to land in 2019. Our World, which Jolie will executive produce, will begin as a 10-episode weekly program aimed at promoting global media literacy among children aged 7-12. According to BBC-commissioned U.K. research, seven is the age that children become aware of the news and 12.6 is the average age a U.S. child signs up for a social media account, so the time between “represents a window to instill in children the value of asking questions and a chance to develop critical thinking.”
“There has never been a time when it was more important to introduce the next generation to objective, impartial news and factual explanation of the events and issues shaping our world,” said Jolie. “Children today are exposed to a lot of opinion, but not necessarily to information that is fact-based and reliable.” Jolie added: “As a mother, I am very pleased that the BBC World Service is taking this step. It is also important to me that the project is global, and will help young people in different countries to be connected to each other and to have greater awareness and understanding of the news on an international basis.”
This project aims to be global in scope, engaging children from Argentina to Zimbabwe. It will kick off with an English version but the BBC will seek production partners to expand programming into multiple languages.
Our World will be a multimedia project with digital and broadcast elements, including a weekly half-hour TV show. The BBC will launch a 10-week trial of the project and is in talks with a number of international digital and broadcast media organizations interested in co-production and distribution. The pilot TV programs will be distributed via the World Service’s existing TV partnerships and via other suitable broadcasters internationally.
Maybe I’m dating myself, but I grew up with this kind of thing in my classroom – Channel One was a fixture of my public school education from, like, grades 5 through 10? It was a news broadcast for kids and used as an educational supplement, and the news was pretty international, looking back on it. This sounds like a great project for Angelina, and for kids around the world. It’s true that kids understand a lot more than we think they do, and even if they’re not able to process every single thing that’s happening in the world, it’s good to expose them to specialized programming that doesn’t talk down to them. Will Angelina need to spend more time in the UK to executive produce this show?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Oh, man, I remember Channel One! I was a huge Rawley Valverde fan. That was soooooo long ago!
I remember it too! For my school district it started in 6th grade and went to senior year. During my school years it was Anderson Cooper, Lisa Ling and Serena Altschul, so got to see some greats start early.
As a high school librarian, I had the master control unit in my office and I punched the button at 11:50 every day to launch the program.
Back in my day, we had My Weekly Reader, a news/current affairs magazine aimed at elementary age children. Before Presidential elections they would run a straw poll. I voted for the first time in 1952 as a third grader. Voted for Adlai Stevenson, of course.
OMG! Weekly Reader were the sh**! I forgot all about those.
Oh I love this! I was just saying how I wish Nick News with Linda Ellerbee was still around for my son. This sounds great!
This is important work! Good for her! It’s important for kids to get an understanding like that.
That being said, my son is 4. I told my husband that I think our son can delay learning about our government and what a president is until he’s at least 6 and the Orange Sh*thead is out of office. We were reading a book about airplanes and it talked about air force one… usually a time when I would talk to my son about what the president is… I skipped right over it. I don’t have the HEART to talk to him about the president, while this animal sits in the Oval Office. It can wait!
Here’s the rub, and why she’s doing what she’s doing. So, the REAL story, is that she’s exec producing a reliable fact based global news channel that doesn’t talk down to kids and informs them about the world. How did it play in the trash cesspool that is American media, you ask? Yesterday, they breathlessly asked if Angelina Jolie was entering politics. Which turned the story from a noble one of educating/informing children globally, to a celebrity fluff story all about Angelina’s naked ambition and asking every resentful bitter nasty person who hates her because of course, how THEY felt about it. I knew the story as posed from U S media was designed to be scintillating and tabloidy. One of the many reasons we suck nowadays. Congrats to AJ, proud to be a fan.
This sounds like a great idea, but I would watch it first to make sure it was not too disturbing for children. She has seen a lot of dreadful sights in refugee camps, and while I think children should know about the realities of the world, I think they also need to be built up with hope and the belief in their power to do good, rather than overwhelmed by too much misery and sorrow.
