Commercial Alert Praises Bush For Encouraging Children to Watch Less TV

[Gary Ruskin]

Commercial Alert 				September 15, 2000

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:		For More Information Contact:
Friday, September 15, 2000	Gary Ruskin (202) 296-2787
	
Commercial Alert Praises Bush For Encouraging Children to Watch Less TV

	Commercial Alert congratulated Republican presidential candidate George
W. Bush for encouraging students to read books instead of watching
television, and urged Bush to articulate what he would do as President
to get children to read more and watch less TV.

	According to a report by the Associated Press, today Bush "stopped at
Central Elementary School, a predominantly Hispanic school where he
urged third-graders in a reading class to pick up a book instead of
watching TV."

	"Bush has hit upon a major education reform that would help improve the
moral tone of the country," said Gary Ruskin, Director of Commercial
Alert. "But how will Bush translate that thought into action?"

	"If children read more and watched less TV, they would learn more and
would be less exposed to the toxic culture of violence, crassness and
materialism that the media companies are producing," Ruskin said. 

	"The best answer to violence and crassness in the media is to turn off
the media.  Bush is onto something here," Ruskin said.  "The question
is, is this just typical politician talk, or does he really mean it? 
And if he means it, what is he going to do?"

	Commercial Alert opposes the excesses of commercialism, advertising and
marketing.  Commercial Alert's web address is
<http://www.essential.org/alert>.  

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Gary Ruskin | Commercial Alert 
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite #3A | Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 296-2787 | Fax (202) 833-2406
http://www.essential.org/alert/ | mailto:gary@essential.org
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