Television Code ~ 1964 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB); Dick Cavett (Patreon)

more at http://quickfound.net/

PSA on the NAB Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters, narrated by Dick Cavett.

Originally a public domain film from the National Archives or Library of Congress Prelinger Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Practices_for_Television_Broadcasters

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters, also known as the Television Code, was a set of ethical standards adopted by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) for television programming from 1952 to 1983. The code was created to self-regulate the industry in hopes of avoiding a proposed government Advisory Board and satisfying parental concerns over violence and other matters. Prior to the Television Code, the 1935 NAB Code of Ethics for radio was applied to television but fewer than half of television stations subscribed to it; when the Television Code was first issued, two-thirds of stations became subscribers...

The code was first issued on December 6, 1951, and amended multiple times, especially in the wake of the 1950s quiz show scandals, Congressional hearings into violence (1952, 1954), and concern over the possible blurring of fact and fiction in early docudrama.

The code prohibited the use of profanity, the negative portrayal of family life, irreverence for God and religion, illicit sex, drunkenness and addiction, presentation of cruelty, detailed techniques of crime, the use of horror for its own sake, and the negative portrayal of law enforcement officials, among others. The code regulated how performers should dress and move to be within the "bounds of decency". Further, news reporting was to be "factual, fair and without bias" and commentary and analysis should be "clearly defined as such". Broadcasters were to make time available for religious broadcasting and were discouraged from charging religious bodies for access. Most importantly, it limited the commercial minutes per hour.

In 1973, responding to concerns raised by Action for Children's Television, the NAB revised the code to limit commercial time in children's programming to twelve minutes per hour. Additionally, the hosts of children's television programs were prohibited from appearing in commercials aimed at children. This became Section XIV “Time Standards for Non-Program Material”...

In 1976, the code's program standards were suspended after a Los Angeles federal judge ruled that the Family Viewing Hour violated the First Amendment...

Under further threats of legal action by the Justice Department on the grounds the code violated the First Amendment and Fairness Doctrine, the NAB decided to eliminate the remainder of the Television Code as well as the Radio Code in 1983...