Have you read some of her UN related writings? She has ended quite a few in a hopeful tone. I think she would definitely do that and try to inspire rather than depress. I don’t think she would include anything that would be too much for a child to handle.
No I haven’t, so thanks for your insight, Booie.
Now she is seriously on the works, smart & ambitious lady. She is bouncing back for good reasons & working on Projects close to her heart addressing social issues.
I don’t understand….The BBC have already created Newsround, a current affairs show for children which has been on for SINCE 1972 and it’s widely successful. I remember every morning the entire school would have to watch Newsround before the assembly to catch up on current affairs. The show focuses on the environment, international politics, general elections, animals, health, literally everything important, even news that can be difficult to explain to young people like shootings, wildfires and Brexit. Very important people make appearances too; Prime Ministers, Film Stars, Royals, etc. It’s been a staple in lots of people’s childhoods so is it necessary to have a new show?
Yes. I remember watching John Craven every day between Blue Peter and Neighbours.
Totally agree Lily, also is the BBC (State funded) going to be paying for her flights and accommodation etc. Aren’t there plenty of UK journalists who would kill for the chance and are maybe better qualified.
Or maybe BBC knows that Angelina will reach a wider audience than journalists will…
This project is aimed at international audience and its being launched by the world service not domestic part of news or children’s programs within BBC. This could mean the funding might be coming from world service new funding from the government.
Newsround doesn’t make programming aimed at international audience and I doubt they have resources to do it. I notice world service launched kids news programme aimed at Africa
I suspect Jolie name helps them attract more partners to the project. Not sure she will be heavily involved scripting news items.
Does anyone know what is involved in being an Executive Producer?
Who said the BBC will be paying for her accommodations? She worked for Disney and she paid her own rental house for her family. Sure if it’s business related, I’m sure they’ll pay for her flights if they need send her somewhere for meetings, but let’s not act like she is milking tax payers money.
“I suspect Jolie name helps them attract more partners to the project. Not sure she will be heavily involved scripting news items.”
I agree with Lorraine – she’s not going to be there in the office or on set working on this every day, she’s most likely participating in some big picture discussions and attaching her name to help launch it.
Given that there’s now a custody agreement, she’s most likely going to be in LA a lot more, and probably doing a lot of this remotely, so I don’t get the theory that she’s setting up a life in the UK.
The BBC seems to think another one is necessary if they’re green lighting it. And as for the other journalists that would “kill for a chance and are maybe better qualified” – she’s not a journalist. She’s a producer. And a very qualified one. A producer’s job is to help secure funding and leading the show from a creative and business perspective. That’s what they hired her to do. Not be a journalist on the show, be a producer. There are some journalists who produce, however they’re usually on very well established shows that they headline. But that doesn’t mean every journalist knows how to produce. She has experience producing as she’s been in that role several times before and will likely work WITH journalists on board when on the air. She’s bringing her producing experiences to help steer the show, she’ll bring on journalists to execute. She is absolutely qualified as a producer due to her resume and there are very few journalists who would “ kill for this job “ who could actually produce it with the resume to back it up.
Angelina you are doing Marvelous Work. Haters are going to always say something negative perhaps because they do nothing to bring change to society
Well, let them talk because she said she can “take a lot on the chin”- which is why she rarely ever responds to the hatefulness said about her.
Channel One is where, in the seventh grade, I became acquainted with Anderson Cooper and Lisa Ling!
Listen to her bbc radio interview. Pretty sure the question was about American politics. Brad was probably afraid his skeletons would come tumbling out if she ran for office. 😋
Since he went and abused their kids and the truth about his make it right foundation is out there looks like he didn’t need her to run for his skeletons to START trickling out.
Anyway, Angelina will once again do what she wants to do. Perhaps she will think she needs a politician or some type of super professional like clooneys wife to hook up with soon 😬
Regardless of the question, her political ambitions have always been aimed at the UN and the UK.
More power to her, but the U.S. needs all the smart, globally minded politicians it can get. Plus, California loves voting for celebs so her career path would be perfectly normal in these parts.
