UCC - Children's advocates file brief to safeguard children on the airwaves

[Worldwide Faith News]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barb Powell
Press Contact
United Church of Christ-OC, Inc.
Phone: (216) 736-2175
E-Mail: powellb at ucc.org

Tuesday, June 10, 2008


Children's advocates file brief to safeguard children on the airwaves


WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of children's 
advocates on June 9 filed an amicus brief in the 
U.S. Supreme Court to protect the laws and rules 
that safeguard children on the nation's airwaves.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, Benton 
Foundation, Children Now, National Institute on 
Media and the Family, National Parent Teacher 
Association (PTA), and United Church of Christ 
Office of Communication, Inc. (OC, Inc.), filed 
the brief in FCC et al. v. Fox Television 
Stations, Inc. et al., No. 07-582, a case 
involving the use of vulgar expletives on the 
airwaves. The brief was filed in order "to 
protect the important legal principals at the 
root of the laws and rules safeguarding 
children," said Cheryl Leanza, policy director of OC, Inc.

"We take no position on the underlying indecency 
case; rather, we ask the Supreme Court to be 
careful not to inadvertently endanger its prior 
precedents that support the Children’s 
Television Act of 1990 and the FCC rules that implement it," said Leanza.

The coalition filed in order to ensure that the 
Court continues to recognize the constitutional 
legitimacy of the FCC's statutory public interest 
oversight of television broadcasters.

In addition, the coalition seeks to educate the 
Court about the V-chip, explaining the 
limitations of the technology and its 
implementation. "The lack of public awareness 
about the V-chip, as well as the inconsistent 
adoption of the ratings system by the television 
industry, have prevented the V-chip from being as 
effective as we had hoped in enabling parents to 
make informed choices about their children's 
television viewing," said Christy Glaubke, director of Children Now.

"Because the power to rate programs rests 
exclusively with each individual industry member, 
how each programmer assigns ratings is left 
entirely to its discretion," cites the brief.

"Television programming that incorporates 
education and information can be a positive 
factor in student achievement by engaging 
children in learning that is also entertaining. 
That is why we strongly supported the 
Children’s Television Act of 1990 (CTA) and the 
1996 regulations interpreting the CTA," said Jan 
Harp Domene, PTA national president. “It is the 
responsibility of everyone – parents, teachers, 
broadcast and cable media, and producers of 
children's television shows – to support, 
monitor, and improve the quality of programs and productions."

On behalf of the coalition, the brief was 
prepared by Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP and by the 
Institute for Public Representation of Georgetown University Law Center.

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