Action for Children's Television facts for kids
| Founded | 1968 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Peggy Charren, Lillian Ambrosino, Evelyn Kaye Sarson and Judy Chalfen |
| Dissolved | 1992 |
| Type | Advocacy group |
| Focus | Children's television programming ("kidvid") |
| Location | |
|
Area served
|
United States |
| Product | None |
| Method | Media attention, direct-appeal campaigns |
|
Key people
|
Peggy Charren, Judith Chalfen |
|
Volunteers
|
20,000 maximum |
| Website | None |
Action for Children's Television (ACT) was founded by Peggy Charren, Lillian Ambrosino, Evelyn Kaye Sarson and Judy Chalfen in Newton, Massachusetts, USA, in 1968 as a grassroots, nonprofit child advocacy group dedicated to improving the quality of television programming offered to children. Specifically, ACT's main goals were to encourage diversification in children's television offerings, to discourage overcommercialization of children's programming, and to eliminate deceptive advertising aimed at young viewers. ACT had up to 20,000 volunteer members, eight staff members, and an operational budget of $225,000 by the mid-1980s, but declined financially and to four staff members before disbanding in 1992. About 70% of funds came from the group's membership, while the rest came from foundation grants (e.g. Markle Foundation) and fees from lectures and book sales.
