Thank you all so much for coming here today, and participating in the Commission's en banc hearing on the public interest obligations of television broadcasters.
Television is the most powerful and ubiquitous medium in the history of the world.
Eighty-five percent of Americans watch local broadcast television every week. On average, children spend three hours in front of the television every single day. In sum, TV shapes our lives, our outlooks, and the ways our children learn. So, clearly, it is a medium that we all must care about, particularly at a time when the images bombarding our homes and our families seem increasingly more troubling. I have received a lot of input during my tenure from parents and citizens who are concerned about the current direction of television.