PBS chief: Kids inundated with ads

Commercial broadcasters have been shirking their responsibilities under the 1990 Children's Television Act, according to PBS president Paula Kerger. At the channel's Television Critics Association presentation Wednesday, she said she welcomed an upcoming review of the act and compliance by the Federal Communications Commission.

The act was passed to require commercial broadcasters to increase educational and informational programming. Among other things, it stipulated that stations air a minimum of three hours a week of core educational series. "The line between commerce and content are blurred beyond recognition" by commercial broadcasters, Kerger said. "Broadcasters are not holding up their end of the deal." She said the same conclusion was reached by a number of independent researchers. Kerger wouldn't cite specific instances but she invited the audience of TV critics on the semiannual press tour to check out any of the most popular web sites aimed at kids.

"Advertising is so thoroughly embedded into the content," she said. "There are a lot of popups. It's on all of them." Compounding the problem is the fact that young children are not sophisticated enough to differentiate between programs and commercials, she added.