Taking Charge of Your TV. A Guide to Critical Viewing for Parents and Children.

University of Minnesota Children, Youth and Family Consortium. Permission is granted to create and distribute copies of this document for noncommercial purposes provided that the author and CYFC receive acknowledgment and this notice is included.

Sponsored by The Family & Community Critical Viewing Project
A Partnership of

The National Parent Teacher Association
The National Cable Television Association
Cable In The Classroom

Acknowledgments

Much of the material presented here and in the Critical Viewing Workshop for Parents and Teachers, is based on research and concepts developed by leaders in the growing field of media literacy, including Dr. Renee Hobbs and Elizabeth Thoman. Dr. Hobbs is an Associate Professor at Babson College and Director of the Institute on Media Education at Harvard University. Ms. Thoman is founder and Executive Director of the Center for Media Literacy in Los Angeles, California. We thank them both. The workshop was designed and conducted by trainers from the Cable Telecommunications Association.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Getting started
How do you take charge of your TV?
What are critical viewing skills and media literacy? Four points to remember as you watch TV Taking charge of your TV - How to do it Back home activity sheets for parents, children and family Other resources - Media literacy for parents

We encourage you to reproduce and distribute this guide.

INTRODUCTION

Television has a tremendous influence on American family life. As the dominant force in our media culture, television has changed our habits, what we do with our free time, when and how we eat meals, when we go to bed, and how we raise and entertain our children. Television is an important part of children's lives, offering them a look at many things they will never have the chance to see for themselves. But TV viewing, especially by children, needs to be controlled.

Above all else, television teaches. And that's why the PTA and the cable industry are concerned about what our children learn from watching television.

We hear that too much TV is bad for our children and that exposure to violence, especially at a young age, can have harmful, lifelong consequences. What can we do about it? With children viewing, on average, 20,000 advertisements a year, how do we defend against such an endless bombardment of TV commercials so often directed at our vulnerable children?

We could get rid of our TVs altogether, but for most of us that's just not realistic. Television communicates important information that we want to know. It's an important part of our society, and at its best TV is not just informative, it's very entertaining.

You can be in control

How much TV to view is a personal choice for every family, but experts tell us the key is to change the way we view television. That's what this parents' guide, and the accompanying workshop, are all about: practical ways we can take charge of our TVs, to make television viewing a conscious choice, not just a habit.

This guide, a key part of the Family & Community Critical Viewing Project, will help you learn how to plan for better TV viewing, by:

1. becoming more aware of what is behind the way that TV programs are produced,

2. establishing limits on how much TV your family watches each week, and

3. by developing family guidelines for program selection. It will even encourage you, when appropriate, to "Talk back to your TV," by expressing your opinion of what you are seeing and hearing.

"Television can be an effective and persuasive teacher of prosocial attitudes and has the potential to make a major contribution toward reducing violence." Summary Report of the APA Commission on Violence and Youth

GETTING STARTED

How Do You Take Charge of Your TV?

The focus of this parents' guide is on viewer control over what children and their families watch on television. The workshop and this guide look at issues of television awareness, demonstrate critical viewing skills and suggest media literacy techniques that can change our relationship to TV, thus changing the potential impact of television on children -- and ourselves.

Three groups have an effect on program content and TV violence -- the government, the media industry and viewers. The government could set uniform rules for programming. These rules might be seen as violating First Amendment rights. Most people seem to want less government regulations, not more. The media industry could do it -- they have control over program production. Media companies, however, are in business to make money -- they base their decisions on viewer and advertiser demands. Media education is a way for people to take charge of their TV.

Though the television industry ultimately controls what viewers will see, they are quick to point out that they base their programming decisions on viewer and advertiser preferences. Efforts to create more television programming for children are essential. But equally important are the ways we change our family's relationship to TV. We can all become "TV Aware," learn how critical viewing skills can lead to media literacy, and take control of the television sets in our homes. If enough people become more "TV Aware" viewers, individual acts of choice will begin to bring about changes in both viewer and advertiser demands.

