Part One
Markey Wants to Put Kids TV On Ad Diet
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/16/2007 5:56:00 PM
If one powerful legislator has his way, some educational children's programming would not count toward a TV station's three-hour minimum of such programming per week, and fast food and snack food ads would be banned from kids shows by the FCC.
That was one of the suggestions from House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and commissioners Deborah Tate and Michael Copps.
The three were instrumental in the creation of the Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity, a government/private industry partnership on ways to combat childhood obesity through changes in the media's marketing of snack and fast foods.
Markey wants to make sure that the task force. While Markey praised "purely voluntary steps, he said that he didn't think "sprinkling public service announcements for exercise and good nutrition into an avalanche of television advertising for unhealthy foods will be adequate.
Actually, the media effort goes beyond that to include exercise initiative and pledges by major advertisers to reduce the number of snack and fast food ads in kids shows, as well as employing iconic characters such as SpongeBob to do some host selling of spinach and other veggies.
Markey said the FCC has the authority and the "affirmative obligation" to "examine whether placing limitations on certain food advertising to children would further the public interest," which Markey clearly thinks it is.
He suggests that unless there is a "dramatic and swift elimination of advertisements for "junk food" during kids shows, the FCC should reduce the number of commercial minutes allowed--currently capped at 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12 on weekends, and discount educational shows from counting toward a station's FCC-friendly kids quotas.
"If a "core" educational program tells kids to eat healthy foods and exercise, but the advertisements aired during the program encourage them to eat Twinkies and Fruit Loops, the ads have the potential to undercut the educational and informative value," he argues.
Markey cites his Children's Television Act as giving the FCC the power to restrict the ads.
Markey gave the three until May 4 to tell him 1) whether they had examined other countries' efforts to combat childhood obesity, 2) whether they think the commission should limit or eliminate food ads on TV watched by kids, 3) whether they supported disqualifying educational shows with "junk food" ads from the FCC-friendly moniker, 4) and what other ideas they have for flexing the FCC's muscle to ensure station licensees aren't making the obesity and poor nutrition problems worse.
Part 2
Martin: FCC May Need To Regulate Food Ads
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/14/2007 1:22:00 PM
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin--with Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate concurring--says the FCC may have to take steps to put additional restrictions on TV food advertising to kids. These restrictions could include limiting or eliminating the advertisements if the government/industry task force does not come up with sufficient self-regulation.
They also said that any such regulation should target cable, where they argue the marketing of snack foods that "exacerbates the problems of childhood obesity and poor nutrition." They added that any proposed solution that does not include cable regulations "would be inappropriate and ineffective."
The comments came in a letter to House Telecommunications And Internet Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey in response to Markey's questions about the FCC's implementation of the Children's TV Act, which Markey spearheaded.
Martin and Tate also said that the FCC would consider Markey's proposal to disqualify shows that air "junk food" ads from meeting the FCC's three-hour weekly educational programming minimum if the task force-- of which Martin and Tate are members-- did not come up with sufficient self-regulation.
Markey also asked the FCC to open an inquiry on food marketing, which Martin and Tate said they would consider after the task force had produced its recommendations. Recommendations are expected this summer.
Markey, in response to their letter, suggested the commission shouldn’t wait until then.
“While the recently-formed Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity may in the future provide insightful recommendations for the television industry and the FCC to consider in confronting this issue, any proposals it makes will ultimately be non-binding," Markey said in a response statement.
"Further, the ongoing work of the Task Force does not relieve the Commission of its own statutory role and obligation to safeguard children and the public interest. I continue to believe that the Commission should begin the process of developing a public record on problematic food advertising to children. By starting such a proceeding now, the Commission can assure the public that it is developing an adequate, and timely, policy response to an important health issue.”
Markey has also written Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps, who is a member of the Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity, for his thoughts on the subject. Copps said he supported a rulemaking limiting children's food advertising as well as considering disqualifying shows with "junk food" ads from the FCC's educational/informational category.
Dan Jaffe, executive VP of the Association of National Advertisers, by contrast praised the commissioners for focusing on the task force before turning to regulation.
"I am pleased that in both letters, the commissioners have stated that they want to allow the obesity task force to have a chance to complete its work."
He said he was "a little disappointed" in both letters for the fact that there was "virtually no recognition of the enormous effort that the advertising and media community have taken to help combat obesity problems in the U.S.," making it seem, he said, as though "we are starting from ground zero when in fact the ad community has been the leading responder to the obesity crisis in the U.S.
Markey and the commissioners were in agreement that the U.S. government could look at international efforts, but Jaffe says that if they do that, they will find that the data "strongly argues that ad restrictions don't work. "A recent study from Sweden has shown explosive growth of obesity in that country while they have a total ban on children's advertising," he said.
Jaffe called the FCC signal that cable was due for restrictions "the most intriguing but concerning aspect" of the letters.
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