FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                           News Media contact:
April 6, 2000                                                David Fiske (202) 418-0513

   FCC PROPOSES TO CONTINUE ANNUAL REPORT FROM COMMERCIAL TV
      BROADCASTERS FCC CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING

     Washington - The FCC today proposed to continue indefinitely the requirement that
commercial television broadcasters file once a year with the FCC their four quarterly Children's
Television Programming Reports detailing their children's educational and informational
programming.

     Under the Commission's 1996 Order implementing the Children's Television Act,
commercial TV stations are required to prepare and place in their public inspection file quarterly
reports on their children's educational programming.  The Order also required the broadcasters in
January 1998, 1999 and 2000 to file electronically with the FCC copies of the four quarterly
reports prepared and placed in the public inspection file for the previous year. 

     In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released today, the Commission proposed extending
this annual FCC filing requirement indefinitely.  Alternatively, the Commission asked for comment
on the public benefits of having the quarterly reports filed electronically at the FCC at the time
they are prepared.  The Commission also asked for comments on changing the FCC reporting
Form 398 to make the quarterly reports more informative for consumers and easier for
broadcasters to prepare.

The Commission noted that the educational television reporting requirements were
designed to ensure that the public, and especially parents, had access to information regarding the
educational programming being aired by broadcasters so that parents and others can help achieve
the goal of the Children's Television Act to increase the amount of educational programming
available on television.

     In the Notice, the Commission noted that evidence suggests that organizations devoted to
informing parents and community members about children's programming use these quarterly
reports as a primary data source, and that there were public benefits to making this information
easily accessible in one central location.  The Commission noted that its rules require television
licensees to file the reports annually with the FCC electronically, which permits making all the
reports available to the public on the Commission's website. The Commission also said that
without the annual filing requirement, it would only receive information on a station's children's
programming once every eight years, at a station's license renewal time.

Action by the Commission by Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 00-93) Chairman Kennard,
Comissioners Ness and Tristani; with Commissioners Furchtgott-Roth and Powell concurring and
issuing a joint statement.                                                           
                            - FCC -
Mass Media Bureau Contact: Kim Matthews (202) 418-2154