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Public service announcement
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A public service announcement (PSA) or community service announcement (CSA) is a non-commercial advertisement typically on radio or television, ostensibly broadcast for the public good.
The main concept is to modify public attitudes by raising awareness about specific issues.
Contents
- 1 PSAs in the United States
- 2 Well-known PSAs
- 3 See also
- 4 External links
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PSAs in the United States
The most common topics of PSAs are health and safety, although any message considered to be "helpful" to the public can be a PSA. A typical PSA will be part of a public awareness
campaign to inform or educate the public against smoking or
compulsive gambling. Often, a celebrity may promote a
foundation and ask for support from viewers or listeners, an example being
Michael J. Fox's PSAs in the
U.S. supporting research into
Parkinson's Disease, or featuring "
scaring straight"
Crips street gang leader
Stanley "Tookie" Williams from prison, urging the young not to join gangs. Some religious groups produce PSAs about non-religious themes such as
family values as a means of increasing awareness of their church, and to show the role the church has in serving the community. Examples include a long-running campaign from
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and more recently the
United Methodist Church. Also, the military produces PSAs to recruit enlistees, alongside paid advertising and sponsorship efforts.
In the U.S, the role of PSAs was affected by deregulation of the broadcasting industry in the 1980's. Previously, a broadcast license was assigned to a television or radio station that was expected to serve as a "public trustee" by airing, among other requirements, frequent PSAs. Continued licensure no longer depends strictly on programming content, and the number of PSAs that are deliberately scheduled has declined, yet new PSAs continue to be produced and aired.
Today TV or radio stations typically use PSAs as a way to fill unsold commercial time, or to demonstrate their commitment to a particular cause. Some non-profit organizations such as the American Cancer Society and Red Cross choose to ensure usage by purchasing commercial airtime. Smaller organizations like the American Indian College Fund rely solely on donated media space to get their message out.
The
Ad Council, while the largest producer of PSAs in the United States, requires substantial funding from the organizations that qualify for their work.
Well-known PSAs
See also
