Children's Television and Censorship

Definition: Television programs designed primarily to be watched by children

Significance: Television programs in general, and especially children’s programming, are among the most highly regulated forms of entertainment

Since it first became popular in the early 1950s, television has been under close scrutiny from a number of sources. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a government agency appointed by the president, was created in 1934 to oversee broadcast media. The National Association of Broadcasters, created in 1952, set up a series of standards for radio and television broadcasts. The various networks and cable stations also have their own standards.

Throughout most of its history, television was dominated by its commercial aspects. Programming was determined on the basis of how well it would sell products to its audience. Generally, and especially after about 1970, the FCC has taken the stand that, in most cases, television is self-regulating: Sponsors will give the public what they want; thus if enough people object to a television program, it will be taken off the air because it will not be commercially successful.

The major battle in the regulation of television programming has been between those who insist the medium is protected by the free-speech clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution and those who insist that television has a responsibility to act in the public interest. An interesting test of this question came in 1973, when the FCC ruled that WBAI, a New York City radio station, could be fined for airing comedian George Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words” monologue, which contains obscene words. The Supreme Court heard the case in 1979 and ruled in favor of the FCC, in effect determining that radio and television were not protected by the First Amendment.

This ruling was based upon the conclusion that television and radio could easily be seen and heard by children at all hours of the day and night. Thus, a principle was established that the First Amendment was limited when it came to media to which children had access. Carlin’s routine, however, was a rare instance. Radio, and especially television, had already adapted standards that were puritanical in many ways.

Early Television Programming

In the early 1950s, there was little television aimed directly at children. Early children’s programming consisted mostly of old cartoons that had originally been shown in theaters; informational programs for children were occasionally carried on educational channels. The first really popular children’s program was probably The Mickey Mouse Club , first broadcast in 1955. With the enormous success of this show, sponsors began to realize that there was a large potential audience of children. The immediate result was a large number of cartoons shown on Saturday mornings, a time at which few adults but many children were watching television.

During “prime time”—the evenings—most television programming was aimed at a massive audience, including both adults and children. In the 1950s and early 1960s, however, this seldom caused problems in censoring content. The most controversial subject matter in films of the time was sexual content, and this was virtually absent from early television. In the early situation comedies, married couples invariably slept in separate beds, and words such as “pregnant” were never spoken.

It was not until the mid-1970s that this situation changed significantly. Actual sexual acts were still not shown, except on a few premium cable services, but partial nudity, sexual suggestions, and prolonged kissing became common. There was some objection to such content, especially from religious fundamentalist groups, but the objections were never acted upon in any significant way by the FCC. In most cases, the First Amendment was considered to be more important than the supposed need to protect children from such content.

The Battle over Television Violence

Violence has been a mainstay of television since its beginning. Westerns, war films, and slapstick comedy were among the most popular early programs. Children’s cartoons were almost universally violent. Objections to violence first began to be heard in the late 1960s, especially after the 1968 assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. Action for Children’s Television (ACT) assumed an early position of leadership in opposing violence on television.

Studies of the effects of televised violence on children have had varied results. Most of the evidence points to a correlation between the amount of violent television children watch and antisocial activity, but this does not necessarily prove a cause-and-effect relationship. It has often been suggested that children who are already antisocial for other reasons are more likely to watch violent shows, so that the cause and effect may actually be the reverse of what those opposed to television violence would suggest. It has also been theorized that there may actually be an inverse effect: Watching fictional violence may allow children to release their frustrations vicariously, making them less likely to harm others.

In the 1990s, television stations began to announce warnings of violent content on television programs, and a computerized V-chip that would allow parents to screen out violent programs was developed. These partial solutions were objected to by both sides in the debate. Those opposed to violence suggested that announcing violent content might encourage children to watch programs, and the networks objected that the V-chip was a violation of the First Amendment.

Sexual Stereotypes

In early television programs, families were generally idealized according to traditional standards. Women were typically mothers or housewives; at most, they might be employed out of the house in clerical positions. Men were the heads of the household, had all the best jobs, and were more educated than their wives. This situation did not change significantly until the 1970s, when programs began to deliberately flout such stereotypes. A prime example was the 1980s comedy Who’s the Boss?, which featured a male housekeeper employed by a female executive.

Nevertheless, men continued to dominate the airwaves, and women still tended to have more menial roles. In children’s programming, depictions of boys greatly outnumbered those of girls. Commercial realities are often cited as an explanation of this phenomenon: Since men tended to have more economic power than women, and since boys tended to be more assertive than girls, programming was often aimed primarily at a male audience. This has changed slightly over time. Several children's television shows, including Dora the Explorer, feature female leads, but, according to the Geena Davis Institute, less than 31 percent of the characters featured in television shows aimed at children are girls or women.

Public Television and Cable Networks

A final question to be considered is the quality of children’s programming. Apart from eliminating violence and providing better images of minority groups, organizations such as ACT have attempted to improve children’s programming by decreasing its commercial aspect. Public television, supported by government funds, was the first attempt to remedy the situation. Programs such as Sesame Street became enormously popular and were judged by many to be educationally sound and without violence or sexual content.

Nickelodeon, originally conceived as a cable network aimed entirely at children, was another attempt to improve children’s programming. At first, this network was commercial free, relying entirely on fees paid by local cable companies. After a few years, however, Nickelodeon began to accept commercial advertising, thus raising protests that the network’s original objectives had been forgotten.

The advent of alternative platforms for watching television programs and movies, such as tablet computers and smartphones, has enabled parents not only to regulate the content that their children are viewing but also to largely avoid the commercials and advertisements that are a mainstay of both network and cable television. However, these platforms also make it easy for children to access content, which cannot always be regulated as thoroughly as their access to television.

Bibliography

Barcus, Earle F. Images of Life on Children’s Television: Sex Roles, Minorities, and Families. New York: Praeger, 1983. Print.

Comstock, George, and Haejung Paik. Television and the American Child. San Diego: Academic, 1991. Print.

Libert, Robert M., and Joyce Sprafkin. The Early Window: Effects of Television on Children and Youth. 3rd ed. New York: Pergamon, 1988. Print.

Melody, William. Children’s Television: The Economics of Exploitation. New Haven: Yale UP, 1973. Print.

Minow, Newton N., and Craig L. LaMay. Abandoned in the Wasteland: Children, Television, and the First Amendment. New York: Hill, 1995. Print.

Walsh, Mark, and Sarah D. Sparks. "Terrain Shifts for Children's TV Programming." Education Week 35.2 (2015): 1–14. Education Source. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

Weber, Bruce. "Peggy Charren, Children’s TV Crusader, Dies at 86." The New York Times, 22 Jan. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/arts/peggy-charren-childrens-tv-crusader-is-dead-at-86.html. Accessed 29 Apr. 2018.