This week is the "perfect storm" of children's entertainment conferences -- Toy Fair, Engage Expo and the Kidscreen Summit. Executives, creators and analysts representing merchandise, TV and digital screen media, music and books, and more have descended on New York to see what's new and debate the state of our industries. Simultaneously, the US Congress will be debating what could be a disastrous setback for children's education, engagement and -- yes -- entertainment: the 'zero-ing out' of all funds for US public broadcasting.
Children's media is an incredibly competitive business, playing for big stakes. Still, in children's more so than any other part of media, competitors vie for quality as well as ratings, sales or financial success.
Many of the hallmarks of quality for which they aim were set first by the Public Broadcasting Service, and that's why I am advising my colleagues -- even if they've never created for PBS -- to lend their support to the "170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting" campaign and to contact their Congressional representatives to express support for public service media. I'd advise the same to every parent, even if their children watch more commercial than public TV, play more "Angry Birds" than "Super Why" apps, or visit nick.com more often than pbskids.org.
Imagine if Sesame Street had never pioneered its research methods that are adopted or adapted as the educational underpinning of virtually every preschool program today. Imagine if Barney had never proved that -- in preschool especially -- it's possible to do well by doing good. What if Fred Rogers had never stood up to Senator John Pastore and convinced him that TV need not be a vast wasteland?
Virtually everyone creating media for small children, in particular, has benefited from the leadership, risk and innovation of PBS, CPB and the local public service media outlets. Now-iconic TV series, games, websites, and the growing plethora of mobile apps for kids all bear traces in their DNA of a service created in the 1960s to be deeply educational, highly engaging, socially equitable, and cost-effective (public radio and TV, today, are still delivered for less than the cost of a cup of coffee per American per year).
For over 20 years, I have traveled the world looking for best practices in children's media. I've reached two conclusions. First, a country that doesn't get children's media right seldom uses media wisely for anyone; and second, the countries that get it right for kids are almost always those with the strongest and best-resourced public service media (e.g., the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Japan).
Whether you work in children's media, or whether you're the parent of a child who loves it, please take a moment to reach out to your Representative and urge full and fair support for public broadcasting.
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We need to revert to old limitations on the number of licenses one entity can hold in each market & nationally.
There should be an annual license fee for commercial broadcasters as well as anti-trust reform with regard to vertical & horizontal consolidation: arm's length & non-broadcaster held separate content providers except for news, sports,
The FCC should get part of its funding from the sales price when transferring license which will also allow full audit of the books.
Station scrutiny must stop being rubber stamped. Stations must again feel that material broadcast that harms the public idea marketplace may lose their license at renewal time.
The Public Airwaves should be owned by entities whose only job is broadcasting. Ownership by conglomerates with interests in other industrial areas should be discouraged, if not banned.
What about Dora the Explorer (Nickolodean)? Bob the Builder (British)? Handy Manny (Disney)? Veggie Tales (Big Idea Inc.)? I'm sure companies like Disney would love to fill the gap - and if you're worried the would try to cash in with toys, as yourself exactly how it could be worse than the Tickle-me-Elmo craze.
Regardless of your political views, it is impossible to contend that the government has to provide public broadcast programs because nobody else would. That argument made perfect sense in the days of AM (only) radio and three broadcast networks. It is patently absurd in the world of AM/FM/satellite/internet radio (plus podcasts), broadcast HD/Cable/Satellite/Fios televition, and, oh, the internet.
Times have changed, isn't it time your government did?
A petition with over 200,000 names already is still coming together, asking for Congressional support for PBS funding. You can add your name here:
http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=7121&id=16577-2932579-GI0uvbx&t=3
Thanks.
I hate pledge drives myself, which are as bad as commercials. The point is that you don't have to subsidize people who watch the channels I listed above, but we're all forced to subsidize PBS. Why is that a good system?
Ok that was intended as a poke in the eye. but really what is 'liberal' about PBS?
Nova a science show perhaps introducing ideas contrary to the book of Genesis? the news hour with BOTH (D) and (R) politicos (see Fox presenting (R) and (d) for comparison).
please give real examples of the 'liberal bias' on PBS, just saying it over and over and over again does not make it so.