Action for Children's Television

Action for Children's Television
Founded1968[1]
FoundersPeggy Charren, Lillian Ambrosino, Evelyn Kaye Sarson and Judy Chalfen[2][3]
Dissolved1992[4]
TypeAdvocacy group
FocusChildren's television programming ("kidvid")
Location
Area served
United States
ProductNone
MethodMedia attention, direct-appeal campaigns
Key people
Peggy Charren, Judith Chalfen
Volunteers
20,000 maximum
WebsiteNone

Action for Children's Television (ACT) was an American grassroots, nonprofit child advocacy group dedicated to improving the quality of children's television.[3] Specifically, ACT's main goals were to encourage diversification in children's television offerings, to discourage overcommercialization of children's programming, and to eliminate deceptive advertising aimed at young viewers.[5]

The ACT was founded by Peggy Charren, Lillian Ambrosino, Evelyn Kaye Sarson and Judy Chalfen in Newton, Massachusetts in 1968. It had up to 20,000 volunteer members, eight staff members, and an operational budget of $225,000 by the mid-1980s, but declined financially and to four staff members before disbanding in 1992.[6][7] About 70% of funds came from the group's membership, while the rest came from foundation grants (e.g. Markle Foundation) and fees from lectures and book sales.[7]

  1. ^ Lawson, Carol (24 January 1991). "Guarding the Children's Hour on TV". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  2. ^ O'Connor, John J. (20 February 1990). "Critic's Notebook; Insidious Elements in Television Cartoons". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  3. ^ a b Gloria Negri (9 June 2011). "Judith Chalfen, 85; took action to help reform children's TV". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12.
    - Patricia McCormack (4 July 1971). "Teach Tots To Discriminate". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Watchdog Group for Children's TV to Disband". The New York Times. 9 January 1992. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  5. ^ Loree Gerdes Bykerk & Ardith Maney, U.S. Consumer Interest Groups: Institutional Profiles (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1995), 2.
  6. ^ "Ms. Kidvid Calls It Quits". Time. 20 January 1992. Archived from the original on August 12, 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
    - Kirstin Olsen (1994). Chronology of Women's History. Greenwood Press. p. 313. ISBN 9780313288036. Retrieved 19 April 2014. judy chalfen action for children's television.
  7. ^ a b Loree Gerdes Bykerk & Ardith Maney, U.S. Consumer Interest Groups: Institutional Profiles (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1995), 2–3.