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September 11, 2008
Contact: Josh Golin (617.278.4172;
jgolin@jbcc.harvard.edu)
For Immediate Release
CCFC Praises Landmark South Carolina School Bus Ad Ban
Yesterday, the South Carolina State Board of Education voted to
prohibit ads on schools buses. South Carolina is the first
state to declare school buses off limits to all forms of
marketing. The following is the statement of the Campaign for a
Commercial-Free Childhood about this historic decision:
By
banning school bus ads, the South Carolina State Board of
Education has sent a strong message that their students are not
for sale. The board has rightly recognized that advertising on
school buses exploits a captive audience of children who are
particularly vulnerable to marketing’s harmful effects.
The
Board’s decision means that there will be no ads on the inside
or exterior of school buses. It also means no BusRadio, the
company that hopes to use school buses to force children to
listen to its commercialized, student-targeted radio broadcasts.
Thanks to the Board, South Carolina school buses will provide a
much needed haven from the commercialism that infiltrates nearly
every aspect of children’s lives today.
We
salute Board Chairman Al Simpson and the rest of the board for
their leadership and determination in the face of opposition
from those who hope to exploit students for profit.* We also
commend State Senator Greg Ryberg for his commitment to children
and for first proposing the idea of commercial-free South
Carolina school buses.
*BusRadio
hired Kenneth Kinard, Jason Puhlasky, Graham Tew, and Warren
Tompkins to lobby on their behalf in South Carolina.
http://www.scstatehouse.net/reports/NonStateLobbAug192008.pdf.
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. |
