Coalition for Quality Children's Media

SMART TELEVISION ALLIANCE LAUNCHED TO HELP PARENTS ACCESS EDUCATIONAL CHILDREN’S TV IN RESPONSE TO VIOLENT AND INDECENT PROGRAMMING

Nationwide Coalition To Offer Resources, Tools and Recommendations from Children’s Media Experts, Parents and Teachers

WASHINGTON D.C. — October 16, 2007 — Leading nonprofit organizations representing millions of American parents, teachers, nurses and children announced the formation of the Smart Television Alliance (STA) to promote quality television content for children. STA is being created under the leadership of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest professional organization with 3.2 million members; National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the nation’s largest volunteer child advocacy association with 5.5 million members ; and the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO), a coalition of more than 200 organizations representing over ten million women.

“In today’s media saturated world, parents and caregivers need quality information from reliable sources that they can use to make smart choices about what is appropriate for their families,” said Jan Harp Domene, PTA national president and STA co-chair .  “By uniting a diverse group of nationally recognized nonprofit organizations with a shared commitment to improving what kids watch on TV, we will help parents make informed choices about what television programming their families watch.  We want to make screen time healthy and educational, gathering the best information from a variety of trusted sources, including children’s media experts, educators and parents.”

“The fact that the average child spends more time watching TV than in the classroom means parents need to make smart viewing choices to help foster learning at home,” said NEA President Reg Weaver, STA co-chair. “Like it or not, TV viewing remains the number one source of media consumption by children of all ages. The alliance will help parents make more informed decisions about their child’s TV consumption and find ways to turn it into a learning tool.”

STA will encourage families to use information from trusted sources to identify shows that inform and educate children and to utilize technology to control what is on television and when it is watched.  NEA members also will contribute information, as well as offering specific tips from educators for parents to use television as a learning opportunity. 

“ You don’t have to be an expert to realize there is a lot of inappropriate television programming all too easily accessible by kids”, said Susan Scanlan, c hair of NCWO and co-chair of STA, “But there also is excellent programming and easy to use technology.  Parents need to know about the good alternatives for their kids to watch.  STA will focus our energy on promoting the best of kid’s TV, how to find it easily, and how to watch it on families’ timetables, not the broadcast schedule,” added Scanlan. 

The initial organizations participating in the coalition include After s chool Alliance, Association for Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies, Coalition for Quality Children's Media: KIDS FIRST!, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, National Council of Women’s Organizations, National Education Association, National Military Family Association, National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), United American Nurses, WE Inc. and YWCA USA.

Children’s television programming recommendations will come from nonprofit experts including Parent’s Choice Foundation, Common Sense Media, Parent’s Television Council, member organizations, as well as from parents and caregivers by means of an interactive Web site and Smart News , STA’s twice monthly free newsletter.

Initial funding to support STA will come from TiVo Inc., the leader and pioneer in digital video recorder technology, as part of the company’s continued commitment to helping families identify and manage television content in their homes.

For more information on STA and to receive Smart News , please visit: www.smarttelevisionalliance.org

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About Smart Television Alliance (STA)

The Smart Television Alliance is a new coalition of national nonprofit organizations united by a shared commitment to improving what our nation’s children see on television. Through online tools, resources and children’s television programming recommendations from expert media nonprofit organizations, STA seeks to help parents and caregivers make smart choices about television viewing. By promoting the viewing of educational and informational programming, STA will build a market for more high quality children’s TV shows.  www.smarttelevisionalliance.org

About National Education Association (NEA)

The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. www.nea.org

About National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO)

The National Council of Women’s Organizations is a nonpartisan, nonprofit umbrella organization of women’s groups that collectively represent over eleven million women across the United States. The only national coalition of its kind, NCWO is a tax-exempt organization with twenty years' experience uniting American women's groups. www.womensorganizations.org

National Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

The National Parent Teachers Association comprises more than 5 million parents and other concerned adults devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of parent involvement in schools. PTA flourishes in more than 25,000 school communities nationwide by harnessing the energy and talents of millions of volunteers to be voices for all children; relevant resources for families and communities; and champions for the education and well-being of every child. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who is concerned about the education, health and welfare of children and youth. www.pta.org

The Coalition for Quality Children's Media / KIDS FIRST! is a national, nonprofit organization founded in 1991 whose mission is to teach children critical viewing skills and to increase the visibility and availability of quality children's media. The Coalition is a voluntary collaboration comprising more than 10,000 media professionals, lobbyists, policymakers, child advocates, educators, parents and families nationwide. www.kidsfirst.org

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