Dear Friends,

On behalf of the United Church of Christ, I am pleased to announce our participation in a new initiative called the Smart Television Alliance (STA).

This important new coalition includes leading nonprofit organizations whose mission is to improve what our nation’s children watch on television.

As you know, children’s television is an issue near and dear to us. The UCC has led the fight to improve kid’s TV for nearly forty years. In the 1990s, our efforts led to the historic passage of the Children’s Television Act which required television networks to provide and identify Educational and Informational “E/I” programming. The law requires a minimum of only three hours of quality children’s programming per week. Unfortunately, content providers have failed to consistently fulfill this obligation.

Just last year, the UCC’s commitment to improving children’s television led to a landmark Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fine against Univision, for mislabeling adult tele-novellas as “E/I” programming.

The Smart Television Alliance and UCC share the same goal: urging parents and caregivers to take control of both the quality and quantity of TV viewing at home. This is essential for a healthy and balanced media diet that neither the media nor the government can mandate. In fact, what one family considers appropriate programming for their household may not be considered as such by another. While we are not recommending specific shows, we are making it easy to access the recommendations of trusted nonprofit children’s media experts like Common Sense Media and KIDSFIRST!, for example.

With this in mind, we’d like to ask for your help with a great new Smart Television Alliance project. We are developing an online tool that will allow parents, caregivers, teachers—anyone who cares about children’s TV—to offer their opinions on what they believe are quality children’s television programs. We have developed an area of the Smart Television Alliance website where you can rate and discuss children’s television shows, and publish your opinions alongside those of national media experts. You may or may not agree with what is posted, but hopefully you will take the time to contribute your thoughts.

Before we let the general public in on the news, please take some time today to visit the site, rate some shows and add comments—then give us feedback on the user experience. Was the site easy to use? Will it be useful to you? What would you like to see added? Your suggestions will help us make this new online tool the best that it can be.

Get started now:

Visit the Recommendations Site and log in. If you are not yet a member of the STA site, clicking the log-in button will prompt you to sign up first (for free).
Find shows by age group, TV rating, or the other search criteria listed.
Add your ratings and comments to some shows...good or bad.
Send us your feedback by sending an email to feedback@smarttelevisionalliance.org.  

We hope that this tool will be a fun new way to add your two cents, and that it will help busy parents and those with children in their lives decide which shows their families should watch.

Lastly, I want to let you know that the site is being funded by content producers and distributers like TiVo Inc. and PBS KIDS Sprout. However, we have complete and total editorial control over the content and are grateful for their commitment to financially supporting our cause. Additionally, I want to ensure that the Smart Television Alliance will never give out your email address or contact information. However, from time to time, our funders may make available special offers and discounts on products related to our mission.

Thank you in advance for being a part of this exciting launch!

Blessings,

The Rev. J. Bennett Guess
United Church of Christ

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