When TV was young, broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) developed the "US Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters," which was also referred to as the Television Code.

This code was Victorian by today's standards and placed very specific guidelines on stations that restricted what those stations could broadcast. Failure of a station to follow conform to the code could result in the loss of the station's license so few, if any, licensed stations tested the policy.

Today, Americans glorify bad behavior. A perfect example is all the media coverage exalted upon Britney Spears for her public displays of lude behavior and poor parenting. Britney's case is one of a fallen star returning to notoriety for outrageous behavior rather than displaying talent as she had earlier in her career. Who can blame Jamie Lynn Spears for ruining the place she held in the hearts of tweenies by following in her sister's footsteps?

Those of us who are raising children must hold public figures to higher standards than what we ourselves are capable of holding true. Whether Britney's influence led her sister to make bad decisions and become pregnant at the age of 16 are a matter for psychologists to debate and not a real concern for parents. Lynne Spears, Britney's mom, has postponed publishing a book on parenting principles stating that the timing is not right. Timing has nothing to do with the matter and Lynne Spears should dismiss writing such a book except to perhaps highlight her mistakes.

Entertainment Tonight has less and less to do with entertainment and more to do with depravity. The show should have changed its name to the Nightly Anna Nichole Smith Report because of the intense coverage to the former Playboy Model who no one really cares to hear about. To this day, Entertainment Tonight broadcasts stories of the child, lovers, and lawyer of Miss Smith and none of these people hold any relevance to the public.

Most of the show's other segments deal with victims of plastic-surgery mishaps, the hopelessly obese, and celebrity's drunken-antics. Few of these segments relate to the public and the show's concentration on the later qualifies the show as a promoter of shame.

Do not expect the media outlets to change their coverage of the disgusting and grotesque. They will promote whatever sleaze they can get away with broadcasting. We, as concerned citizens, however, can and should modify our behavior by following some common sense guidelines:

• Consider the source of information we use in making decisions; celebrities are entertainers and as such do not necessarily possess skills in the disciplines of critical thinking.
• Monitor the actions of children and steer them away from would-be role models who demonstrate that they lack common sense.
• Promote constructive activities like reading and writing as means of self-expression.
• Discourage activities that poison the mind such as listening to rap-music, which demonstrates low-intelligence and under-achievement.
• Take responsibility for your actions and strive to become positive role models ourselves. Children turn to celebrity role models when there are no positive influences in their lives.