What Are Critical Viewing Skills and Media Literacy?

In the past it was primarily words -- written, read and spoken -- that defined literacy. Books and newspapers made people literate and gave them the power to get important information, helping make decisions about their lives. Today, information comes through a variety of media-delivered messages and images, especially electronic. For our children to be media literate today -- and into the 21st Century -- they must know how to "read," interpret and evaluate the images, words and sounds that make up our contemporary mass media culture.

Our first step is to have an awareness and an understanding of critical viewing skills. When we, as television viewers, learn to ask questions about what we see and hear, when we recognize and defuse the effects of commercials and media violence, and when we intentionally evaluate program content, we are on the road to media literacy.

The Four Literacy Skills Required for the Information Age

Print: Reading, writing
Language: Speaking Listening
Computer: Using software, Using technology to create and send messages
Media: Critical viewing, Image and video production

FOUR POINTS TO REMEMBER AS YOU WATCH TV

1. Be Aware: TV Programs and Their Messages Are Created To Achieve Specific Results

All TV programs and their messages are deliberately put together piece-by-piece to get the desired final effect. Putting together a TV program is like building a house -- there are numerous choices to make at every step. Each decision determines what is included, what is left out, and what the overall house will look like. When complete, the house will send clear "messages" about the kinds of people who built it.

Television programs are created in much the same way. Media literacy educators talk about TV being "constructed." In television it means many people working together to control all phases of production -- from hiring writers and actors, to refining scripts, to building sets and ultimately to editing images, which determines what gets left in and left out. TV programs are always the result of the many choices made by writers, directors and producers. Finally, the viewers themselves participate in creating television by interpreting what's presented and "making sense" of it for themselves.

Activities

Children aren't expected to know that TV programs are "constructions," but they will have ideas about how television shows are made. Ask them for ideas and use these activities to help your children "make sense" of what they see.

1. Discuss TV's Point of View. All shows carry underlying messages about who and what is important. Some people are cast as victims; others as heroes. Who's telling this story? How would it have been different if someone else had told the story?

2. Keep telling children that TV is pretend: that it tells stories someone made up for them to watch. Play "Real or Make Believe" with young children, asking whether a character is made-up or "real-life." Could an inanimate object move by itself, or an animal talk?

3. Have elementary-age children think about their favorite TV show. What if one or two main characters switched gender? Would it work given the way the show is written? In what ways would it be fine? What does the switch say about our images of men and of women?

4. Pay attention to the camera angles, music and special effects in a TV show. Count the number of times music changes in a video, or listen for when a laugh track is added to a sitcom. These are revealing ways to take the mystery out of TV. By taking note of these and other production techniques, your child will gain valuable critical viewing skills.

5. Ask how did they make this program. What seems real? What doesn't? Is anything left out? How does it make you feel?

6. If you have access to a video camcorder, encourage children to make their own television shows.

7. Be Aware: Each Person Interprets Programs and Messages Differently

A common assumption about television is that all people watching a given show interpret or "read" its messages in a similar way, or receive the same impression from it. In truth, everyone brings to TV viewing their own -- frequently different -- levels of understanding because of personal identity, age and life experiences.

For parents it is particularly important to recognize that children receive and interpret messages differently at different ages. Parents are responsible for guiding and directing the meanings their children make from interpreting TV's messages. The best way to do that is to talk openly with them about what they've just seen.

Activities

These activities will help your children interpret what they see on TV

1. In non-threatening ways, talk back to your TV. Question what you see and hear on TV while watching with your children. Challenge or support the ideas presented. Express opinions about storylines and characters. Sharing your opinions lets your children know what you think and what you consider important.

2. Discuss how conflicts on TV are frequently resolved. Respond to unnecessary violence and point out characters who use positive behavior. Praise them as good examples for your children. Use TV programs as a chance to introduce your own values on topics such as drugs, alcohol and appropriate sexual conduct.

