Growing Pains: Children's Television in the New Regulatory Environment

Abstract

This article is a review of research conducted in 1996 and 1997 designed to assess the current climate of the children's television industry and the impact of public policy initiatives on the availability, quality, and viewership of children's television. Researchers evaluated all children's programs from the 1996-97 season available in one large market and analyzed a subsample of commercial broadcasters' educational and informational programs. Parents' perceptions of children's television offerings are explored through survey data collected in the spring of 1997. Broadcasters' conceptions of the child audience (culled from interviews with industry insiders) provide some explanation for the lack of quality in children's programming available today. Recommendations for improving support of and commitment to children's educational programming are offered in light of 1997 Federal Communications Commission regulations mandating three hours a week of educational television for children.

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