NCJ Number
155811
Journal
Harvard Educational Review Volume: 65 Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (Summer 1995) Pages: 282-291
Date Published
1995
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Issues involving televised violence and youth are explored.
Abstract
This article contains excerpts from an interview with the founder of the grassroots organization Action for Children's Television (ACT). Briefly, ACT, founded in 1968 and dismantled in 1992, was established to pursue quality television for children. To that end, ACT brought its concerns to advertisers, local television stations, the national networks, and the Federal Communications Commission. Through its efforts, the Congress passed the Children's Television Act in 1990. This Act mandates that local television stations provide educational programming for children and is the first act of its kind in the 45-year history of broadcast television in the United States. The author remains active in issues concerning children's television and continues to speak on behalf of children's needs and continues to help shape public policy in this regard. Excerpts address Peggy Charren's motivation for founding ACT and how its strategies helped to achieve ACT's goals, ACT's initial efforts to prompt attention to creating quality programs for children, Ms. Charren's opinion concerning violence on television and the Children's Television Act of 1990, the need for additional funding for public broadcasting to continue to provide an alternative to violent television content, and the roles of parents, teachers, and other concerned groups in dealing with televised violence. Notes