3. Ask your children who is being stereotyped in a program. Are people made to act or talk a certain way because of their age, gender, race, religion or cultural background? Who's wealthy, who's poor? Who's powerful, or intelligent, or obnoxious, or kindly, and how are they presented? What messages are being sent by the way people look and act?

4. Relate TV to real life situations. The way TV characters find simple solutions to complicated problems in a half-hour show can leave young people feeling frustrated with their own inability to solve problems. Help them sort it all out.

5. Use the TV as a tool for promoting learning and inspiring creativity, for education and information. It's an important part of children's lives.

6. Be Aware: Television Violence Takes Many Forms

Violence grabs viewers' attention. It can create emotional shock or set the stage for eye-catching special effects. It's a quick and easy way to show conflict, requiring little background or explanation and ending up with clear winners and losers. Television producers like using violence because it sells well -- and "travels" well -- overseas; meaning that violence is universal and requires no language translation.

Violence takes many forms on TV: realistic and unrealistic; justified and unjustified; humorous, irrelevant, evil, thrilling - even sexy.

Concerned parents and teachers must recognize, as the American Medical Association did in 1976, that "TV violence is a risk factor threatening the health and welfare of young Americans, indeed our future society." Doctors knew early on that graphic television images could influence a child's developing knowledge of how the world works. Follow their good advice and choose your child's TV images wisely.

Activities

These activities will help your children interpret TV violence.

1. Re-sensitize your children to TV violence by asking how the victim might feel. How do you think you would feel if the violent act happened to you or someone you cared about? If your child is old enough, talk about real life encounters with violence which you or other members of your family have experienced.

2. Ask your children if violence is ever funny, as in cartoons. Point out how real life doesn't work that way. Remind them that if a person gets hit on the head with a piano or falls off a cliff, they will be seriously hurt, even killed. Ask your child why violence is funny in cartoons, but not in real life.

3. Help children interpret what they see. Many young children cannot filter or differentiate between what is real and unreal. Sometimes the best solution is to simply turn off the TV and talk.

4. Pay attention to what your pre-schooler sees you or another adult watching. Children are often unknowingly exposed to programs which contain violence or very mature subject matter.

Be Aware: All TV Programs Have an Underlying Economic Purpose

The television industry, like all industries, is in business to make money. When watching television, it's important to recognize the reason why television exist -- to deliver audiences to advertisers. Producers sell programs to networks. Networks sell time to advertisers. And advertisers then hope to sell products to viewers through the use of commercials.

We tend to think that programs are brought to us by sponsors, but it's really the other way around. We're brought to sponsors by programs. Mothers are brought to toothpaste by family shows. Teenage boys are brought to expensive shoes with "pumps" in them by basketball games. And children are brought to sugary cereals by Saturday morning cartoons.

It's a commercial operation in every sense of the word, and it's important to teach children that commercial television is not "free" entertainment. It makes money by selling viewers to advertisers.

Activities

These activities will help children recognize that TV producers want to help advertisers sell products and services to viewers.

1. Ask young children why they think certain commercials are placed (or aired) on certain programs. For example, toy ads during the cartoons.

2. Try to predict the kinds of commercials that will appear in a selected show. See how program content connects with commercial intentions.

3. When your children see their favorite sports hero telling them to try this food, or shoe, or other product, ask them if they think the star gets paid to say those things. Would the star really eat the food or choose the shoes for him- or herself if he or she weren't being paid?

4. Use the activity sheet Five Things to Teach Your Children about Commercials on page 11 to help your children better understand the techniques used in television advertisements.

TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR TV -- HOW TO DO IT

Suggestions for Taking Charge of Your TV Viewing

Make TV watching a conscious, planned-for activity

Children should ask our permission to watch TV and not be allowed to just casually "channel surf" to see if anything sparks their interest. The simple act of asking gives you the opportunity to respond with a very important one-word question of your own: Why? Each time you do it you'll be reinforcing the principle that "We watch specific shows, not just whatever is on."

