Cox Communications Middle Georgia

Cox Communications Helps Parents TAKE CHARGE of TV and Internet Content

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2009

Macon, GA – Following the infamous 2004 Super Bowl half-time show, parental sensitivity to their children’s access to TV and Internet content has increased significantly. Research conducted on behalf of Cox Communications, Inc., reveals that 85 percent of American parents say they are concerned about the images their children see on TV programs and web sites. For this reason, forming an alliance with children’s advocate and TV host John Walsh, Cox launched “Take Charge! Smart Choices for Your Cox Digital Home” to help parents better manage their family’s mass media experience.

“Although many people want to better manage their kids’ exposure to things they find objectionable, a lack of time and knowledge often prevents them from doing so,” noted Walsh, the tireless crusader for victims’ rights and missing children and host of America’s Most Wanted. “That’s why Cox’s Take Charge! program provides parents with proactive, easy-to-use tools and resources to promote safe and smart usage."

With Take Charge!, Cox wants to increase customers’ awareness and use of the parental controls and filtering tools already available in a digital home — on their cable TV and Internet. Through an easy-to-use, comprehensive website (www.cox.com/takecharge) and a free resource guide, Cox provides Middle Georgia families with tools and resources to help them not only block content they find objectionable, but identify and get the most enjoyment out of exciting family-friendly content.

“We took a snapshot of the American mindset and gauged concerns about the content available via broadband and digital technologies,” said Mike Dyer, Cox's Vice President and General Manager. “From our findings, it’s clear that parents enjoy having a multitude of choices for their entertainment and news. For their children however, they want help in monitoring mass media content coming into their homes. No responsible parent would hand their young child the keys to their car. Nor would they allow them to cross a busy intersection alone. That’s why we launched Take Charge! --- to empower parents and protect our children in Middle Georgia and nationwide.”

Research Findings Identify Growing Concerns
Findings of two national surveys conducted for Cox by Ketchum Global Research Network include:

• More than half of American parents surveyed are either somewhat or very concerned about their children seeing images from the war in Iraq.

• Respondents are most concerned about the appropriateness of online content. Outranking TV programs, movies, video games, and print media, Internet sites were named by 40 percent of parents as their number one concern when it comes to inappropriate content.

• Sexual images are considered more objectionable than other kinds of content. When it comes to TV, 51 percent of parents surveyed cited sexual content as most objectionable (over violence, reality TV, and war coverage), while 56 percent rated it as the most disturbing content on the Internet (over spam, open chat rooms and violent images).

• Almost all respondents believe they should be responsible for ensuring that their children use technology appropriately, yet they want help in doing so. In fact, 71 percent of respondents indicated they are interested in having a printed or online guide to help identify family-appropriate content, as well as how to block inappropriate content.

Time to Take Charge
The Take Charge! web site (www.cox.com/takecharge) is a central repository of helpful information and links to other useful web sites. For example, almost 60 percent of parents surveyed indicated that parental controls on cable boxes are the most valuable monitoring tool for TV, so the site features step-by-step instructions on activating those controls. Additional online tools include tips for responsible Internet, TV, and telephone use; a family media usage contract; a resource list to help identify good educational programming; links to valuable web sites; ongoing features on protecting families; and games, quizzes, and other fun offerings that educate children about safe usage practices.

Take Charge! also helps parents teach young children and teens how to stay safer online through Cox’s new partnership with NetSmartz®, an interactive, educational safety resource created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. NetSmartz combines the newest technologies available and the most current information to create high-impact educational activities that are well received by even the most tech-savvy kids. NetSmartz uses 3-D animation to create characters like Clicky, Webster, and Nettie to teach kids about online dangers using interactive games and activities. The goal of NetSmartz is to extend the safety awareness of children to prevent victimization and increase self-confidence whenever they go online. Parents, guardians, educators, and law enforcement also have access to additional resources for learning and teaching about the dangers children may face online.

The surveys, with 1,452 total respondents, were conducted in May and June 2004. Additional research findings can be viewed at www.cox.com/takecharge.

About Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company with more than 6.2 million total residential and commercial customers. The third-largest cable television company in the United States, Cox offers an array of advanced digital video, high-speed Internet and telephony services over its own nationwide IP network, as well as integrated wireless services. Cox Business is a full-service, facilities-based provider of communications solutions for commercial customers, providing high-speed Internet, voice and long distance services, as well as data and video transport services for small to large-sized businesses. Cox Media offers national and local cable advertising in traditional spot and new media formats, along with promotional opportunities and production services. Cox Communications wholly owns and operates the Travel Channel. More information about the services of Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is available at www.cox.com, www.coxbusiness.com, and www.coxmedia.com.  

About John Walsh
Children’s advocate John Walsh has turned his passion for justice into the nation's number-one crime-fighting show, Fox’s America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back. Touched by tragedy when his six-year-old son Adam was abducted and murdered in 1981, John and his wife Revé turned their grief into positive energy to help missing and exploited children. Battling bureaucratic resistance and legislative nightmares, their work led to the passage of the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children Assistance Act of 1984. The latter bill founded the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which maintains a toll-free hotline number (1-800-THE-LOST) to report missing or sexually exploited children. Named by CBS portraits as one of the 100 Americans Who Changed History, John Walsh’s life has also been chronicled on A & E’s Biography program and MSNBC’s Headliners and Legends with Matt Lauer. In 1988 he was named the U.S. Marshals’ Man of the Year, and two years later received the same honor from the FBI, the Bureau's highest civilian award. Walsh has received hundreds of other honors, including the 1984 Father of the Year Award from the National Father's Day Committee and is the only private citizen to receive a Special Recognition Award by a U.S. Attorney General.

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Media Contact:
Mary Bowman Huff
Community/Public Relations Manager
478.314.3528 I mary.huff@cox.com