Adopted November 1978 – Reviewed and deemed relevant March 2009 – Communications Commission
California State PTA fully supports the First Amendment and is opposed to and will continue to oppose government censorship of the media and will oppose any attempt at censorship by any organization or group.
California State PTA believes, however, that the First Amendment was not designed to protect the economic interests of broadcasters and/or advertisers. Because federal communication law requires television and radio broadcasters to broadcast in the “public interest, convenience and necessity,” and because the Children’s Television Act of 1990, Public Law 101-437 requires stations to air shows that “serve the educational and informational needs of children” and puts a limit on the number of minutes of ads per hour in children’s programs, it is the responsibility of station owners/management to provide programming meeting that criteria.
Although cable operators and cable programmers (networks) are generally less regulated, California State PTA supports similar standards for the cable industry to voluntarily provide responsible programming for children.
Parents should communicate their concerns about programming to broadcasters, networks and advertisers, and encourage them to provide educational and responsible programming for children and youth.
