• by David Kaplan , June 21, 2005

The TV Watch Coalition, the major broadcast network partnership designed to serve as the "watchdog of television decency watchdogs," has started its first campaign to promote parental responsibility over their children's viewing habits.

Titled "Smart Summer TV," the campaign focuses on what children watch during the "unstructured days of summer." The campaign will run in local newspapers, and will feature tips from a "parenting expert and TV Watch member," Dr. Sal Severe, PhD. The "Smart Summer TV" tip sheet for parents will also be distributed to leaders of the 26,000 chapters of Parent Teacher Associations who attend the national conventions this summer. TV Watch is also sponsoring a media tour with Linda Ciampa, a former CNN Health correspondent.

Ciampa is slated to appear on local news stations across the country in late June, to offer parents help on topics that include:

* Setting viewing time limits and rules

* Adapting the "rules" for rainy days

* Using the ratings system and parental controls like the V-Chip

* Utilizing VCR and DVR technology to keep a digital library of acceptable programs

* Finding programs consistent with your attitudes and beliefs

Back in May, CBS, NBC, and Fox got together to form the advocacy group, which essentially opposes government control of television programming and promotes the use of parental controls such as the V-chip. The group was founded amid greater regulatory scrutiny brought on by the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" at the previous year's Super Bowl half-time show.