12. When Lamb Chop Spoke to Congress
Way back in 1961, then-FCC Chairman Newton Minnow labeled television as a “vast wasteland.” he was referring to the vacuous educational opportunities left on the table by the broadcasters of that day. Many saw an opportunity to use the airwaves to teach, some for good, some for political reasons. No surprise, Shari Lewis was all about using TV to educate kids. Lamb Chop was too. It took a long time, but they finally got their chance to make their thoughts heard in front of Congress in 1993. Lamp Chop had three minutes to speak, and then Lewis had three as well. They lobbied for laws that would protect children from bad television content but would encourage quality content as well.