Some remember Channel One, which certain of us fought ferociously when it came creeping into schoolrooms in the Eighties. We lost that fight (obviously), and Channel One won, as did its corporate adverisers. (Wikipedia has a decent entry on that venture, which is still going strong, as desperate schools continue to sign on.)
And now here's something very like it: BusRadio, which takes the captive-schoolkid-audience to a whole new level. The sort of commercialism aimed at children--some as young as six--is an abomination, which is why such pitching is against the law in other countries. So please tell the FCC to change this practice in the only tolerable way: i.e., to ban it. MCM <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=zvG7QfZyUEVSEM%2BKbMG3Zb5jL1Kh16Mu>The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Reclaiming Childhood from Corporate Marketers <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QdI3Hiu6WKtOsl8I7J2t%2Br5jL1Kh16Mu>Three years ago, a newly formed company called BusRadio brazenly announced their intention to "take student-targeted marketing to the next level." Their plan? Install "free" radio equipment on school buses across the country so that children would be forced to listen to advertisements, and to promotions for BusRadio's commercial website, on their way to and from school. To a captive audience of students as young as six, BusRadio has promoted the highly sexualized Bratz dolls, television shows such as 90210 that glamorize teen sex and alcohol use, and a service that encourages children to look up the answers to their homework on the Internet instead of using their schoolbooks. That's why CCFC has made turning off BusRadio one of our featured campaigns. We successfully organized CCFC members in school districts around the country to stop BusRadio in their communities. Now, <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=NQTe2N%2B6sd0QAiMb399BbL5jL1Kh16Mu>with your help, we have a chance to turn BusRadio off for good. At <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=xSkp3Bh%2F%2FCvkrdG%2Ffge8u75jL1Kh16Mu>CCFC's request, the Federal Communications Commission will be reporting to Congress whether specially designed commercial radio broadcasts for school buses are in the public interest. As part of this proceeding, the FCC is now calling for public comment. CCFC is submitting extensive comments that detail the problems inherent in advertising on school buses and the hyper-commercial content of BusRadio. But we also need to demonstrate that parents all over the country are concerned about this commercial intrusion into the lives of schoolchildren. That's why the FCC needs to hear from you, too. <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9Wt0oWeIOKtvPV6sOVIvEhvTgx3w8V6o>Please click here to tell the FCC that listening to ads should not be a compulsory part of the school day. Submitting a comment only takes a couple of minutes (we'll walk you through the process), and will help us reclaim our school buses from corporate marketers. And please encourage others to submit comments to the FCC by forwarding this email or <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OwDbduDVVF50OtnkTW29A75jL1Kh16Mu>clicking here. Thanks, The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Help us continue to protect the children you love from companies like BusRadio by <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Tw4mAwOlo5ujkQwnhSp17b5jL1Kh16Mu>supporting CCFC's fiscal year-end campaign. We rely on you because we will not take corporate funding. <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=IeRl9%2BAchsD1m5g7NnLc8r5jL1Kh16Mu>Click here to make your tax deductible contribution. <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=l3EfVMgrSYOR%2B78OwG%2FquL5jL1Kh16Mu>Unsubscribe | <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9OO5%2BddYkrTI1ejtLUYqZxvTgx3w8V6o>Donate | <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9we7zy2VdaHwy%2FvmC4CA575jL1Kh16Mu>CCFC Events | <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=nax4q3OOI6Sicw2NH3pNmxvTgx3w8V6o>Forward to a friend |<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=o1SJVvjLn7vXjPmoMA4DfL5jL1Kh16Mu>CCFC on Facebook | <mailto:[email protected]>Contact CCFC The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood A Program of the Judge Baker Children's Center 53 Parker Hill Ave Boston, MA 02120 <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2J2sOVT1%2BOxs%2FfGy3krvFL5jL1Kh16Mu>www.commercialfreechildhood.org --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [email protected] OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
