“It seems today, that all you see is violence in movies and sex on TV. But where are those good ‘ole fashion values in which we used to rely?” Indeed. Where have they all gone? Those are the lyrics to today’s most popular cartoon- Family Guy. But when one hears “cartoon”, it’s natural to think Tom and Jerry or Looney Tunes, but the fine line between children’s television and adult entertainment is no longer fine. Kids are now being marketed to like adults as well. Whether it is the latest Disney Product or a McDonald’s Happy Meal, the huge money-making machines are now treating kids like consumers instead of viewers, perhaps providing a link to childhood obesity. On the other end of the spectrum is Nickelodeon and publicly-funded broadcasting. Sesame Street is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year and is still the standard for children’s programming. There are countless pieces of legislature regulating commercials and show content but with the options cable and the internet provide, it’s hard for parents to always monitor what is being watched. Advertising and questionable content are clear negatives in today’s most popular kid’s shows. The key to providing better programming for young people is through more funding, both private and government.
Before looking at the landscape of today’s programming, it’s important to understand the current legislature regarding television that targets kids and young adults. The Children’s Television Act (FCC, 1990) established guidelines designed to limit the amount of commercials during a show, as well as requiring a station to broadcast at least 3 hours of “core programming” a week for audiences of the age sixteen and younger. The idea of minimum hour requirements is a good one because watching television can be very helpful in child’s education process. Studies show that through reinforcement and repetition, television can increase children’s literacy and cognitive skills. (Uchikoshi, 2009) Depending on the content of the show, after watching “quality” programming such as Blue’s Clues and Dora the Explorer, which concentrates on vocabulary development, viewers had learned 8.6 more words at 30 months and increased their vocabulary by 1.35 more words per month than non-viewers. But many experts believe watching too much television can be harmful, which is becoming a real problem, especially in a world with cable and internet easily accessible. In fact, television usage reached an eight-year high when an analysis showed that kids six to eleven watched more than 28 hours of television a week- more than a whole day. Even more alarming is that children aged two to five watched more than that- an average of 32 hours a week. (Gold, 2009) The CTA (Children’s Television Act) dictates rules and regulation’s for kids aged two to 16, because infants under two years of age aren’t supposed to watch television at all. The first two years of a child’s life are considered to be a very critical stage in the development of the brain. (KidsHealth, 2009) Television and other media can get in the way of an infant’s innate nature of exploring, playing and learning social skills through observations of other people interacting. A study in 2007 by researchers at the University of Washington found that babies who watched videos developed for newbornslearned fewer vocabulary words than infants who never watched the videos. The most well-known baby videos are those of a series called Baby Einstein, produced by a well known company- Disney.
Commercialization and marketing to kids is another issue the CTA addresses. The act limits the amount of commercial content for a one-hour show to 10.5 minutes on the weekends and 12 minutes for shows airing on weekdays. (FCC, 2008) It’s these allotted times that are the real reason’s why Disney even produces programming. Disney is thought to be the forerunner in “quality” children’s programming. This is the company that gave us Mickey Mouse, Disneyworld and countless enjoyable movies like Jungle Book and Cinderella. But all of the above were created to entertain kids, not educate them. Since the conception of the Children’s Television Act, Disney has grown from the kid’s movie company we’ve all grown up with to the global, multi-industry money-making machine it is today. The latest way for Disney to sell merchandise is character marketing through their shows. High School Musical was first introduced in 2006 and has since released two more feature films. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, High School Musical 3 grossed $252,909,177. Not only does Disney make money on the film itself, but the company also makes millions on related licensed products. A quick search of “High School Musical” on Amazon.com produced over 4,500 products including the following: High School Musical 3 Sing-Along Microphone, the High School Musical Flip-Phone Music Player, the High School Musical 2 Mustang Fabulous Sharpay Doll, the High School Musical G2 Deluxe TV Game, seriously the list goes on forever. Most educational/informative programming is produced for kids under 12, but why can’t young adults have the same quality programming? The latest phenomenon to sweep young kids is Hannah Montana. Played by Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana is a show about a young girl who tries to live her life as a normal teenager at the same time being a pop superstar. Through Disney Channel, Disney was able to mass market their new star. And just like High School Musical, Disney succeeded in making money- a lot of money. Hannah Montana celebrates stardom and being a teenage diva. Young girls everywhere want to be like Hannah Montana. Robert Lovelace, Director at KXAN-TV, confirmed, “The content on Disney is mostly to sell crap. As a publicly-traded company, Disney’s sole purpose is to make money for its’ shareholders- nothing else. There might be some good shows, but for the most part it’s just a channel to market and sell more crap.” Disney is not a good source for educational/informative programming, but there are some cable channels that have good-quality shows including the Nickelodeon networks and Discover Kids.