She explains why in the interview. Their government has been more supportive with what she’s doing. They are the first that supported her psvi work.
Maybe when the kids are older or her divorce is finalized she will move back to the uk. It seemed to be healthier for her. Brad is obviously not getting 50% and early on his team acted like AJ was already living in a different country with her kids and said something like , “he visits them when they’re in town.” – anyone paying attention know she bought a house in La and hasn’t done much traveling because of the custody/divorce and he wasn’t doing much visiting with those kids. 🙄
So if he has the Janelle Evans custody why should they have to stay in the US waiting on dear old daddy dearest.
The UN is based in America.
Bettyrose, I agree if by globally minded you mean soft power diplomacy, which Trump, along with the neocons, is terrible at. It’s cheap and effective. Look at China’s Belt and Road. However the EU’s globalism-at-the-the-expense-of-national-sovereignty is anti-democratic and the plebs are getting frustrated at this, not because they’re narrowminded/racist nationalists (though small minority probably are). Hope the world’s leaders and up-and-coming leaders get this: these kind of multinational unions frustrate voters because they usurp democracy and Angela Merkel’s recent comments about countries needing to give up more sovereignty is just more evidence of how clueless she is.
We had newspapers delivered to the school (Elementary school, Montreal, Que)…maybe it continued into high school, I don’t remember….. TV’s were rolled into classrooms for special assignments. I remember a TV was rolled into our classroom when JFK was shot….
What exactly does an executive producer, do? Besides put up money, attend meetings and help make creative decisions about the direction of a project? In other words, it might not be necessary for her to be boots on the ground in the UK for this, unless she wants to.
This was my question as well. It seems that much of the work could be done remotely.
Great idea!
+1
I love this woman and everything she does for this world especially for children & women..
Well, according to tabloids… She has the UK businessman boyfriend or according to the blind items website; CDAN… She is banging a UK cabinet member!! 😏 What I’m trying to say is, regardless.,. Of who is right; ALL agreed that, she is banging someone from the UK!! 😜
Anyone with sense does not believe in tabloid stories written about her.
You really can’t take a joke can you? I know you are a devout protector of Angie but you take things a little too seriously. Is it so wrong to hope the woman is getting some action? All in good fun. We’re on a gossip site. It wasn’t anything negative towards her. No harm, no foul.
Booie…
THANK YOU for being the voice of reason!! And yeah, there is no harm in hoping Angelina is getting some action!! 😏 Yeah, kids are great, but also… Having someone, is really nice!! 😜
Booie why are you so serious?
Well, Angelina was based in England before she even got with Brad, so she probably would be there full time now except she has to be in LA so the kids can have their visits with Brad.
If they have split custody like all his “sources” claim, she should have no problem dropping them off at his place and going to work for a couple of weeks in the UK. They all have phones, she can call. Some of them can go with her and make up the time with him later. Assuming that’s true.
I wonder why she doesn’t do more work with American outlets like NPR or PBS. They are as dedicated to non-profit quality programming as Auntie.
And considering what the current administration is thinking (ie slashing funding for public media like there’s no tomorrow), I think that Angelina could’ve been a great support for the likes of NPR and PBS.
But it seems like Angelina is more interested in the UK at the moment. Question is “why?” Does she feel more welcomed there? Is she shunned in the US?
The UK has been much more supportive of refugees than US especially now with our horrible POTUS.
Lol. So y’all know Mr. Lameness about to come out w/ some nonsense about him doing something no one cares about (other than his stans) or about her (a smear). Whenever there’s hot news on her, he and his team rears their ugly head. He has to hang on her as much as possible b/c he has nothing to really talk about.
Lol. Long post.
Aside from hurting the kids and her b/c I do believe she really cared/loved him, this is yet another reason, Angie allow Brad to act out in their relationship. Lol. (Kinda like Hilary to Bill Clinton, just don’t get caught doing something stupid). Angie IS going into politics and I knew that as soon as Angie started dealing w/ William Hague and those two ladies from the U.K.
