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Fonz gives kids conference thumbs up - VIDEO
HEYYYYY! Fonz star Henry Winkler gave a cool thumbs up in Sheffield to a national conference about the positive impact of media on children's lives.
Five hundred delegates and 80 speakers from TV, radio, interactive media, games, licensing, toys and publishing have been attending the three day Children's Media Conference, at the Showroom Cinema.
Former Happy Days star Henry, aged 64, these days a co-author of 17 children's books - featuring schoolboy Hank Zipzer, the "world's greatest underachiever" - is also an ambassador for First News, a newspaper written for and by children.
VIDEO: Press the play button to watch our video chat with Henry Winkler and First News editor Nicky Cox.
See The Star tomorrow for our exclusive big chat with Henry Winkler revealing Fonz secrets, how his kids' books are helping to fight dyslexia and why he wants to do panto - in Sheffield.
An advocate for children's rights, he is helping to change lives by campaigning to highlight the plight of dyslexia sufferers like him.
Henry, who has just finished a book tour of schools and is starring in new American hit TV show called Royal Pains, believes that positive media can make dreams come true.
He says it is important to connect with children and help them to gain self respect.
In a keynote speech at the conference, which ends today, he said he wanted to leave leading movers and shakers in the industry with a simple message. He told The Star: "My speech was based on if you will it, it's not a dream.
"For example, I was at an arts festival where a little girl behind me said, 'Fonz'. Her mother was sobbing because it was the first word her seven-year-old autistic daughter had spoken in her entire life. I went back next year and she had added 100 words to her vocabulary. She asked me to hug her sister, because I had hugged her the year before.
"So something must have jumped off the television screen and unlocked this little girl. It was earth shattering for me."
He said First News was a great example of positive media helping to shape young minds.
"First News is the only newspaper for children. You want your child to know what's going on in the world. It features science, politics, humour, animals, what young people are interested in, the music, the stars of the day are exclusively interviewed. It's pretty fantastic. It becomes a habit for them to know that newspapers are for them."
Ex BBC worker Nicky Cox, Editor of First News, launched it with Piers Morgan four years ago. It is available from most newsagents, supermarkets or by subscription at firstnews.co.uk
She said:" We were concerned that children were not going to have the newspaper habit. They should grow up knowing what's going on in the world. It makes for good citizens as they grow older."
Other conference speakers included Joe Godwin, Director BBC Children's TV, Debbie MacDonald, Programming Director Nickelodeon UK, Michael Carrington, Chief Content Officer, EMEA, Turner Broadcasting, Anthony Horowitz, author and screenwriter of Stormbreaker, part of the Alex Rider series, Emma Tennant, Controller of ITV Digital Channels, plus writers Francesca Simon, author of Horrid Henry, and David Almond, author of Skellig, The Fire-Eaters, Clay and My Dad's a Birdman.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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