Now for the most part Nickelodeon does a lot of the same things Disney does business-wise. Nickelodeon is ultimately owned by Viacom, which is also profit-driven. But Nickelodeon understands that there is a difference in the content a 5-year old likes and relates to, compared to a 14-year old. They have a variety of channels to satisfy different needs; Nicktoons runs innocent, animated cartoon’s directed for all ages. Nick Jr. is directed towards pre-schoolers and young children. TeenNick is directed towards teenagers and offers programming like the show Degrassi, which touches on topics such as sexuality and depression- issues many teenagers face, in a way that is open and informative. TV Land is a channel that offers family shows that even date back to the ‘50s. One of the shows offered on the Nickelodeon network is Dora the Explorer. A very popular show for younger kids, Dora is not only entertaining but it also teaches kids Spanish in the process. Another great channel for kids is Discovery Kids- a spin-off of the established Discovery channel that offers informative pieces on science and history. According to their website, kids.discovery.com, Kids offers 45 quality, TV-Y7 shows. A part of their programming is an after-school program block called Animal Afternoons. The block offers entertaining shows while also bringing an educational aspect- teaching kids the concept of scientific exploring and biology. But, when talking about the apex of educational and informative programming, look no further than the programming offered on public television, specifically, PBS.
Public Broadcasting took off shortly after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. PBS launched in 1970, and with it, a children’s show called “Sesame Street.” ccording to Uchikoshi, in the 40 years it has been on the air, Sesame Street has been viewed by more than 250 million Americans. Much of the reason that number is so high is because as a broadcast station, PBS has 99% penetration in U.S households, according to Linda Simensky of PBS. Sesame Street teaches kids basic English grammar and mathematics, giving preschoolers a head start on phonics. The show introduces viewers to letters and numbers through colorful puppets and human actors as well. Count Dracula helps kids with numbers. Elmo entertained kids with his imagination and exploring traits. Bert and Ernie, among other things taught kids how to play with others. The show has been very successful in developing kids vocabulary. According to studies, children between the ages of 3 and 3.5, who were frequent viewers of Sesame Street, preformed significantly better on vocabulary tests at the age of 5 than those kids who had not regularly watched Sesame Street.
One the most influential in not only children’s television, but public television is Fred Rogers, or most recognizable to most as Mister Rogers. Rogers appeared before the United States SenateSubcommittee on Communications in 1969 to raise money for the newly-minted PBS, and umbrella organization, the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. After year’s of producing various shows designed for children,
Rogers’ show Mister Rogers Neighborhood became a staple on the new network, PBS. Mister Rogers Neighborhood consisted of many segments. Shows usually consisted of Rogers visiting various places like hospitals and factories to music halls and scientific laboratories. Each episode had a theme like “First day of school.” And who could forget Mister Rogers tying his shoes at the end of each episode: “Won’t you be- my neighbor?” His show was meant to be inviting to kids and that’s exactly what it was. Mister Rogers Neighborhood aired 895 episodes from 1968 to 2001. Fred Rogers, one of the pioneers in children’s television, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom shortly before his death from Stomach Cancer on February 27, 2003.
So, where is children’s programming headed? The Children’s Television Act of 1990 has not worked. Since the internet explosion and the innovation of Digital Video Recording, or DVR, the advertising and content requirements of the CTA are extremely hard to enforce. Kids can now watch whatever they want, however they want, whenever they want it. New legislation should be passed. According to my FOIA request from the FCC, the FCC had a 2009 budget of almost 350 million dollars. There is ample man power and funding to make change possible. New legislation is needed concerning children’s programming. The movement should follow the prior leadership of Fred Rogers- Yes, shows should entertain kids, but why can’t they be educational and informative at the same time? The children of today will soon be the leaders of tomorrow, and that’s why sufficeint and quality television should be essential.
It weems as if children's programming has absolutely taken a back seat to legit, informative children's television. I remember the days of Mister Rogers and Sesame Street and classic Nickelodeon. The other day I was surfing TV and I saw on Disney that they were drinking out of party cups and dropping sexual enuendos. Is this appropriate for their demographic? Absolutely not. I want to investigate the Federal laws on childrens television. Try to understand how it has evolved since I was a 'youngin. It's
