Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Stopped MCPS From Running Commercial Radio on School Buses

Retiring founder of small Boston nonprofit notched victories against some of the world’s largest companies

...Originally called Stop Commercial Exploitation of Children, the organization has racked up a lengthy list of achievements. It prompted entertainment giant Disney to offer refunds on its “Baby Einstein” videos on the grounds they could not truly turn toddlers into geniuses. It prevented toy maker Hasbro from releasing a line of toys based on the racy pop group The Pussycat Dolls.
It stopped fast-food chain McDonald’s from advertising on report cards. It defeated legislation in several states that would have allowed ads on school buses. It put the company Your Baby Can Read out of business for deceptive advertising since, simply put, babies cannot read no matter what educational products their parents buy for them.
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has a two-pronged approach to taking on corporate Goliaths. It sometimes files complaints with federal agencies, typically in partnership with Georgetown Law School’s Institute for Public Representation. It also wages antimarketing campaigns and demonstrations...

 https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/06/17/small-group-big-victories-fight-against-marketing-children/UivCqiWmw8WNX5AXA6928K/story.html#comments

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Back in 2008, the Parents' Coalition found out that Superintendent Jerry Weast had installed commercial radio targeting children on MCPS buses.  The radio ads instructed students to sign on to the BusRadio website and log in with personal information.  
We contacted the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and within 24 hours Superintendent Jerry Weast announced that the commercial radio receivers on the MCPS buses were being removed.

 
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Press Release

December 11, 2008
Contact: Josh Golin (617.278.4172)

For Immediate Release

Montgomery County Pulls the Plug on BusRadio
Today, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) decided to terminate their relationship with BusRadio, the controversial company created to force children to listen to commercialized radio broadcasts on school buses around the country. MCPS's decision came after the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) sent a letter to MCPS superintendent Dr. Jerry Weast urging him to end the use of BusRadio on MCPS school buses. Montgomery County had been using BusRadio in a number of school buses on a trial basis. With 96,000 school bus riders, Montgomery County would have been BusRadio's largest school district. The following is CCFC's statement on Montgomery County's decision:

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood commends Montgomery County Public Schools for their decision to terminate their relationship with BusRadio. No school district should turn their students over to a company whose stated goal is to "take student-targeted marketing to the next level" or force children to listen to advertisements on their way to and from school.

CCFC also congratulates the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County for their advocacy efforts and for drawing attention to BusRadio's presence in Montgomery County. The events of the past twenty-four hours demonstrate once again that when parents learn the truth about BusRadio, they want no part of it for their children. We hope that parents around the country will continue to utilize our BusRadio resources – and those of Obligation, Inc – to keep their school buses commercial-free.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and concerned parents who counter the harmful effects of marketing to children through action, advocacy, education, research, and collaboration among organizations and individuals who care about children. CCFC supports the rights of children to grow up – and the rights of parents to raise them – without being undermined by rampant commercialism. For more information, please visit: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/

Promethean partners with controversial Channel One News. Two out-of-date companies keep each other company.

Obligation, Inc.:  Why is this man smiling?

...So what does Promethean World do as their sales are rapidly heading South? Marshall chooses to partner with the controversial Channel One.  There couldn’t be a worse partner.  If time has possibly passed Promethean by, it is for certain that Channel One is a thing of the past. So Promethean, a company rushing for irrelevancy, teams up with Channel One’s dead brand of youth marketing. They deserve each other.
Promethean is trying its best to bring Channel One’s into elementary schools. There is nothing smart about that. When I go around the country talking about the Channel One controversy, I talk now of the Channel One/Promethean controversy. Promethean’s chances of thriving – or surviving – have not been enhanced by their partnership with Channel One....

The Song is Over for BusRadio

September 28, 2009


Contact: Josh Golin (617.278.4172; jgolin@bcc.harvard.edu)
For Immediate Release

The Song is Over for BusRadio


After three years of parent protest and opposition, the school bus radio network ceases operations.

After a three-year campaign by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), BusRadio - the highly controversial company that planned to "take targeted student marketing to the next level" - has ceased operations. BusRadio had hoped to play its highly commercialized broadcasts for students on buses around the country, but CCFC and its network of parent activists opposed the company's plans at every turn.
"This is a tremendous victory for families and the growing movement to protect children form exploitative marketing," said CCFC's Director Dr. Susan Linn, a psychologist at the Judge Baker's Children Center. "No child should be forced to listen to advertising on their way to and from school."

Shortly after BusRadio was founded, CCFC organized a demonstration to call attention to the myriad ways the company hoped to use its school bus broadcasts to market to a captive audience of students. CCFC and Obligation, Inc. - another advocacy organization that opposes school commercialism - monitored BusRadio's content and advertising and shared their findings with parents, school administrators and the media. CCFC and its membership were instrumental in stopping BusRadio in school districts around the country, including large busing districts such Montgomery County, Maryland and Louisville, Kentucky.

In 2009, CCFC requested a study of BusRadio by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC delivered that report earlier this month. More than 1,000 CCFC members filed comments with the FCC opposing BusRadio and the FCC's report agreed with many of CCFC's core concerns. CCFC shared the FCC's findings with school transportation directors around the country while CCFC members have been sending the report to their local school boards.

