E/I
Encyclopedia : E : EI : EI : E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. Federal law requires that every broadcast station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these programs every week.
In addition, stations must identify such shows on-screen with an "E/I" bug in a corner of the screen. Originally, this was displayed only during the first minute of the program, or, as a separate announcement prior to the show, but since 2004, all E/I shows must display the bug during the entire duration of the show, except during commercial breaks.
Peggy Charren of Action for Children's Television, and other like-minded activists and educators, are believed to be the most responsible for this requirement, which was enacted as part of the Children's Television Act of 1990.
What constitutes the shows as "E/I" is determined by the Federal Communications Commission, which enforces the regulations.
At regular intervals, each station submits a list of programs that it either airs now or plans to air which it feels will inform, as well as entertain, viewers below age 18, and must occasionally announce on-air that this list is available to the public from the station.
These programs generally air during the morning between 7 and 10 am Monday through Friday, and all day on weekends, though legally, they can air anytime between 7AM and 10PM local time. However, some commercial stations would show E/I programming during hours when very few kids would watch, such as after 10AM on weekdays, when kids are at school.
When the FCC announced the new requirements, local stations tried to repackage existing childrens' shows as educational and informative. The FCC turned down many of the requests. On the other hand, producers of true educational shows suddenly found a new market for their products, and reruns of shows like New Zoo Revue and Big Blue Marble suddenly became available on small-scale independent stations, which normally air infomercials, religious shows, and home shopping programs. However, enforcement remains capricious: KDOC, an independent in Irvine, California, was allowed to count Little House on the Prairie as an E/I show. Also, Pax/i's talent showcases (America's Most Talented Kids) and animal rescue documentaries (Miracle Pets) also counted toward the "E/I" requirement, with Pax/i giving them a special (though not quite true) "rating" of "TV E/I".
Demonstration of the E/I Bug
Partial list of E/I programs
- Archie's Weird Mysteries (syndicated)
- KOL's Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party on CBS block
- [[Cubix: Robots for Everyone]] (Kids' WB!/4Kids TV)
- Discovery Kids block (NBC)
- Dora the Explorer (CBS)
- Jack Hanna's Wild Adventures (syndicated)
- Liberty's Kids (former PBS show, now syndicated, mostly on WB stations)
- Little Bill (CBS)
- Magical DoReMi (4Kids TV)
- NBA Inside Stuff (ABC)
- NFL Under the Helmet (Fox)
- Phil of the Future (ABC)
- The Proud Family (ABC)
- [[Sabrina: The Animated Series]] (syndicated)
- This Week in Baseball (Fox)
- Trollz (syndicated)
- Winx Club (4Kids TV)
External Links
- [FCC: Consumer Facts about Children's TV]
- [American Public Television: Distribution Services] (includes E/I info)
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