Cable Channel To Broadcast Only Children's Educational Programs

By Mary Ann Zehr

Children's television experts last week applauded plans by Nickelodeon and the Children's Television Workshop to create the nation's first cable channel devoted exclusively to children's educational programs.

But they cautioned that the new channel--named Noggin--should not be viewed as the sole source of high-quality television for young people.

"We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that a third of America's children do not have access to cable," said Amy Jordan, a senior research investigator at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. "It's important they get high-quality educational programs...