"BusRadio severely underestimated parents' determination to keep advertisers off of school buses," said CCFC's Associate Director Josh Golin. "As marketing aimed at children becomes more pervasive and ubiquitous, it is more important then ever to protect commercial-free spaces for kids."

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and concerned parents who counter the harmful effects of marketing to children through action, advocacy, education, research, and collaboration. CCFC is headquartered at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston. www.commercialfreechildhood.org/

From The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
Reclaiming Childhood from Corporate Marketers

Three years ago, a newly formed company called BusRadio brazenly announced their intention to "take student-targeted marketing to the next level." Their plan? Install "free" radio equipment on school buses across the country so that children would be forced to listen to advertisements, and to promotions for BusRadio's commercial website, on their way to and from school. To a captive audience of students as young as six, BusRadio has promoted the highly sexualized Bratz dolls, television shows such as 90210 that glamorize teen sex and alcohol use, and a service that encourages children to look up the answers to their homework on the Internet instead of using their schoolbooks.

That's why CCFC has made turning off BusRadio one of our featured campaigns. We successfully organized CCFC members in school districts around the country to stop BusRadio in their communities. Now, with your help, we have a chance to turn BusRadio off for good.

At CCFC's request, the Federal Communications Commission will be reporting to Congress whether specially designed commercial radio broadcasts for school buses are in the public interest. As part of this proceeding, the FCC is now calling for public comment. CCFC is submitting extensive comments that detail the problems inherent in advertising on school buses and the hyper-commercial content of BusRadio. But we also need to demonstrate that parents all over the country are concerned about this commercial intrusion into the lives of schoolchildren. That's why the FCC needs to hear from you, too.

Please click here to tell the FCC that listening to ads should not be a compulsory part of the school day. Submitting a comment only takes a couple of minutes (we'll walk you through the process), and will help us reclaim our school buses from corporate marketers. And please encourage others to submit comments to the FCC by forwarding this email or clicking here.

Thanks,
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
A Program of the Judge Baker Children's Center
53 Parker Hill Ave
Boston, MA 02120
www.commercialfreechildhood.org

BusRadio Rides Again!

Did you think BusRadio was removed from Montgomery County Public School buses in December?
Think again.

Did you believe Superintendent Weast when he told WTOP's Kate Ryan that BusRadio was turned off for good? He was quoted on air as saying that "not everything they were listening to was appropriate?"
Did you believe the Gazette article that reported, "... Weast confirmed the cancellation of the radio service."
Did you believe the Washington Post article that said, "School officials said yesterday they have abandoned a trial of the radio service..."
Did you believe MCPS Chief Operating Officer Larry Bowers when he wrote to former Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo and said, "...a decision has been made to terminate the use of BusRadio."

If you believed the above statements, then you might like to listen to the Friday, February 13th BusRadio broadcast when the driver of MCPS Bus 5115 called in to the BusRadio on air show and gave a "shout out" to the kids that ride his bus from Richard Montgomery, Julius West, Ritchie Park and College Gardens schools. The driver of MCPS bus 5115 was entering a BusRadio "Love the Bus" contest to win a $200 gift card.

If you read the entire Washington Post article you will see that the BusRadio devices were NOT going to be removed from MCPS buses. In fact, the devices were going to be left on the buses and with just a flip of a switch....BusRadio can ride another day!

So now that we know BusRadio is still in use in MCPS, where are the proceeds from this commercial "partnership" going? BusRadio pays school systems a portion of the advertising profits to keep their system in use. Just like the E-Rate Rebate funds, these outside funds are a source of revenue to Montgomery County. When have these funds been brought to the Board of Education and County Council for appropriation?

CCFC Press Release on BusRadio in MCPS

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Press Release

December 11, 2008

Contact: Josh Golin (617.278.4172)

For Immediate Release

Montgomery County Pulls the Plug on BusRadio

Today, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) decided to terminate their relationship with BusRadio, the controversial company created to force children to listen to commercialized radio broadcasts on school buses around the country. MCPS's decision came after the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) sent a letter to MCPS superintendent Dr. Jerry Weast urging him to end the use of BusRadio on MCPS school buses. Montgomery County had been using BusRadio in a number of school buses on a trial basis. With 96,000 school bus riders, Montgomery County would have been BusRadio's largest school district. The following is CCFC's statement on Montgomery County's decision:

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood commends Montgomery County Public Schools for their decision to terminate their relationship with BusRadio. No school district should turn their students over to a company whose stated goal is to "take student-targeted marketing to the next level" or force children to listen to advertisements on their way to and from school.

CCFC also congratulates the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County for their advocacy efforts and for drawing attention to BusRadio's presence in Montgomery County. The events of the past twenty-four hours demonstrate once again that when parents learn the truth about BusRadio, they want no part of it for their children. We hope that parents around the country will continue to utilize our BusRadio resources – and those of Obligation, Inc – to keep their school buses commercial-free.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and concerned parents who counter the harmful effects of marketing to children through action, advocacy, education, research, and collaboration among organizations and individuals who care about children. CCFC supports the rights of children to grow up – and the rights of parents to raise them – without being undermined by rampant commercialism. For more information, please visit: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/