A report released at a forum I attended this morning was titled "Educationally/Insufficient? An Analysis of the Availability & Educational Quality of Children's E/I Programming." The writers could have done away with the question mark.
E/I is supposed to stand for Educational/Informational. The label appears on TV shows that supposedly meet the Federal Communications Commission requirements to ensure all children have access to educational TV. But most parents have no idea what E/I stands for, as researcher Amy Jordan pointed out this morning.
Now it's questionable as to whether the E/I label – when it does appear, which is rarely – is a dependable marker of good programming for kids in the first place. The report, sponsored by Children Now, a children's advocacy group in California, makes some scalding conclusions about the state of educational programming on broadcast channels today. (The authors did not analyze shows on cable television, since they are not covered by the FCC rules, nor did they examine the offerings on Qubo, the new digital broadcast channel available in only small segments of the market.)
Among the report's conclusions:
Only one in eight E/I shows can be considered high-quality.
Over the past several years, the number of high-quality shows has decreased.
TV stations are complying with the bare minimum of the government's requirement to broadcast 3 hours of educational programming per week.
The E/I label is being applied to programming that contains aggression, both physical and social.
"This should serve as a wake-up call that we're not doing all we can to meet the needs of America's children," said Jonathan Adelstein, one of the FCC commissioners in attendance.
What needs to change so that high-quality children's shows can flourish on over-the-air TV? That's what will continue to be the crux of the debate. Even among the children's advocates at today's briefing, the answers differ. Many wonder how the incoming Obama Administration will approach the issue, and whether a re-writing of the regulations is in the cards. Children Now released several recommendations this morning that could be acted upon.
The shred of good news coming from today's forum is that some broadcast-based shows do meet high standards for quality. Eight shows were highlighted as "exemplary": Sesame Street, Beakman's world, Between the Lions, 3-2-1 Penguins, Cyberchase, The Suite Life of Jack and Cody, Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman and Teen Kids News.
Some great shows didn't make the list, simply because they weren't part of Children Now's analysis. I'll make a plug for one of my employers here by saying: Check out Parents' Choice's
list of winners for other examples of programs that are both fun to watch and designed with high standards in mind.
