       Take Charge! - Smart Choices for Your Cox Digital HomeTake Charge News 
  May 23, 2005 NEW STUDY REVEALS PARENTS NEED BETTER CYBERSMARTSChildren’s Advocate John Walsh, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
ATLANTA –A new survey commissioned by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and Cox Communications reveals that, while nearly half of the parents surveyed monitor their children’s online activity daily or weekly, the other half admit they don’t even know that such monitoring tools are available. The results are a compelling backdrop for Internet Safety Month in June.
To promote awareness of the tools and software parents can easily access to better protect their children online, John Walsh, children’s advocate and host of “America’s Most Wanted,” will appear live in local broadcast television and radio interviews across the country on Wednesday, May 25, 2005. Walsh also will host a program addressing Internet safety and highlighting steps parents can take to better manage what their children see and do online. The show will air on Cox Cable channels nationwide starting in June. The media effort being undertaken by Walsh, NCMEC, and Cox is part of a larger campaign to encourage parents and caregivers to become more involved with their children’s online habits and behaviors and show how families can get the most out of their Internet experiences – safely. Launched in partnership with Walsh in 2004, “Take Charge! Smart Choices for Your Cox Digital Home” hopes to increase awareness and use of the parental controls and Internet filtering tools that are already available in Internet and cable customers’ homes. A major component of Take Charge! is NetSmartz,® an interactive, educational safety resource from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® and Boys & Girls Clubs of America that uses age-appropriate, 3-D activities to teach children and teens how to stay safer on the Internet. At www.cox.com/TakeCharge, parents and children can find the complete survey results, online safety tools and tips, links to NCMEC, NetSmartz, and the CyberTipline, and a glossary of common Internet chat lingo. “We all know that the Internet is a fantastic tool for children to use and learn from,” said Walsh. “However, parents need to be engaged with their children’s online habits to prevent the unthinkable from happening within their own home. NetSmartz.org and Cox’s Take Charge! web site are great places for parents to learn how they can take charge of their family’s web usage.” Take Charge! consists of a comprehensive web site at www.cox.com/TakeCharge, free parents’ guide, and Public-Service Announcements featuring Walsh and local educational activities within the communities Cox serves. Teaching young children and teens how to stay safer online is a major element of the program thanks to Cox’s partnership with NetSmartz. In addition to Take Charge! PSAs, Cox has donated $3.3 million of PSA airtime to NetSmartz and nearly $900,000 to NCMEC. About the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children About Cox Communications (www.cox.com) Cox Communications Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is a multi-service broadband communications company with approximately 6.7 million total customers, including approximately 6.3 million basic cable subscribers. The nation's third-largest cable television provider, Cox offers analog cable television under the Cox Cable brand as well as digital video service under the Cox Digital Cable brand, featuring advanced services including digital video recording, high-definition television and video-on-demand. Cox provides an array of other communications services including local and long-distance telephone under the Cox Digital Telephone brand, high-speed Internet service under the Cox High Speed Internet brand, and home networking. Commercial voice and data services are offered via Cox Business Services. Local cable advertising, promotional opportunities and production services are sold under the Cox Media brand. Cox is an investor in programming services including Discovery Communications Inc. Cox Communications is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc.
Media ContactsDavid Grabert
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