Agreement on Children’s TV Programs

* Re “A Little Light From the TV Set,” editorial, July 30:

You write about a proposal to mandate educational programming for children by the TV industry. The fact that something so obviously necessary has to be legislated is a very sad and telling commentary on our culture and the bleak future of our society. For a ridiculous three hours per week to motivate children to learn, we appar- ently have to have big government force, threaten, bribe and whatnot, the billionaire TV moguls to comply.

So we’ll have a law to educate and, believe it or not, we don’t even know what is education and what it is not. The required time slot would be between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., so I can see most of educational programming piled around the morning hours when production is the cheapest.

Let us set up an independent “Tele-Education Network” nationwide run by a nonprofit organization, supervised by a volunteer body of a special national PTA of some sort and financed by bonds and donations from the public.

By the way, we do have excellent examples of what good, imaginative and entertaining educational programming should be like for children of varied backgrounds and age groups, such as the long-running PBS/Disney production, “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” as well as “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?”

Let’s get on the ball right now!

GEORGE KEMENES

Los Angeles

* I applaud President Clinton and others in their efforts to have broadcasters provide better TV programs for children. I would suggest another approach to the problem. If organizations like the PTA and various churches would boycott the advertisers’ products, an impact would soon be felt.

Until the younger generation has better ideals set before them we cannot expect their actions to improve. The success of our future depends on the acceptable standards of tomorrow’s leaders.

DAVID S. EICHER

South Pasadena

* Today commercial television broadcasters are put out because they have to give up three hours per week to educational children’s programming (or less due to exemptions). Tomorrow, they will probably publicize their industry’s “contribution.”

Big deal! What about three hours per day. Aren’t America’s kids worth it?

RICHARD BAKER

Beverly Hills

* It’s about time the networks commit to three hours of educational programming for children. Now if they could only do the same for adults.

ALLEN HIGGINS

Covina