In this public service announcement from 1967, Dick Cavett assures television viewers that the channel they are are now watching follows the Television Code of Practice.
“Kids are impressionable.
That’s why here, at this station, we watch the programs and commercials your child watches carefully.
He may see bad guys, but not in the role of heroes.
He’ll learn that crime doesn’t pay.
Because your child’s welfare is our concern, too.
That’s part of our code.
The code of the National Association of Broadcasters for television in the greater public interest.”
This Television Code was originally established and adopted by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1951.
If the TV show passed these thresholds, the Television Code Seal of Good Practice would be tacked on after the closing credits.
This code determined how TV personalities could dress, that all news be “factual, fair and without bias,” that analysis and opinion be clearly indicated, that religious broadcasting should be available and donated for free, and that there be a consistent amount of limited commercials time per hour.
As economic and cultural interests changed, and the coming of cable television, the Television Code was abandoned in 1983.
