The help thread!

[FallenTraveler]

Hi everyone, I'm here to desperately ask for advice on finding information.

My question: I'm doing a research paper on cartoon shows of the 80's,90's and the oughts (2000's). I could have sworn a law had been passed in the united states in the 80's that limited how much an animated show could "advertise" to its viewers. Or a law that only allotted certain amount of advertisement time that many shows counted as. If anyone knows what this is, or has links to info about it that would be amazing!

So do you have any questions that you are dying to have answered? Maybe we can all help answer any of those burning questions you may have.

 

[Frezzato]

snip

You lucky so-and-so! I LOVE writing and researching!

Anyway, have you heard of Google Scholar [http://scholar.google.com/]? It's full of (published?) research papers and related articles.

I believe what you're referring to is the Children's Television Act of 1990.


The reason I think you should check out the Children's Television Act is because of this quote from the Advertising Educational Foundation [http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/3005]:

In 1990, The Children's Television Act was passed and remains in effect today. Interpreted and enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), it applies to the networks, local broadcasters and cable operators. The bill stipulates that for:

Ages 12 and under: The amount of advertising aired during children's programming should be limited to 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays -- still more than for adult prime time;

Ages 16 and under: The FCC is required to consider the amount of educational programming that a broadcaster presents in approving license renewals and examine the role of "program-length commercials." (4)

The FCC subsequently ruled that a program based on a toy or children's product cannot contain advertising for that product within the program, although it may directly follow the program. "Program-length commercials," however, are not prohibited for fear of jeopardizing positive shows like Sesame Street, despite the fact that it has inspired countless lines of toys.

Holy smokes, this might be the entire verbiage [http://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Orders/1996/fcc96335.htm] of the act. Caution: legalese.

That wasn't the original Act. I'll keep looking to see if the full text is online somewhere.

 

[Frezzato]

Here's a review of the act [http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=fclj], written by a Diane Aden Hayes in 1994, who I believe worked for the FCC.

 

[Frezzato]

I think this is as close as you're going to get to viewing the entirety of the act. Honestly, they probably haven't converted it for online viewing yet, even though it's from 23 years ago.

Official, quotable FCC summary [http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/childtv.pdf].

Congressional record of the bill [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d101:HR01677@@L&summ2=m&].

 

[FallenTraveler]

snip

Holy cow! That is awesome! Thank you so much for the help.

Google scholar, huh? I will have to start using that then.

 

[Frezzato]

snip

Holy cow! That is awesome! Thank you so much for the help.

Google scholar, huh? I will have to start using that then.

Glad to help any time.

FYI, regarding that source I identified as Diane Aden Hayes, I don't think she ever worked for the FCC. She did attend the Indiana University School of Law [http://www.linkedin.com/pub/diane-aden-hayes/5/57/918] though, which is the publisher of that document, the Federal Communications Law Journal of the Maurer School of Law.