It’s not all about the money: media responsibility and commercial preschool television in Israel

Abstract

The establishment of local television networks for preschool children since the 1990s can be conceptualized as a response to the twin dynamics of commercialization and globalization. This paper examines this response through the case of the Israeli commercial preschool channel Hop!, using media responsibility and corporate social responsibility as analytical frameworks for the network’s off-screen operations. Ethnographic research revealed three types of off-screen activities: (1) activities geared at maintaining a relationship with the public; (2) ongoing, non-publicized activities; and (3) activities responding to national emergencies, enhancing the network’s “local” image and reinforcing ties with its viewers. Together, these activities reveal the conflict between the commercial imperative for a private channel to turn a profit, and the ethical responsibilities entailed in broadcasting to children, as well as some of the advantages of local over global networks in the preschool context.