Action for Children's Television was founded by Peggy Charren, Lillian Ambrosino, Evelyn Kaye Sarson and Judy Chalfen in Newton, Massachusetts, USA, in 1968 as a grassroots, nonprofit child advocacy group dedicated to improving the quality of television programming offered to children. Specifically, ACT's main goals were to encourage diversification in children's television offerings, to discourage overcommercialization of children's programming, and to eliminate deceptive advertising aimed at young viewers. ACT had up to 20,000 volunteer members, eight staff members, and an operational budget of $225,000 by the mid-1980s, but declined financially and to four staff members before disbanding in 1992. About 70% of funds came from the group's membership, while the rest came from foundation grants and fees from lectures and book sales.
History
The 1960s
ACT's initial focus was the Boston edition of the syndicated Romper Room, a children's show which promoted its toy products to its viewers. In the late 1960s, ACT also targeted Saturday morning cartoons that involved superheroes and violence, including The Herculoids,Space Ghost,Birdman and the Galaxy Trio,Super President and Fantastic Four. The group was responsible for driving these shows off the air by the start of the 1969-70 television season, and they were replaced by Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?,H.R. Pufnstuf,Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines, and other light comedy-fantasy programs.
The 1970s
In 1970, ACT petitioned the FCC to ban advertising from children's programming. In 1971, then President of ACT, Evelyn Kaye Sarson, presented the head of the FCC with a petition wrapped as a Christmas present asking for an end to advertising on all programs for children. In subsequent years, it sought a more limited prohibition, eliminating commercials for specific categories of products. In 1971, ACT challenged the promotion of vitamins to children. "One-third of the commercials were for vitamin pills, even though the bottles said, 'Keep out of reach of children' because an overdose could put them in a coma," said Charren. Responding to ACT's campaign, vitamin-makers voluntarily withdrew their advertising. In addition to petitioning for the FCC to ban advertising, ACT requested the FCC to publish a public notice of their guidelines for children's television. The guidelines included: "1. That there be a minimum of 14 hours programming for children of different ages each week, as a public service; 2. That there be no commercials on children’s programs; 3. That hosts on children’s shows do not sell." On October 16 and 17, 1970, ACT co-sponsored the First National Symposium on Children and Television. The Symposium’s theme was ‘Facts for Action’, which invited guests to attend panels discussing what was on television for children at the time. Mr. Fred Rogers gave the keynote speeches, ‘The Ecology of Childhood’, which examined the effects of television on children, and ‘Course of Action’, which discussed legal and political ideas that could be used to create change in the children’s television industry. In 1973, responding to concerns raised by ACT, the National Association of Broadcasters adopted a revised code limiting commercial time in children's programming to twelve minutes per hour. Additionally, the hosts of children's television programs were prohibited from appearing in commercials aimed at children. In 1977, ACT, together with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to ban television advertising targeted at children too young to understand the concept of selling, as well as advertising for high-sugar foods pitched at older children.
The 1980s and the 1990s
In 1981, then-President Ronald Reagan had appointed Mark S. Fowler as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. As Fowler, a longtime proponent of deregulation, had determined that children's television should be dictated by the marketplace, that year saw the cancellation of many long-standing and Emmy-winning shows such as Captain Kangaroo,Schoolhouse Rock,Kids Are People Too!,Animals, Animals, Animals, and the CBS Children's Film Festival, all of which ACT had vigorously fought to keep on the air. It also saw the debut of many toy-inspired programs, which ACT contended were nothing more than half-hour commercials: G. I. Joe,My Little Pony,The Transformers,M.A.S.K.,He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and the controversial Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. Throughout the 1980s, ACT criticized television programs that featured popular toys such as and He-Man, maintaining that they "blur the distinction between program content and commercial speech," and successfully barred Garbage Pail Kids from the air. It also opposed the proposed introduction of Channel One News, a television news show featuring advertiser-based programming, into the schools, an effort which met with only limited success. ACT brought many cases before the courts, including "Action for Children's Television v. FCC, 821 F.2d 741," often cited in media law. ACT's efforts culminated in the passage of the Children's Television Act of 1990, establishing formal guidelines for children's programming, including rules governing advertising, content and quantity. Co-founder Peggy Charren commented in 1995, "Too often, we try to protect children by doing in free speech."
