PSA+Introduction

=Introduction to Public Service Announcements= =Intern Resources=

What is a Public Service Announcement?
Public service announcements (PSAs) educate citizens about issues that are difficult to deal with: homelessness, pollution, teen pregnancy, and alcoholism.

"In the United States a public service announcement (PSA) is defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a formal and detailed manner. A PSA is "'any announcement (including network) for which no charge is made and which promotes programs, activities, or services of federal, state, or local governments (e.g., recruiting, sale of bonds, etc.) or the programs, activities or services of non-profit organizations (e.g., United Way, Red Cross blood donations, etc.) and other announcements regarded as serving community interests, excluding time signals, routine weather announcements and promotional announcements.'" http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/P/htmlP/publicservic/publicservic.htm

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5gBJGnaXs > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8165024777546661764&q=Crying+Indian > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Elr5K2Vuo
 * Your brain on drugs
 * Native American Crying (Keep America Beautiful)
 * I Learned It by Watching You

A Closer Look at PSAs

 * http://www.hud.gov/webcasts/archives/pubservice.cfm

Use the following focus questions to think about this and other PSAs you have seen:
 * What are the characteristics of a PSA?
 * Length, topic, audience, purpose?
 * How do they differ from a regular television commercial?
 * What tools, technological and creative, do the producers use to get their ideas across in memorable, effective ways?

Determining Audience Influence

 * http://www.afterschoolscene.com/index.asp?ID=6&SID=310