The Forum is participating in a number of efforts which, we hope, will lead to more family friendly television programming. The scholarship programs are for undergraduate or graduate students studying television script writing or business students preparing to work in the television industry.
Students are required to use the scholarship monies to intern with a family friendly department of a network or production company. It is the Forum's hope that the Family Friendly internship will help equip these students, who might eventually move into prominent positions in the field of television, with a commitment to and understanding of quality family entertainment.
The Forum has funded 52 scholarships at university television studies departments to encourage student interest in family friendly programming and future script writers to develop family friendly themes. These included:-
Three scholarships for Loyola Marymount University students in the College of Communication and Fine Arts. Students will intern at one of the networks or a production company.
- Three scholarships at Carnegie Mellon University for graduate and undergraduate writing students. These students take internships over the summer in departments such as marketing and on-air promotions at one of the networks.
- Three scholarships for Ohio University in the Scripps College of Communication. Students will intern at one of the networks or a production company.
- Two graduate scholarships at the University of Southern California for students pursuing their MBAs with concentrations in entertainment at USC's Marshall School of Business.
Carnegie Mellon, Loyola Marymount, Ohio and USC are considered four of the best television and film schools.
- Carnegie Mellon's creative writing program is one of the oldest undergraduate programs in the country, and one of the few offering a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing degree.
- Loyola Marymount University School of Film & Television has a very strong television writing program.
- Ohio University encourages students to follow their passion while remaining open-minded to emerging and converging media industries.
- Students in University of Southern California Marshall School of Business of Entertainment concentrate on master advanced business concepts, practices and leadership training, as well as acquire a comprehensive understanding of the language and operations of the television and film industry.
All four schools are very supportive of the Forum's objective to encourage the development of more family friendly programming.
To submit a proposal on behalf of your university to the Forum, send proposals to Barbara Bacci Mirque at BBacciMirque@ana.net
or mail them to:
- Barbara Bacci Mirque
- Association of National Advertisers
- 708 Third Avenue
- New York, NY 10017
Proposals can be flexible in format (scholarship, fellowships, grants for professors/guest speakers, contests, etc.), but they must support the Forum's objective to produce more quality family friendly programming on television.
Family Friendly Programming Forum Message Points
- The Family Friendly Programming Forum is a group of over 40 major national advertisers, all members of the Association of National Advertisers and representing approximately 30 percent of all U.S. television advertising dollars, who are taking positive steps to increase family friendly programming choices on television.
- The underlying goal of the Family Friendly Programming Forum is to ensure that at least one family friendly programming option is available each night in every hour between 8 and 10 p.m. when adults and children watch television together.
- Family friendly programming is appropriate in theme, content and language for adults and children. It has cross-generational appeal, depicts real life and resolves issues responsibly.
- The Family Friendly Programming Forum will continue to advocate and raise the visibility of family friendly television shows with networks, writers and producers. The viewing public deserves nothing less.
Any company can join the Family Friendly Programming Forum
Any company that is a member of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and supports the objective to increase more quality family friendly television programming can join the Forum. For more information, contact Barbara Bacci Mirque at BBacciMirque@ana.net