BtN: Episode 20 Transcript 2/08/11

On this week's Behind the News.

·  Do you really want to be famous? We explore the downsides of celebrity.

·  We use sleep science to explain why teenagers like late nights and lie-ins.

·  And we see if kids are really into comic books anymore.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show today the AFL stars using footy to make friends overseas but before all that:

Africa Aid

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: If you were told millions of people are about to die, would you think it would be headline news? And what would you do about it? Over in East Africa right now a horrible drought is putting millions of lives at risk. It's potentially far more deadly than anything else happening on earth right now yet many people aren't rushing to give money to help. Let's take a look.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: In Australia, drought looks like this; cracked ground, dead crops and dying animals. At its worst it can mean livelihoods are lost, as farmers are forced to pack-up and move away.

In Africa right now, the cracked ground is the same, as are the animals. But here, millions of people have been forced to go on the move in a desperate search for food and water. They know without it, they and their families will die.

This is all happening to an area known as the Horn of Africa, in countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. For the people living here, a drought worse than anything for 60 years has turned the place into desert, meaning there's not enough food or water to go around. Their only chance of survival in most cases is to walk to places like the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya.

It's the biggest camp of its kind in the world, where these people have a chance of getting food, water and medical treatment. But 400,000 people have arrived so far, in a camp built for just 90,000; and many more are on the way. If something isn't done, it's feared 10 million people could die across these dry lands. It's a desperate situation that will only get better if countries send aid.

But you might be thinking "don't we send aid all the time? Where is that aid right now?"

NATHAN: Well when it comes to areas of the world doing it tough, there are actually two different types of aid. And these ads usually refer to something called 'development aid'.

Development aid is when money is given to try to stop poverty in the long term. Here are some examples.

A bore or well built for a village would help them get clean water for themselves for years to come. Giving seeds, farming equipment and livestock would help them farm food independently. And educating kids will help them get jobs and hopefully end the poverty cycle, for themselves and their communities. But in times of crisis, like the severe drought Africa is facing, development aid is not enough.

In these times, emergency aid is needed.

Most of it is huge amounts of food, like rice, water, oil and beans; which can be spread out and eaten quickly to save the lives of starving people. It may not sound like a tasty meal, but the main aim is to provide emergency nutrition and give these people the strength they need for another day.

Right now, the UN is calling for $1.4 billion dollars in emergency aid from countries around the world. So that's on top of the usual development aid that countries and other groups usually give. And some of that is starting to trickle in now, including an extra $30 million in emergency aid from the Australian government. But for the sake of the millions here struggling to survive, that trickle needs to become a downpour of either rain, or money.

Presenter: Maybe you could think about ways you could fundraise with your school?

The Wire

All right, let's see what other stories have been making the news this week. Here's Matt with the Wire.

There's relief across financial markets after politicians in the US agreed on a way to pay back the country's debt.

The US was getting really close to not being able to pay back the money it owes and there was fear it could spur on another global financial crisis.

The plan is to bump up how much the country can borrow and they'll also try to save more money through spending cuts.

***

A boatload of asylum seekers that arrived on the weekend will be the first group to be sent to Malaysia under the Australian government's new deal.

The 54 people were picked up off the coast of Western Australia and were taken to Christmas Island.

Under the deal, Australia will send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in exchange for 4-thousand approved refugees over the next four years.

Price of Fame

Reporter: Kirsty Bennett

INTRO: When many kids are asked what they want to be when they grow up the answer is often "famous". Whether it's through music, TV or sport, it doesn't really matter. It's often simply the worldwide recognition that people really want. But we often read about celebrities struggling to cope under the pressures of fame. So is it really something we should want? Kirsty takes a look.

KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: Fame. Some people have it and others can only dream of it.

KID: Can I have your autograph?!

KIRSTY: There's the attention, the parties, the glamour and the money. But is being in the spotlight really as good as we think it is?

Media attention can be good for celebrities making them more popular so more likely to be able to demand the big bucks. But a lot of the time celebrities get coverage that they don't want. Just imagine that Chilli here has just shot to fame with her debut album. Sure she gets lots of attention and loves to get glammed up. She even has someone to fetch her coffee for her.

WAITER - Here's you double shot latte with skim milk and extra froth!

CHILLI: It's about time!

But it's not all rosy in her day to day life. Simple things are made harder like stepping outside of her house to get the newspaper. Just catching a bite to eat. It can all be spun into a hurtful headline. And it's not just the celebrity in the firing line. Your family and friends could be hounded too.

REPORTER: Do you have a comment? Is anyone in there?

And some "so-called" friends may even start telling nasty stories about what you've done in the past.

FRIEND: Well do I have a story for you!

Many people find fame hard to deal with. Even footy players are expected to be role models, even though they're often just normal young guys with a talent for kicking a ball. And with the internet, celebrities can be made overnight when they're young and often completely unprepared for what's to come.

REBECCA BLACK, SINGER: When I first saw all these nasty comments I did cry. I felt like this was my fault and I shouldn’t have done this and this was all because of me. Pop singer Amy Winehouse saw both sides of fame. She was praised for her music in the early days. But later on she was more often ridiculed as the whole world watched her life fall apart until she eventually died.

IAIN SHEDDEN: MUSIC WRITER: You could say really since the Back to Black became so successful that was pretty much the end of her career then because she really hasn’t been able to function properly since that Grammy success.