Establish family guidelines for selecting programs. Children should know what you value and the reasons for your choices. (For ideas on guidelines, see the activity sheet called Questions and Guidelines To Evaluate TV Programs for Children on page 14.)

Set limits on how much TV your family watches. For example, some experts suggest that pre-schoolers only view an hour or so a day, and that older children be limited to a maximum of two ours a day. Once you determine the right limits for you and your family, stick to them!

Set an example for your children. Make your own TV watching a conscious planned for activity.

Choose programs together

Take time one day each week to review TV program guides for the week ahead. Check channel listings for programs with themes and subjects matching your family guidelines. Decide together how your children will "spend" their number of TV viewing hours.

Looking for programs that offer other perspectives, principles or images your children do not usually see on TV. For example, shows where non-violence wins out over violence, or where individuals aren't always after money, sex or power. Different viewpoints are helpful to your child's education.

And remember, when a selected program is over, turn the TV off!

Make TV watching an interactive family event

Television doesn't have to end family discussion and interaction. Watch it together, and use every opportunity to talk about what you are seeing and hearing. Television can stimulate conversation about topics that can be difficult for some families to discuss, such as feelings about divorce or appropriate sexual behavior.

And it's OK to talk back to your TV. Letting your children hear your values--in a non-threatening way-- is useful. Make a particular point of responding to sexism, racism and unnecessary violence, but remember to point out positive portrayals on television as well.

Plan special viewing times to watch with your child and let TV expand and enlarge your world. Look ahead for programs which will stimulate your child's imagination and watch them together. Then, find related books and magazines at your public library to help continue the learning process.

Use TV as a springboard for other learning experiences

Watching a program on TV can be a useful bridge to reading and other real world activities. TV can create interest in a new topic or idea, thus providing opportunities to learn more about them in other ways. Here are some examples:

When a topic on TV sparks your child's interest, get to the library or museum and explore the subject further.

During program breaks, ask children what they think might happen next. This helps develop verbal skills and creative thinking.

Use TV shows to inspire creative expression through drawing or writing. Don't let TV be an excuse for not participating in other activities.

The schedule of TV shows can be a good way for children to learn how to tell time. Ask them where the hands of the clock will be when its time for their favorite TV show.

Having your child tell you about a program you missed will help develop valuable communication skills.

Building a Home Video Library

Make it a regular point to tape your child's favorite shows for future viewing, especially those that combine entertainment and learning. Taping shows to watch later helps children recognize that they can choose outside play, homework, chores, or other activities instead of being tied to the afternoon cartoons and reruns. Children will gladly watch repeated showings of a good video as much as they like hearing a favorite bedtime story again and again. See the activity sheet called Commercial-Free Programming on page 15 for times to tape the show.

BACK HOME ACTIVITY SHEETS
Family

Your Family TV Viewing Diary

One of the first steps in taking charge of your TV is determining exactly what and how much your family is watching. By using this Family TV Diary, you'll be able to evaluate your family's television viewing habits and decide how they might be changed.

BACK HOME ACTIVITY SHEETS
Parents

Five Things To Teach Your Children about Commercials

Watching TV isn't as easy as it looks. The following list of advertising techniques can help you help your children become aware of the subtle difference between hip and hype! Read the following paragraphs and then fill in the chart below.

Incredible, indestructible toys

Many toy commercials show their toys in life-like fashion, doing incredible things--airplanes do loop-the-loops, dolls cry and drawing sets produce beautiful results. This would be fine if the toys really did these things.

Playing with our emotions

Commercials often create an emotional feeling that draws you into the advertisement and makes you feel good. The fast-food commercials, featuring father and daughter eating out together, or the long distance phone companies reaching out to someone are good examples. We are more attracted by products that make us feel good.

