U. pledges to encourage participation in politics

Penn was one of 51 colleges to pledge its commitment to promoting student activism. While the age-old debate about whether television violences is making children more aggressive still rages on, researchers at Penn's Annenberg Public Policy Center say there may be some hope. According to four studies released last month at the APPC's Washington office, the number of children's television in 1999 has increased and these shows are of a higher quality than t.v. shows in previous studies. But despite the increasing care t.v. producers have recently made to make children's shows more educational and less violent, the studies also indicate that both parents and children have a low opinion of children's programming. "The good news is that children's television is getting better. But it's clear that there is still room for improvement," Penn communicatins lectureer and Annenberg researcher Emory Woodard said in a statement. The APPC surveyed 1,269 parents of 2- to 17-year olds and 303 of their children, ages 10 to 17, between April 20 and May 18. According to the nationwide survey, only 13.6 percent of parents and 24.5 percent of children had positive opinions of t.v. programming geared toward younger audiences. The study also found that only 6 percent of prime time programs are geared toward children, even though that is one of the times children are likely to be watching television. The study also looked at the Federal Communication Commision's "Three-Hour Rule," which stipulates that television broadcasters air at least three hours of "educational and informational" television for children each week. "Some of the improvement in children's television may be attributed to the FCC's 'Three-Hour Rule,'" said Amy Jordan, a senior Annenberg researcher and director of the APPC's children's television analysis. The study found that almost all t.v. stations are airing their three hours during times in which children are awake and in the audience and that many of the programs did have educational value. But, according to the study, over 21 percent of programs with the E/I rating contain little or no educational value. "There is still substantial cnfusion about what constitues educational programming," said Annenberg research fellow Kelly Schmitt. The reports were released as part of the APPC's fourth annual Conference on Children and Television. The APPC was founded in 1994, when Penn alumnus Walter Annenberg donated $20 million to the school. The center is based in Washington and at Penn, where it will occupy a portion of the Annenberg Center where the Annenberg School Theater previously held performing arts shows.

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