MORE OPTIONS OPEN FOR CHILDREN’S TV

The good news about children’s television, says ABC’s Squire D. Rushnell, “is that there are many more options today.” The bad news, he adds, shrugging his shoulders, is that there are not many diamonds out there in the field of children’s programming.

Rushnell, a veteran of 27 years in broadcasting and responsible for children’s programming at ABC--from afterschool specials to animated shows such as “The Littles”--described children as “the most fickle audience in all of television.” As a result, programmers have to present shows that “are very inviting,” he added.

Rushnell appeared at a seminar here about the state of children’s television sponsored by the National Assn. of Broadcasters. Other participants included Jack Blessington, vice president of CBS Broadcast Group; Margaret Loesch, head of Marvel Productions in Van Nuys; Dr. Gordon Berry, professor of educational and counseling psychology at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education, and Thomas Goodgame, vice president and general manager of WBZ-TV, Boston.

While the discussion focused on the positive things that TV broadcasters and producers see in children’s television, NAB vice president Jim Hollands said later in an interview that the continuing controversy over the issue is not likely to disappear. “It will never become a non-issue because it’s something people are very concerned about,” he said.

Representing the animation world, Loesch estimated that about 70% of children’s programming today involves some type of animation. Loesch, whose animation studio produces shows including “Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies” and “G.I. Joe,” insisted that animators make special efforts to infuse values into their products because “children are watching our cartoons more than ever.”

Berry, who has worked as a consultant for several television shows, said there is “no evidence that television viewing stifles creativity in children.” He said research does show that children who watch a lot of television don’t read as much as children who don’t spend hours in front of a set.

“Children have a right to be entertained,” he said. “But we must always strive to have children be wise television consumers.”