The Broadcasting Code: Implications for Children

Starting 2003 Jamaican schools receive flyers introducing the new broadcasting code put in place by the Broadcasting Commission. Schools in their effort to implement this code have distributed them to parents at the beginning of each school year. Why are Jamaicans schools so actively engaged in the distribution of these flyers? They hope to reap the rewards of improved academic performance when parents follow the suggestions and hold fast to the regulations of the broadcasting code in their homes.

The broadcasting code mandates Television, cable, and radio operators to pay special attention to programming content containing, violence, sex and indecent language. A research was done in Jamaica on the impact of the programs mentioned above on the academic performance of students. Listed below are some of the findings.

• Children who watch 20 or more hours of television each week suffered academically.
• The more time boys spend watching action shows, the lower their scores in reading, English and mathematics.
• The more time devoted to soap operas the worse they perform in verbal comprehension.
• Children who watch more than twenty hours of TV. Each week showed problems with their behavior at school and home.

For the broadcasting code to have the desired impact parents input are needed for the program to succeed. Over exposure to cable and television can affect children in several ways. Parents were implored to pay special attention to what children are watching and listening to, more so if they display the following behaviors.

1. Skip class or cuts school
2. Does not pay attention
3. Struggles with English or mathematics
4. Has trouble with reading
5. Likes to fight or is aggressive
6. Likes to try dangerous stunts
7. Gets depressed easily
8. Has problems relating to others people
9. Shows signs of excessive nervousness
10. Has nightmares or other sleeping problems
11. Acts generally cold or unfriendly to others
12. Carry weapons in their bags
13. Resent doing home duties
14. Resent being corrected.

How the code is supposed to work

Programmers must be provided for all audiences and that includes children

• Careful scheduling of programmers with sex, violence and profanity and should not be aired after 6:00 am or before 8:00 Pm.
• Cable operators should provide adults X rated channels only if the customer request them. They will not be on the cable programme.
• Whenever a programme that contains violence, sex, profanity it must be announced a head of time.
• Because not all channels are rated the cable provider should provide customers with the information as to which channels are and which are not.

Now here you have it, the ball is thrown within the "parents' court ". They are responsible to responsibly supervise their children. If they are unable to do so effectively they should find someone who will monitor these children in the programmes they watch and the amount of time spent watching them. The broadcasting code would then have an impact on imp roving the education for Jamaica's children.

It is almost five years since the new broadcasting code came into effect. A quick survey will revealed that there is really no marked difference in students' academic performance. The behavioral problems have remained the same and in some cases have gotten worst. One could conclude one of the following

1. Students are still not being monitored on the number of hours they spend with the media and on what programmes they watch.
2. The television and the cable are not the reasons for the students poor performance in school
   
3. Many students were being monitored by parents before the research was done and the media plays a minor role on children performance in schools.