Speech
CHILDREN AND THE MEDIA
Notes for an address by Françoise Bertrand, Chairperson
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
to the Forum international des chercheurs
Paris, France
April 22, 1997
(CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY)
Good-day, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I sincerely thank the organizers of the Forum international des chercheurs for
inviting me to speak about children and the media. A special thank you to André
Caron, who was kind enough to tell me about your concerns and served as
go-between for this invitation.
The well-being of children is surely one of the most universal concerns. In
Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has been
concerned for many years about the different aspects of this problem. It has also
been one of my personal concerns, whether as a researcher in communications, a
university dean, or an ex-president of an educational network.
Television viewing by children
The CRTC knows full well that radio and television are an integral part of
children's lives, and that new technologies like the Internet and multimedia
occupy an increasingly important place in their day-to-day experience.
We know that children become media consumers at the tender age of two. And
rather than diminishing, their media intake grows as they do.
In Canada, children under 12 spend an average of 20 to 22 hours a week in
front of the TV, and that is equal to, if not more than, the time they spend in
school. As for teenagers, recent studies in Québec, Switzerland and France
concluded that they watch TV almost as much as adults do, logging about 20 hours
a week compared with 25 hours for the population as a whole.
And what do young people watch? A study of the programs targeting children in
two Canadian cities, Montréal and Toronto, drew the following conclusions: the
amount of programming targeting the 2-11 age group on English-language television
stations in Toronto is 245 hours a week versus 146 hours on French-language
stations in Montréal. It is interesting to note that one third of these hours is
from private and public conventional broadcasters.
But it's common knowledge that young Canadians don't watch only Canadian shows
made for them. Their TV intake also includes adult shows and foreign fare. Images
flash by, and the content just keeps on coming.
When we stop and think of the volume of media consumption by young people, can
we say in good conscience that they are knowledgeable consumers? Parents,
academics, educators and program producers are still unsure. But the CRTC is sure
of one thing: we realize the importance of protecting this impressionable
audience segment for their own well-being.
CRTC objectives for children
In the interests of young people, the Commission put in place a series of
regulatory safeguards. These safeguards aim to further three objectives:
- to protect children from the adverse effects of inappropriate programming;
- to propose positive alternatives for children; and
- to promote education about the media.
Joint action by the CRTC and the industry
Needless to say, we cannot achieve these objectives alone. That is why the
Commission has always preferred to work with the industries it regulates by
encouraging them to adopt codes of conduct and regulate themselves. Rather than
imposing restrictions on broadcasters, it encouraged them to get involved and
monitor themselves for compliance with their conditions of licence. To date, I
can assure you that this joint approach has produced results that are more than
satisfactory, and the industries themselves have mandated organizations to
enforce their codes.
Specific commitments of the CRTC
In dealing with specific problems like sex-role stereotyping, advertising and
TV violence, the Commission has a long history of positive intervention. It is
also concerned about the availability of programming that addresses the needs of
children, and it pays particular attention to programs that foster public
awareness and education about the media.
Here I will take a moment to discuss the CRTC's commitments regarding one of
these concerns.
Television violence
The portrayal of violence in the media has been a concern of Canadian society
for three decades. I will spare you the detailed background leading to the
adoption of the CRTC's five guidelines on media violence in 1993:
- Adoption of the principle that violence on television is one of the causes
of mental health problems among children.
- Adoption of an objective based on protection for children rather than
censure for adults, so as to balance freedom of expression with the right of
children to a healthy childhood.
- Implementation of a program to combat gratuitous or glamorized violence,
but not touching on eroticism, offensive remarks, family values, feminist
issues or other specific controversial issues.
- Involvement with the CRTC of all parties concerned, i.e. broadcasters,
advertisers, producers, parents, educators and mental health specialists.
- And last, adoption of a dual outlook to include both the near term and the
long term.
Having set out these guidelines, now let us look at the results to date.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters adopted their Voluntary Code
Regarding Violence in Television Programming, which the CRTC accepted, and which
broadcasters are required to adhere to as a condition of licence.
Then in the spring of 1996, the CRTC also required broadcasters to implement a
program classification system based on the anti-violence microprocessor, or
V-chip, which helps parents to shield their children from excessive TV violence.
Allow me to remind you that the V-chip is a Canadian invention. It is a
microprocessor that can be plugged into a television set, cable tuner or
descrambler, and it reads the classification rating assigned to each program.
Viewers can program the V-chip to block out the signals of programs that are
classified at a level which they consider inappropriate for their family.
Despite considerable progress toward supplying this tool to parents, certain
technical aspects are still being worked out to make it as reliable and
user-friendly as possible for the consumer. The broadcasters will soon be
submitting their classification system to us, and it should be in effect this
fall.
The position of the CRTC is clear and has not changed. Application of the
industry codes and program classification are only part of the solution to the
problem of violence on TV. V-chip technology is nothing more than a tool designed
to help parents. But we are convinced that the real solution lies in a
multifaceted approach, that is, the production and broadcast of quality
programming, raising public awareness, and educating viewers about the media.
Quality programming for children
So you see, I feel it is essential that we work with the television industry
to promote the production of non-violent programs and the establishment of
Canadian services that carry quality shows for children.
Canadians have seen some major improvements in this area. The Cable Production
Fund and Telefilm Canada have invested substantially in a fund that now contains
$200 million, aimed to finance annually, high-quality television productions
featuring drama, variety, documentaries and children's programs.
In addition to the five provincial educational television authorities, since
1987 we have witnessed the start-up of English and French-language specialty
channels and pay-TV channels designed for children. These include Canal-Famille,
YTV and the Family Channel, plus two very recent arrivals in the specialty
line-up that are aimed mainly at children, TreeHouse TV, which targets
pre-schoolers specifically, and TELETOON, offering animated programs for kids of
all ages. All of these services are required to offer high-quality programming
that is entertaining, non-sexist, non-racist, and non-violent.
Media education
As you can see, I believe it is our responsibility to ensure that this special
audience, our children, can watch programs made especially for them. But more
than that, if we want to see them grow and develop as healthy citizens of their
media-rich village, we must first and foremost provide media education that is
worthy of the name.
In the last few years, provincial agencies and organizations have been working
with educators, academics and industry professionals to incorporate education
about the media into the school curricula.I would also like to tell you about the
Internet Web site called Media Awareness Network, that was established in
conjunction with the National Film Board. This site is remarkable because it
presents information in an interesting and easy-to-understand format, and it is
designed for children, parents and educators to make them more media-wise and
aware of certain problems. You may not be surprised to hear that the section on
media violence is the one most often visited!
(The conclusion was an ad lib on the scope of research in Canada.)
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Contact: CRTC Public Affairs, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2
Tel.:
(819) 997-5427, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
This document is available in alternative format upon request.
Date Modified: 1997-04-22 |