Pictures of ideal children

The children in commercials are often a little older and a little more perfect than the target audience of the ad. A commercial targeting eight-year-olds will show 11- or 12-year-old models playing with an eight-year-old's toy.

Products in the very best light

Selective editing is used in all commercials, but especially in commercials for athletic toys like footballs. Commercials show only brilliant catches and perfect throws. Unfortunately, that's not the way most children experience these toys.

Big names, big bucks

Sports heroes, movie stars and teenage heartthrobs tell our children what to eat and what to wear. Children listen, not realizing that the star is paid handsomely for the endorsement. See for yourself!

Watch Saturday morning TV or afternoon cartoons and fill in the chart below about children's commercials. When you spot tricks being used, enter them in your chart. Do the ads give a fair picture of the products? If not, what else should the advertisement tell you?

Commercial Product
Tricks Used
Did It Give a Fair Picture of the Product? What Else Should the Commercial Tell You?

Based on a handout from Patenting in a TV Age, A Media Literacy Workshop Kit," 1991, Center for Media Literacy, Los Angeles, CA.

BACK HOME ACTIVITY SHEETS
Parents/Children

Sellers Go Where the Buyers Are

Advertisers want their products seen by the most-likely buyers. At different times during the day, watch the ads from half-hour shows, and fill in the Show column and the Products Advertised column on this worksheet. Then give is to someone who hasn't seen the show. Just by looking at the types of products advertised, can they figure out what types of viewers the show is trying to attract? Can they also figure out what time of day the program aired?

Show
Products Advertised
Time of Day
Type of Viewer Sought

BACK HOME ACTIVITY SHEETS
Parents

Evaluating TV Violence

Is violence on television always bad? How can you recognize a television program or movie that might be harmful to your child?

The following checklist, based on studies of typical violent television programs, will help you answer some of those questions. Complete the checklist while watching a prime-time television serial or a movie. The more statements you check, the less appropriate that particular show, and others like it, may be for your child.

Does violence drive the storyline?

In this program, there wouldn't be much of a story without the violence.
In this program, the hero is never safe (or never seems to feel safe).
Do the violent acts seem to be a showcase for special effects by the media makers?
It would be difficult to sum up what happens in this program without describing at least one act of violence.

Does the violence portrayed include the real-life consequences?

The leading "good guy" character in the story survives the episode with few serious injuries.
When people die in this program, they seem to simply disappear. No one is shown mourning when a person is killed or seriously injured.

Does the story describe a world of all good and all bad?

The "good guys" in this story have few bad qualities. The "bad guys" in this story have few good qualities. The "good guys" are, in some way, the "winners" in this program. The "bad guys" seem to have no family or friends who will care if they get hurt.

If you were a child, what lessons about the world might you learn from the program you just watched?

This reproducible was created from research provided by the Center for Media Literacy magazine, volume 62. For more information about this organization, call 310/559-2944, or write 1962 S. Shenandoah Street, Los Angeles, CA 90034.

BACK HOME ACTIVITY SHEETS
Parents

Questions and Guidelines To Evaluate TV Programs For Children

Use the following checklist as a guide when reviewing television programs and videos your child may want to watch.

Yes/No

1. Does the program present conflict that a child can understand, and does it demonstrate positive techniques for resolving the conflict?

2. Does the program present racial groups positively and does it show them in situations that enhance a child's self-image? Who has the lead role? Who is the villain? Are the supporting roles stereotypes?

3. Does the program present sex roles and adult roles positively? Are the men either super-heroes or incompetents? Are the women flighty or disposed to deception? Are teens portrayed with adult characteristics? Is the story told from a male or female point of view?

4. Does the program appeal to the audience for whom it is intended? (A program for 12-year olds should be different from a program for 6-year olds.)

5. Does the program present social issues that are appropriate for the child-viewer and something a child can act on at a child's level? (Pet care versus saving endangered species; recycling cans versus global warming.)

