More Barney?
Television executives are being summoned to a White House meeting this summer to discuss the amount of educational television the networks air for children.
President Clinton made the invitation during a campaign-style speech at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Calif., last week.
“If you’re here in school, going to community college for four hours a day, and your kids are back home watching television, it wouldn’t hurt to have at least three hours a week devoted to their education while you’re here pursuing yours,” the president said to an audience of about 2,000.
Mr. Clinton has suggested that the Federal Communications Commission require network broadcasters to provide three hours of educational programming for children per week.
But the FCC has not been able to reach agreement on the issue.
Network executives maintain that they already provide several hours of educational shows for youngsters. But critics say such programming is often more entertainment than education.
President Clinton proposed that the meeting take place by the end of July. As of late last week, TV executives had not responded.
Back to school
Three retiring members of the Senate are joining the academy, according to The Hill, a weekly newspaper that covers Capitol Hill.
Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill., plans to teach at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale during the spring semester in 1997.
Sen. David Pryor, D-Ark., is going to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
And Sen. Alan K. Simpson, R-Wyo., is taking a position at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass.
Sound off
Former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett is continuing his crusade against rap and rock lyrics that he considers obscene.
Empower America, the conservative group he runs, has paid for advertisements urging parents to protest such music and to call a toll-free number to register their disapproval.
--Mark Pitsch
e-mail: federal@epe.org
