For all kids' sakes: comparing children's television policy-making in Australia, Canada and the United States

Abstract

For decades television policy makers around the world have recognized the influence television exerts on its audience, particularly youth. In response, nations have devised broadcast policies to attempt to control the medium. Each nation has carefully designed domestic children's television policies by assessing and balancing fundamental ideological, political and economic factors. As television evolves into an integrated global medium, regional and international declarations and resolutions are being proposed. The author explores whether these proposed universal guidelines represent a convergence of domestic children's television policies or merely normative strategies. Children's television policies in Australia, Canada and the United States are compared to test this convergence hypothesis. These policies are then plotted on a matrix that represents regulatory evolution through time and across political and economic lines. This matrix illustrates graphically the trends in children's television policies as well as areas of convergence and divergence among these nations.