Pediatrics: Commercialism in Classrooms

[Gary Ruskin]

Commercial Alert		April 2, 2001

Following is a fine commentary on "Commercialism in Classrooms" in the
April online issue of Pediatrics.

http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/107/4/e44

Commercialism in Classrooms
Carden Johnston, MD, FAAP
>From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama School of
Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama. 

ABSTRACT
Opinions expressed in commentaries are those of the authors and not
necessarily those of the American Academy of Pediatrics or its
Committees. Commentaries are not peer-reviewed. 

Key words:  commercialism, children, classrooms. 

Do children -- our patients -- go to school under contract to watch
commercials? Unfortunately, for many the answer is yes. More than 8
million children watch computers or television in schools with demanding
and persistent commercials. 

The last 2 years have seen an unprecedented intrusion of commercials in
the classroom.1 Whittle Communications is credited with escalating the
popular trend 10 years ago with a satellite television concept called
Channel One, shown in >25% of schools every school day.2,3 This program,
now owned by Primedia, reaches >12 000 schools every day that they are
in session. Recently, N2H2, a company that filters inappropriate content
from computers in school classrooms, is providing a commercial
experience. More and more companies are willing to provide a perceived
need of the school in return for time to advertise their products to
children in a respected school setting. 

CLASSROOM TELEVISION

What's the Deal? 

Channel One provides a daily TV show and some documentary programs as
well as the equipment to receive and broadcast the programming. The
school receives 2 VCRs, a 13-inch preview monitor, a fixed satellite
dish, and a 19-inch television set for every classroom (the contract
describes the classroom as a minimum of 23 students). Although the
satellite receives Channel One programming exclusively, the school has
full use of the television sets and VCRs. 

What's the Show? 

Channel One starts with artwork by students that always includes the
logo (an advertisement?). There is a 30-second silent introduction that
is not included in the 12-minute requirement of the contract. The
introduction of the anchors includes teenage popular music and a not so
subtle ad for Channel One. The program generally contains a story, a
commercial break, another story, more commercials, and a pop quiz or
audience participation question that usually relates to one of the
stories. Then the show closes with some music and chatter by the
anchors, followed by some extra time featuring Channel One products. 

What's the Catch? 

Commercials In exchange for 10 minutes of programming, there are 2
minutes of commercials in every session. The commercials are generally
for cosmetics, video rentals, video games, athletic shoes, soft drinks,
candies, cereals, television shows, and movies. Many of the commercials
are unique, only shown on Channel One. There are some public service
announcements and government-sponsored military recruitment spots. 

There have been commercials showing violence, the subject of a recent
report by the Federal Trade Commission.4 Other commercials promote snack
foods and sensationalize risk taking behaviors. Some commercials for
cosmetic products advocate perfection and beauty, which does not enhance
self-esteem at a critical time in a child's psychosocial development . 

Additional insight is obtained about the commercial emphasis placed on
marketing to children by looking at advertisements for advertisers.
These ads boast effectiveness of commercials, brand preference, and
access to the children who don't usually watch TV. 

Time Channel One contracts for 12 full minutes of student time each day,
or 1 hour each week, which for a 35-week school year displaces 1 full
week of instructional time. As for commercial time, students are
obligated to watch >5 hours a year. The equivalent of 1 full
instructional day is committed to watching advertisements. 

Curriculum The local, city, county, and state school boards abdicate
their responsibility for determining curriculum for 1 full instructional
week a year. The content of the programming is determined by Channel
One's Hollywood studio. The content may fit into the curriculum, but
only by accident. 

Contracts The school board signs a contract stating that at least 80% of
the classrooms will watch 90% of the Channel One programs in their
entirety.5 If the principal, school board, or teacher doesn't like the
programming for that day, they can elect not to show it, but that right
is limited to only 10% of the programs sent to them. 

Ethics It is improper for students to be forced to watch commercials in
a publicly funded classroom situation. School is not the place to get
pressured to develop life-long brand preferences and to be advertised on
how to spend disposable income. 

Slippery Slope Argument If a school sells part of its school day to a
candy bar, then what is to prevent it from selling more of its day to
other products? All of our schools can use more equipment, facilities,
and software, and there are many companies willing to provide something
desirable if they are able to influence young children. 

Contradictions The National School Lunch Program has rigorous detailed
regulations about foods allowed to be served to children.6 In conflict
with these rules and even with the impending epidemic of adolescent
obesity and type 2 diabetes, we are allowing many of the same schools to
contractually obligate children to watch ads for soft drinks and
candies. 

What's the Benefit? 

