While teens use the Internet day in and day out, new research indicates that many struggle to find their way through the Web's vast stores of information. Rob Capriccioso reports on how educators and Web designers can help create a more teen-friendly Internet.

Picture books on the radio? It sounds strange, but expert grandmother Nancy Pekarek thought it could be a great imagination workout for video-saturated 4-to-6 year olds, and she's made it a reality, thanks to the low-power FM radio station WVLP in the Chicago suburb of Valparaiso, Indiana.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (formerly Stop Commercial Exploitation of Children) 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 consumerism.

Children’s PressLine provides a professionally supervised youth journalism program that empowers young people by amplifying their under-heard voices into the public discourse for a more informed and authentic relationship between kids and adults.

Are today's teenagers indifferent to such keystone First Amendment rights as freedom of speech and freedom of the press? A recent report from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation raised concerns that they might be. Caitlin Johnson, however, isn't so sure.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is proposing changes to the "verifiable parental permission" component of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires parental approval before commercial Web sites can gather and use information on children under 13. The changes permanently allow e-mail plus parental notification (right now a temporary measure)—making it easier for companies meet their COPPA requirements, but potentially leaving children and parents in the dark. The FTC is seeking public comments, which must be filed by February 14.

How important is a free press to a democracy anyway? Only about half of America's high school students think newspapers should be allowed to run stories without government approval. In a study funded by the Knight Foundation, researchers at the University of Connecticut questioned more than 100,000 high school students, nearly 8,000 teachers, and more than 500 administrators and principals. Nearly three-fourths of high school students either do not know how they feel about the First Amendment or admit they take it for granted, and more than one-third of students surveyed say the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees. The more students study the First Amendment, use news media in the classroom, and are involved in student journalism, the greater their appreciation of First Amendment rights.

In the wake of Michael Powell's resignation, Children Now of California called on President Bush to appoint a new Federal Communications Committee (FCC) chairperson who will make protecting children's interests a top priority. Among the issues the new chair will face are determining whether digital broadcasters will be allowed to target children with interactive advertisements and collect personal information for marketing purposes.

In exchange for use of the public airwaves, the Children's Television
Act of 1990 required that each television licensee offer programming to
serve the "educational and informational needs" of children. In the
years since, the FCC has clarified and added rules. The November 2004
revisions include changes to the "three-hour rule" that requires
stations to air three hours of specifically designed educational and
informational programming for kids each week. The legal department of
the National Association of Broadcasters offers a summary of the FCC's
newly adopted children's television rules.

Children Now is a research and action organization dedicated to assuring that children grow up in economically secure families, where parents can go to work confident that their children are supported by quality health coverage, a positive media environment, a good early education, and safe, enriching activities to do after school. Recognized for its expertise in media as a tool for change, Children Now designs its strategies to improve children's lives while at the same time helping America build a sustained commitment to putting children first. Children Now is an independent, nonpartisan organization.