At that time of her relationship w/ him, she prob felt she needed him to do it. It was a great image. “Brangelina, one beautiful movie star, moving into politics, while her husband, a beautiful movie star himself, supports and helps her in her fight for justice”. Great tag line, right? Lol. But, he wasn’t down for it. This is when he was like WHAT? STOP? He did not see himself as a first man b/c his image was about him and her. Not about her and him.
This is why she tried to dress up everything (in interviews). Making it seem like it was all good. But it wasn’t. They were trying to save the relationship and Angie gave in to him. He hated those women and I have to believe they hated him. Angie tho, decided at that time, to be Brad’s wife and take care of the kids, giving up on her political dreams. That’s why they got married, certainly for the kids, but also b/c this arrangement was agreed upon btw the two.
Mr. Lameness kept acting out tho and so Angie was like WHAT? STOP? I think this is when Angie realized he was jealous of her success, b/c let’s face facts, he isn’t reading The Economist. Lol. She does tho. Dude couldn’t keep up w/ her in all the arenas of their lives and this made him act out instead of talking things through. So Angie finally, thank goodness, saw she was giving up on herself when she needed to get back to the good qualities of the old Angie and do what makes her and the kids happy.
Now some could say this is where is may be to blame as well. She flipped the script on him and he didn’t like it. A lot of marriages go through this. One person doing something new while the other isn’t down for it and it hurts their marriage. This is prob what happened here. They were dealing w/ a lot those last two years, her surgeries, the kids, the acting careers, etc, etc. But he compounded on top of all of this w/ his drinking and anger problems. This is when they both needed to slow down and deal w/their problems. That’s why that movie “By The Sea”, really reflects on them and their relationship at the time. Also, I’m a person who believes in personal growth and never giving up on yourself or your dreams, no matter what situation you’re in.
So, now, moving on and forward, once this divorce is finished, I believe Angie’s gonna buy a home in the U.K., having her inch more and more towards a political position. Her and the kids will commute from there to LA and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of her kids go to colleges there as well.
She now has to deal with custody and visitation order. If there are limits on whether she can take the children outside of the country then she will need a court order. Thee is no commuting from LA to England without court’s permission.
He already lost. He has the jannelle Evans from teen mom custody deal. A week in summer and one holiday.
It appears Xmas wasn’t his holiday as the kids were seen out with her. So when exactly do his fans think he has visits? LoL
@Hmm Your comment only refers to physical custody. They share legal custody 50/50. I doubt she needs a court order to take them to the UK, but she definitely needs his permission.
And according to Us Weekly, he had the four youngest overnight on Christmas. A monitor was present and Maddox and Pax refused to go.
Brad has always had joint legal custody (she requested this when she filed for divorce) so she has to get his permission before taking any of the minor children out of state, or making any decisions regarding medical care, schooling, etc.
What am I missing here, why would Angelina Jolie – an American actress – seek a political career in the UK? Is she also a British citizen? Don’t you have to be one to run for office in the UK?
The first female member of the UK parliament to ever take her seat was American born – Nancy Astor, she only moved to the UK as an adult.
You need to be either a British citizen, an Irish citizen or a citizen of a commonwealth country.
Maybe she wants to come and live here permanently.
Angelina will probably have office meetings with the BBC on her computer from home. Technology is advance where you do not have to travel for business meetings you can have them from your home or at your office.
I can see what you’re saying about having someone like her involved from a PR perspective at a top level, and fair enough if she’s the type of person to pay her way and not milk it. She’s a rarity!! My hackles go up with the BBC because they have history, apparently they have paid for private jets to get Mr Beckham to appear.
I’m not sure about her having political aspirations in the UK. I can’t see how that would work. She obviously has a genuine interest in the vulnerable women and children in the world. Saying it’s an interest is maybe a disservice it’s maybe more like a vocation? I would have thought the UN would be the best fit, but then I have no clue about the about it’s inner workings.