Educational benefits are difficult to quantify. Students in classrooms
with Channel One have shown about a 3% advantage on a test that covered
the most recent 3 months of news.7 Other rigorous studies fail to report
any differences.8 

Certainly, students get exposed to cosmopolitan reports of events from
within and without the United States. Although news content occupies
~60% of the air time, only 20% of the broadcast is spent on recent
political, economic, social and cultural stories other than sports,
weather, and disasters.9 If the school wants to provide additional
equipment and space, students can develop creative skills by setting up
a studio to do their own programming. They can do weather reports, news,
or even create their own broadcasts. 

Computers and Internet Service Providers 

A more recent commercial intervention provides computers and Internet
hookup to schools1 with a banner ad running continuously on the screen.4
Companies providing computers for schools have recently formed, are
rapidly changing, and although they are advertising in a public arena,
are not very forthcoming with information. One entrepreneurial
innovator, ZapMe!, is undergoing corporate restructuring and publicly
states it plans to withdraw from the public educational market.10
Meanwhile, the New York City Board of Education is seriously considering
putting computers in schools that deliver ads. 

Content-Filtering Companies 

Companies have developed the ability to filter Internet material to
ensure inappropriate content is blocked from students' view. This
service helps maintain educational credibility. However, at least 1
company boasts to potential advertisers that they not only deliver the
largest online audience of tweens and teens in the educational
environment, they know what the students are doing on line. Their ad
page states that it is impossible to launch an effective online
advertising campaign during the school day without N2H2.11 A
demonstration website for their search engine is available.12 

Companies in the Classroom 

Content Anytime a company gets involved in education, editorial content
can be impacted. Anti-tobacco articles decreased from 62% to 24% from
before to after K-III Holdings had controlling interest of Weekly
Reader.13 The parent company of K-III was also the parent of RJR
Nabisco, a cigarette manufacturer. When any educational program depends
on commercial support, considerable effort has to be expended to keep
content and curriculum objective and unbiased. The student should not be
viewed as a consumer. 

Privacy Invasions Contests are propagated whereby companies can have
access to that child's name and address. Students are enticed to go to a
website after school where companies can acquire telephone numbers,
e-mail addresses, social security numbers, and credit card numbers if
they declare they are at least 13 years old. 

Results from a survey by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg
Public Policy Center states that more than one third of children would
reveal their allowance amount, family-owned car types, and family
political discussions for a gift.14 What are parents to say to children
when their school will give them a prize for information about their
brand preferences and recreational activities? It is hard to convince a
child that information given to their school invades their
confidentiality. 

POSITIVE ACTIVITIES

This commentary is negative, and is meant to be so to obtain the
attention of parents, physicians, and school boards. A positive outcome
of this commentary and our activity to eliminate commercialism in the
school is to have media literacy courses in America's schools. Working
with the New Mexico Media Literacy Project,15 the American Academy of
Pediatrics has a program to inform pediatricians and our patients about
the impact of media.16,17 With the amount of time we and our children
spend in front of the media, and with the number of commercials we are
exposed to, we should become much more literate and understanding of
techniques, strategies, and efforts to motivate us to change our
behavior.18-20 Being able to deconstruct commercials helps us understand
the process, and consequently have more decision-making ability about
their impact. Media literacy is a very necessary positive that should be
taught to all children in the classroom. This course, as others, should
not be tainted by sponsorship by a company or industry with a vested
interest. 

Programming Options exist including commercial-free programming that the
teacher can freely choose to have the students observe or not. Cable in
the classroom is one of those options. 

Hardware Most schools could find local businesses to provide television
sets to schools. Although Channel One does not charge for hardware or
programming, the average taxpayer cost in lost educational time watching
commercials is $26 333/year/school.21 With some effort, computers could
be given to schools with maintenance and an Internet service provider
that contained no commercials. 

School Boards We can do what Michael Doyle, a pediatrician in New
Jersey, did. Being concerned about commercialism in his community's
schools, he attended a meeting of the school board and argued against
signing a Channel One contract. He won. 

Organize We also can support organizations against commercialism in
schools. Progressive consumer advocate Ralph Nader and conservative
Phyllis Schafly both have taken positions and made statements against
commercialism in the classroom. The American Association of School
Administrators, the National Parents Teachers Association, The Southern
Baptist Convention, The National Association of State Boards of
Education, and others have statements against commercialism in schools. 

Legislative We can support conservative Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL)
and liberal Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) who introduced a bipartisan
amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to ensure that
parents are informed about invasion of privacy of their children through
commercial activities in the classroom. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

Visit your schools. Visit the websites of advocacy organizations.22-24
Become and stay active in your local school activities. Our children are
too important to have their educational time bartered for time watching
commercials. 

Address correspondence to Carden Johnston, MD, FAAP, Suite 205, Mid
Towne Center, 1600 Seventh Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35233. E-mail:
cjohnston@peds.uab.edu

<----article ends here---->
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Gary Ruskin | gary@essential.org
Commercial Alert | Congressional Accountability Project
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