Parents in Charge in K.C.

Cable systems eager to explain why "cable puts you in control" should pay attention to what’s going on in Kansas City, Mo. Besides running NCTA’s PSAs on parental controls, Time Warner Cable’s public affairs team in that market created a website (metrokidstuff.com) that highlights family-friendly cable networks. A new page outlines how cable technology helps parents to decide which programs or channels they want their kids to watch. The system’s community relations manager, Lori Hansen, and community events coordinator Joyce Peters are also conducting "Media Smart Families" workshops on Internet safety, media literacy and critical viewing skills. A summerlong contest offered a free year of digital cable and an HDTV set to the clan that could best answer why it should be Time Warner Cable Kansas City’s "Media Smart Family." The winners will be featured in cross-channel spots this fall. "Our goal is to make being media smart part of the vernacular at home, at school and in the community," Hansen says. "We have this technology in place, so we’re really making sure that people are aware of it, understand it and know how to use it." —Shirley Brady