6. Does the program encourage worthwhile ideals, values and beliefs?

7. Does the program present humor at a child's level? (Or is it adult sarcasm, ridicule, or an adult remembering what was funny from childhood?)

8. Does the program stimulate constructive activities and enhance the quality of a child's play?

9. Does the program's pace allow the child to absorb and think about the material presented?

10. Does the program have artistic qualities?

11. Does the program separate fact from fantasy?

12. Does the program separate advertisements from program content?

Originally developed by San Francisco's Committee on Children's Television. Reprinted in Parenting in a TV Age, A Media Literacy Workshop Kit," 1991, Center for Media Literacy, Los Angeles, CA.

BACK HOME ACTIVITY SHEETS
Family

Commercial-Free Programming Family Cable In The Classroom provides commercial-free blocks of cable programming specifically for classroom use. This educational programming includes news documentaries, performing arts and programs in math, English, the sciences, foreign languages, health and technical services. Cable In The Classroom copyright clearances allow teachers to record programs for later use in lesson plans. Parents are encouraged to record any of the Cable In The Classroom programming for their own family use as well. This Cable In The Classroom Programming-at-a-Glance Grid will help you find the programs you can record for your home video library.

BACK HOME ACTIVITY SHEETS
Family

Activities for Taking Charge of Your TV

Make TV viewing intentional. Set family rules on how and when you watch television and stick to them. Use TV to your advantage. Use it intelligently.

This activity sheet is organized by age groups and contains many of the strategies found on other activity sheets.

ACTIVITIES FOR PRE-SCHOOLERS

Before starting school, the average child has seen over 5,000 hours of television. While it is all too easy to let TV function as an electronic baby sitter, it can also be a parent's ally if you help your children learn good viewing habits early.

1. Collect some fun things in a "P&Q (Peace and Quiet) Box," like coloring books, puzzles and stickers, that children can do when the TV is off or when you need a few minutes of peace and quiet.

2. Tell children that TV is pretend; that it tells stories which are made up. Have them make up a story for TV.

3. Watch cartoons carefully and point out when "real life" doesn't work that way.

4. Watch a show and have your child practice memory skills by recalling details of the story.

5. Foster children's imagination by having them retell a TV story with their own ending. Ask your child to solve a dilemma on a television show without using violence.

6. Pay attention to what your pre-schooler sees when you or the baby-sitter are watching TV. Children are often inadvertently exposed to programs containing violence or adult situations.

7. Screen and evaluate new TV shows -- even cartoons -- before your children view them.

ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN 6-11

School-aged children are hungry for information about how the world works. Much of what they learn may come from television programs and commercials. Help them filter the messages they receive from TV.

1. Ask your children to compare what's on TV to real people, places and events they have read or talked about. Talk about how realistic a story and its characters are. Do they seem like they could be real? Point out make-believe from reality.

2. Point out times when a TV character behaves in a way that is not consistent with your values. Talk about what should have been done.

3. When sensitive themes arise in programs, use them to open up discussions with your children.

4. When a program takes place in a far-off land, have your children find out more about the setting in a reference book.

5. If there is violence on a program, ask your child how the conflict might have been solved without using violence. Family

ACTIVITIES FOR TEENS 12-16

Television can offer you and your teenager a springboard for discussing important issues and events during a difficult time when conversation is not always easy.

1. Ask your teenager's opinion about a particular program. Also ask: what would you do in this situation? Do you know anyone who has had this experience?

2. Have your teenagers watch for stereotypes of women as sexy but dumb; men as tough and not sensitive; or older people as feeble or helpless.

3. Find a story in the news that interests your teen and compare the story as it's presented on TV, in newspaper or in a news magazine.

4. Talk about who advertisers are trying to reach. Have them figure out who the "target audience" is based on what products are advertised during a given show.

5. After a violent program, talk about the consequences of violence. Ask your teen to predict what would happen to the victim and the victim's family in real life. What happens to the criminal and his family after the criminal is caught?

