Public service announcements

I used to hear people joke that when celebrities did public service announcements it meant that they had been in trouble and this was part of their punishment. They would joke about it, but there really isnt anything funny about them, and most of them do it because they feel strongly about an issue. It really doesnt matter why they do them, as long as they do. With so many imitating the bad behaviors of some of these people, there has to be some people that take the good things they say to heart as well.

Public service announcements are usually quick and painless. The ones I am most familiar with are the ones that show on NBC, though I am sure all stations do them. They often have a quick but powerful message meant for those who may be facing trouble, and also, the public service announcements hope to put good ideas into the heads of children to outweigh the bad messages they may be getting elsewhere. These can be just as powerful as the whispers on the playground and in local teenage hangouts.

Some public service announcements are national, such as the ones that you see briefly on the network stations, but many communities have them on their local stations as well. These often reflect the immediate concerns of the community, and are often things meant for the children. The most common public service announcements in my community are about drugs and drinking and driving, and I would think those are very common no matter where you live. With the state of the world as it is today, we may start seeing many more that are in regards to matters of recycling and global warming issues.

In most cases, the public service announcements are sponsored by someone, which means they dont cost anything other than airtime. Though the time any network takes to air a PSA is lost revenue, it is something that they do as a public service. You can often request information on what each station does in the way of public service announcements. If you dont think they are doing enough, you are free to say so. It doesnt mean that things will change, but at least you tried. They may not seem like much, but they can be effective, and when shown at the right times, they do reach the little ears that need to hear them the most.