FCC'S ABERNATHY TEAMS WITH CONSUMER BUREAU ON KIDS TV PLAN
FCC Comr. Abernathy announced a new initiative to help parents wade through TV networks and programs to find shows that were age-appropriate for their children. Working with the Consumer & Govt. Affairs Bureau, Abernathy told a meeting of the Cable TV Public Affairs Assn. Tues. that she was working on a page for the FCC Web site where parents could go to get information explaining broadcasters’ children’s educational and information (EAI) requirements, links to stations’ family-friendly programs, information on how the V- chip and other blocking tools worked, and on the Commission’s indecency rules, as well as how to file an indecency complaint. Abernathy said the “Parents’ Page” should be available in a few weeks.
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Citing Nickelodeon, the ABC Family Channel, Discovery Kids, National Geographic and the History Channel, Abernathy said the advent of cable had brought a marked increase in family-friendly programming and in children’s programming options. She praised the cable industry for its commitment to children’s and public affairs programming, “especially during these challenging times.” But with an increase in children’s programming came an increase in other kinds of programming that wasn’t appropriate for kids, she said: “This means that cable operators and programmers have a responsibility to give parents the tools that they need to ensure that their children aren’t exposed to material that they think is unsuitable for them and to help parents and children understand messages that are being received over the television.”
Abernathy urged the cable industry to better advertise its children’s programming. “It’s phenomenal stuff that’s out there today and I think sometimes we fail to tap into it for our kids,” she said. She said she had talked recently with broadcasters on how they could educate parents about children’s programming through ads on shows that parents watched, clearer labeling and information on station Web sites.
Recent research by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that many parents didn’t know they had a V-chip in their sets or how to operate it or how the ratings system worked, Abernathy said (CD March 3 p1). “So why am I appealing to you? Because I really don’t want government making decisions about what kinds of programming should be available. I would rather empower parents to make their own personal decisions.”
Asked about a suggestion by Comr. Martin that perhaps it was time to bring back the old “family hour” of TV, Abernathy said she wanted to see family-friendly viewing all the time, not just in a given hour: “I'm all for family-friendly programming. I guess I go beyond simply identifying a particular time of day to wanting to make sure it’s available almost on demand.”
Abernathy also recently put out a consumer newsletter focusing on what to consider when purchasing a TV set for the digital age. It explains what a digital set is, what’s available now in terms of equipment and levels of service consumers can expect from each. “I think the worst-case scenario would be that investments are made and consumers spend quite a bit of money and are very dissatisfied,” she said. An NCTA spokesman said the association appreciated Abernathy’s “thoughtful suggestions,” would continue to seek ways to promote cable’s family-friendly programming and “looks forward to partnering” with her on that initiative.