OTHER RESOURCES
MEDIA LITERACY FOR PARENTS

Cable in the Classroom Magazine
A monthly guide, by subject area, to over 525 hours of quality, non-violent, commercial-free television programming. It also features helpful articles on how to use television for teaching in school and at home. A one-year subscription is $18. Call 800/216-2225.

Television & Your Family
A National PTA/Boys Town brochure on how to teach children and teens TV viewing skills. To receive an order form, write to the National PTA, 330 N. Wabash Avenue, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60611. $.50 for PTA members/$l for non-members.

Center for Media Literacy
The nation's largest producer and distributor of media literacy resources, serving parents, teachers, childcare providers, religious and community leaders. Extensive catalog of materials on violence, gender issues, public affairs, and TV and children. Annual $35 membership includes their quarterly magazine and discounts on Media Literacy Workshop Kits videos and books for home and school. Also available from the Center for Media Literacy:

Tuning In to Media
A fast-paced introduction to the fundamentals of media literacy by some of the field's leading proponents, including producer/host Renee Hobbs, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Babson College and director of the Institute on Media Education at Harvard University. In three 10-minute segments, viewers cover the core principles of media literacy and learn basic media analysis. $34.95 (plus $4 shipping and handling).

Television and the Lives of Our Children By Gloria DeGaetano, M. Ed. A manual of practical information for both teachers and parents. Thirty reproducible student activities and 20 parents handouts in an easy-to-use format. Contains a useful "Key Points" summary in each chapter. $10.95 (plus $3 shipping and handling).
The Center for Media Literacy
1962 S. Shenandoah Street
Los Angeles, CA 90034; 800/226-9494.

The Smart Parent's Guide to Kids' TV
By Dr. Milton Chen of PBS station KQED in San Francisco, a longtime advocate for quality children's television. A timely and practical guide that helps parents take control of their television. Includes useful tips and activities to enhance the benefits and lessen the ill effects of TV. From KQED Books. $8.95 in bookstores.

The Parent's Guide: Use TV to Your Child's Advantage By Dorothy G. Singer, EdD., and Jerome L. Singer, Ph.D., and Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D., all of Yale University. This book analyzes the effects of television on children and shows parents ways to turn TV viewing into a positive learning and growth experience. $9.95 plus $2.25 shipping and handling from Acropolis Books Ltd., 813/953-5214.

Children's Television Resource and Education Center A resource library containing TV Monitor Newsletter and TV Breakouts is available ($10 plus $3 shipping and handling), as well as audio tapes and materials promoting children's social and academic development. Offers Helping Children Survive Television workshops. 340 Townsend Street, Suite 423, San Francisco, CA 94107; 415/243-9943.

Telemedium: The journal of Media Literacy The journal of the National Telemedia Council which promotes media literacy. The Council also conducts workshops on family and television. For teachers, Media & You offers simple media literacy exercises needing no equipment. $30 annual membership. Marieli Rowe, Director, National Telemedia Council, 120 E. Wilson Street., Madison, WI 53703; 608/257-7712.

Kidsnet
Computerized clearinghouse devoted to children's TV, video, radio and audio programming. Bulletins and study guides available at http://www.kidsnet.org/ or at 6856 Eastern Avenue, NW, Suite 208, Washington, DC 20012; 202/291-1400.

Center for Media Education
A national advocacy group suggesting ways to work with broadcasters to improve children's television. Two booklets are available: When Pulling the Plug Isn't Enough: A Parent's Guide to TV ($5) and TV, Books and Children ($3). 1511 K Street, NW, Suite 518, Washington, DC 20005; 202/628-2620.

Citizens for Media Literacy
Annual membership ($25) includes New Citizen quarterly newsletter. Also available: audio tapes by media experts, Tips for Parents handouts and Get a Life! ($6) a TV literacy comic book for children. 34 Wall Street, Suite 407, Asheville, NC 28801; 704/255-0182; cml@unca.edu.

 

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