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Show Parents Meed To Exert TV Influence By TOM BUSSELBERG HILL AFB TV may be a primary entertainment medium, but parents need to exert sufficient influence over their children that it doesn't become their whole world. THEY NEED to stimulate conversation about programs watched, exercise some control con-trol over the selection of programs prog-rams and answer questions they feel might arise in children's chil-dren's minds when viewing TV. That advise comes from a man long familiar with television televi-sion and its impacts, as Roy Gibson, former Channel 4 newscaster and news director addressed the Layton Chamber Cham-ber of Commerce at the Hill AFB Officers' Club. Continuing his media critic role at Channel 2 and in his 12th year as an assistant communications com-munications professor at the U. of U., he says even when parents and children may be in the same room, they're often using a minimum of brain power pow-er in watching TV. "HOMES ARE becoming the entertainment centers of our lives" as children spend often four hours or more a day "glued to the tube." By often watching the same program with their parents, they spend a lot time with their parents in one form of life but not in others. "Do we see or talk to each other? It seems we see more at home with the people on TV," Mr. Gibson said. "We must concentrate to re-establish control with our children . " Parents Pa-rents should be willing to talk with their children and correct any mis-conceptions they may gain from TV viewing. TELEVISION is a passive, "pervasive" medium, he told the chamber, as compared to reading where a person must desire to apply and think about what's being read. And unlike watching a football game in a stadium with a large group, TV tends to produce "small cheers" from viewers. When movie viewers leave a theater, they generally talk about ab-out what they've seen. "The only way to use the intellect is to talk about TV programs, but people rarely talk about them." A SURVEY of viewers indicated indi-cated 51 percent couldn't remember re-member a single TV news story two hours after the telecast tele-cast and many others could only recall the first or lead item. A false world created by watching comedy and exaggerated exag-gerated action can tend to present pre-sent false impressions of what life's really all about, he said. "When they (children) mature, ma-ture, how will they know lifeis more difficult" that what's shown on the TV screen? "WHAT SHOWS are you selecting? "The Incredible Hulk" or "Charlie's Angels," or "Little House On The Prairie" or "Eight is Enough?" Mr. Gibson asked. He expressed concern that some parents "don't even question what's on TV" when their children are watching. HE NOTED the question of how TV violence affects youngsters has been studied for more than 20 years with only indecisive answers produced. pro-duced. Americans are bombarded bom-barded with violence in the world around them, whether it be through the current Falk-lands Falk-lands crisis or the Vietnam War. "We are a violent society, but I don't think anymore now than in the past. The media makes us more aware. There's still no guarantee TV expands violence." HE CITED the example of a psychiatrist who formerly believed be-lieved TV violence had a decided de-cided impact on children. But after studying the issue he determined de-termined that "at most, the impact im-pact of TV violence is neglig-able," neglig-able," although he didn't claim it harmless. "Robberies and burglaries aren't committed for excitement excite-ment but to get those attractive clothes and money for those $4 movies to keep that attractive attrac-tive life style. Family disorganization disorga-nization leads to a need for something such as PTA or churches." TV EXECUTIVES "have an antenna for taste" but they give the public what il uants. Mr. Gibson emphasized, noting not-ing many "creative" propum-mers propum-mers are turning to the tricJ and true formulas that lead to continuation and popularity of such household titles as "Dallas," "Dal-las," "Three's Company" or "The Dukes of Hazzard " And while some people imitate im-itate what they see on TV. resulting re-sulting in a perceived increase in hijackings or assasinations. "acertain state of mind" is inquired in-quired to produce such behavior, be-havior, he noted. HE ALSO alluded to lw changing face of television, as the cable industry continues to expand its influence, with experimentation ex-perimentation continuing that would allow for cable without the need for literal laying of cable, permitting expansion into rural areas, for example. He forsees the future showing only one TV station in each city acting as a production unit for cable programming and noted how networks are turning turn-ing to cable programming to broaden their role as then por tion of the entertainment mar ket declines. |
