home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- <text id=93TT1174>
- <title>
- Mar. 15, 1993: Blackboard Jumble
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1993
- Mar. 15, 1993 In the Name of God
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- THE WEEK, Page 22
- SOCIETY
- Blackboard Jumble
- </hdr>
- <body>
- <p>The FCC redefines educational TV--Fred Flintstone need not
- apply
- </p>
- <p> Amid the video junk food of children's television are still
- such educational entrees as Sesame Street, Mister Rogers'
- Neighborhood, G.I. Joe...G.I. JOE? Who would call a weekly
- cartoon plug for war toys educational? Your local TV
- broadcaster, that's who. A 1990 law forces stations seeking
- license renewal to show a commitment to educational
- programming, but some have stymied the legislation by solemnly
- labeling such frivolous fare as The Flintstones, The Jetsons and
- G.I. Joe "educational."
- </p>
- <p> The Federal Communications Commission may have had enough.
- The agency has announced it will "seek comment on whether rules
- might be revised to serve the educational needs of children."
- But the FCC is already hinting displeasure with current
- standards for kidvid, noting "little change in available
- programming directed at children's needs" and insisting that
- "the primary goal of children's programming should be
- educational and informational, with entertainment as a
- secondary goal."
- </p>
-
- </body>
- </article>
- </text>
-
-