Stan Clark had expected a routine evening. As the program director of a television station
In a middle-sized eastern city, he always had his ear to the ground for any rumbles of discontent
That might become serious during the period when station licenses were reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The invitation to speak to a local parent-teacher association (PTA) on the subject “Children and Television” hardly seemed threatening. He anticipated the usual complaints about kids logging more time watching television than studying. He would agree and would joke that this seemed to be a problem in his house as well.
Well, if there was too much flack, he could always talk about the simple economics of television---expensive time and programming supported by advertisers at no direct cost to the viewers. No one except the lunatic fringe seriously wanted to cut back on the total hours of television available. And there was always cable or satellite, with fine alternatives such as Disney, Nickelodeon, and the Learning Channel---of course viewers needed to pay for those. Certainly things could be improved, he thought, but, all in all, this is a workable system….
Stan’s speech went according to plan until he opened the floor to questions. What happened then was something for which his administrative position and socioeconomic background had not prepared him---a cry for help from those struggling to make the family budget work. Perhaps it was the time of the year---early December---but a large part of the audience came alive with this question from a parent: “Can’t you do anything about the stuff our kids see advertised? The ads drive me nuts!”