The public's desire for fame has made TV talent shows like Australian Idol really popular. A couple of years ago primary school teacher Toby Moulton surprised everyone when he walked away from the competition. His brief taste of fame was enough to put him off.

"After many hours of soul searching and many sleepless nights, I've decided to withdraw from the competition tonight (crowd gasps)"

He's back at school and couldn't be happier.

TOBY MOULTEN, SINGER: It’s a really strange thing becoming well known really quickly to the point that you can't go down to the shops or can't go out with your mates without being recognised and that feeling of being watched is an odd kind of feeling. There's a lot to be said for just finding something you love and just being able to be anonymous and to live I guess a normal life.

It's not just the paparazzi that celebrities have to watch out for. These days nearly everyone has a camera on their phone, and can post bits of gossip on sites like Twitter and Facebook, making it even harder for celebrities to keep their private lives private. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal experienced it first hand, when a fan took a photo of him when he was in the toilet.

So now you've seen the glossy and sometimes the dark side of fame. Maybe the rich and famous really do have a lot to complain about.

Presenter: Poor Chilli. OK let's make 'fame' the subject of our poll this week.

Online Poll

It's a simple question. Would you like to be famous? To vote just head to the BtN website. And in last week’s poll we asked is a carbon tax for Australian businesses a good idea? 31% said yes, but 69% thought it was a bad idea. Interestingly, the last time we asked that question, it was pretty much 50/50. So clearly there's been a shift in opinion.

Teen Sleep

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Now, sleep is something we kinda think we can control. When we close our eyes we'll go to sleep and when our alarm goes off we wake up. And your parents probably think they can control it by telling you when to go to bed. But there's something inside your body that also has a say about when you should go to bed. Let's find out what it is.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Have you ever noticed that as you get older, you feel less and less like falling asleep when your parents tell you? And if you're forced to hit the sack, generally you won't be able to nod off for ages. Then when your alarm goes off early in the morning you're exhausted!

NATHAN: You've probably been told time and time again that you're staying up too late and that you should be more like oldies, who are early to bed and early to rise. But that doesn't really feel right for you, does it?! Well there's a reason for that and it's not because you're being disobedient.

But to find out what that reason is, first we need to find out how sleep works.

In your brain, there is a special area that acts like your body's own clock, and it uses information from your eyes about how much light is around to tell the time. When it gets dark, your brain clock decides it's sleep time and tells another part of your body to release a sleep chemical called melatonin, which makes you sleepy. Then when the sun rises and light hits your eyes in the morning, your brain clock cuts off the melatonin supply and you feel like waking up.

Now teenagers actually need more sleep than adults. About 9 hours instead of 7 to 8. But they have a bit more of a challenge getting it than their parents, because their bodies seem to work differently.

Remember that sleep chemical we told you about before called melatonin? Well teenagers release less of it and they release it slower, meaning they don't drift off to sleep as soon as it gets dark outside. For them, 10pm is more like 8pm!

DR ARTHUR TENG, SLEEP RESEARCHER: So there is no teenager in the world that will want to go to bed at 8pm and expect to fall asleep.

And that also means teens are going to naturally want a few extra hours sleep in the morning too! Sound familiar??

AMELIA HARTLEY: I'd still be awake at two, and I'd look at the clock and then it would be three, and then I'd fall asleep, and then my alarm would go off.

In extreme cases like 16 year old Amelia, it can mean getting next to no sleep at all.

AMELIA: Oh, I was so grumpy. I was irritable, every tiny thing annoyed me and getting at everyone about everything. Grades dropped dramatically.

But a lack of melatonin wasn't her only problem and it's might not be yours either.

PROFESSOR IAN HICKIE, SLEEP RESEARCHER: What appears to be happening increasingly with teenagers now is taking that normal delay and going far too far with it. So through use of computers and technology, and Facebook and iPhones and everything else known to man, teenagers are staying up later and later and later.

Okay so let's lay it out there - when does this scientist say you should be hitting the sack?

PROFESSOR IAN HICKIE: Now for younger teenagers it's still going to be around you know, ten o'clock to eleven o'clock. For older teenagers, maybe slightly later.

But before you run to your parents to ask for a bedtime extension, remember teenagers still need around nine hours of sleep a night. Meaning your big challenge will be asking school to kick off a bit later as well.

Presenter: OK, while we're talking about sleep let's have our first quiz of the show.

Quiz 1

The question is:

Someone who has difficulty falling asleep is said to suffer from what?

Hypersomnia

Narcolepsy

Insomnia

Answer: Insomnia

The other two words refer to people who get too much sleep.

Comics

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: Now, comic books have been entertaining people for many decades. They've even helped some kids learn the basics of reading. But these days, with easy access to TV and the internet are comics still popular with kids? Tash looks into it.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: They're known as a funny book, a comic magazine or a comic paper. Call them what you like, but comics have been entertaining people for a long time! But is the popularity of comic books taking a hit? To find out, let's go on a journey into the world of comics.

Comics became really popular during World War II. They gave a bit of light relief for soldiers on the battlefield and kids who didn't have a TV were entertained by their superheroes. Superman was the first hero to burst onto the comic book scene in the late 1930s. From there on, characters like Batman and The Phantom began to muscle in.