Action for Children's Television (ACT)

From 1967 until 1992, Action for Children's Television (ACT) served as an advocacy group that fought for high-quality children's television programming. ACT's first meeting was held in December 1967 in the Boston home of Peggy Charren, the group's driving force. The group was formally constituted in 1968. Although ACT was often portrayed as “just” a group of housewives, it was, in fact, built on the corporate model, with annual reports, yearly audits, and a board of directors with legal and financial expertise. Its members, primarily women, represented a wide range of professional experience. ACT was disbanded in 1992 when Charren stepped down as director. However, during its 25 years of activity, the organization was central to the debates on children's television.

During its first years, ACT commissioned research, wrote grants, and gained national attention. One early event involved the picketing of a local television station to restore the popular children's program, Captain Kangaroo. The event, complete with entertainment, children, and balloons, led to the return of the program and national media coverage for ACT. Within two years, the group had grown to more than 1,000 members and had formed alliances with other national organizations, such as the National Parent Teacher Association.

The organization's most significant contribution began in the early 1970s, when it filed a petition for rule making with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) outlining the problems with children's television and asking for (1) no sponsorships or commercials on children's television; (2) no host selling or product tie-ins during children's television; and (3) a minimum of 14 hours per week of age-specific programming. This petition was given the docket number 19142 and remained open for almost 14 years. As a result, for the first time in broadcast history, the FCC held broadcasters accountable for children's programming. From Docket 19142 came a series of task forces, hearings, and memoranda. But whereas previous FCC commissioners had made some attempts to regulate children's television, Mark Fowler, chair of the FCC in 1983, believed in reliance on marketplace regulation—change brought about by market demand rather than by government regulation. Finally, after little definitive action, the docket was closed in December 1983. Although little regulation was instituted while the docket was open, ACT had established the importance (and the lack) of quality in children's television. Once the docket was closed, the debate moved to Congress. Here, over a period of nearly 10 years, ACT lobbied representatives, urging them to introduce legislation in the Senate and the House obligating broadcasters to fulfill their public service responsibilities to the child audience. Although a bill that passed in 1988 was subjected to a pocket veto by President Reagan, the Children's Television Act (CTA) was eventually passed in late 1990 and put into law.

Whereas other advocacy groups called for control of content, ACT saw such control as a violation of First Amendment freedoms. At the core of ACT's argument was a belief in broadcasters' legal responsibility to [Page 2]serve the public according to the 1934 Communications Act, which allowed and licensed broadcasters to use the airwaves in return for serving the public's interest. ACT's attempts to bring change both through the Federal Communications Commission and later through Congress were grounded in this philosophy. The Children's Television Act of 1993 resonates with the 1970 petition, which asked for age-specific programming, a commitment of programming hours, and limits to advertising on children's television, and was based on a belief of broadcasters' responsibility to the child audience.

...