SEIZING THE REINS OF YOUR TV.Byline: Manuel Mendoza Dallas Morning News What sometimes gets lost in the debate over the content of television programs is that most children are going to watch a lot of TV, no matter what kind of ratings you slap on shows. Look at the facts: TV is the No. 1 after-school activity for kids ages 6 to 17. Eighty percent of children spend their afternoons watching television. And in the average American home For the American mortgage lender, see . The American Home is a center of intercultural exchange located in Vladimir, Russia. The home is designed to model a typical American suburban home and its main focus is the ESL school that provides lessons for Russian students. with kids, the TV is on nearly 60 hours a week. Backed by those statistics, the National PTA PTA or parent-teacher association: see parent education. and the cable-TV industry have teamed up to produce a free video, ``Taking Charge of Your TV.'' The four-minute presentation, narrated by Rosie O'Donnell, tries to help parents teach their children how to view the tube more intelligently. ``It's important to educate parents and have them educate their children about how to decipher Same as decrypt. the messages and the images on television,'' says Liz Laszlo, director of public affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. for the National Cable Television Association. ``We're not trying to make people overly skeptical. We just want them to use the medium as a form of entertainment, but use it responsibly and in an informed manner.'' Using a concept called ``media literacy'' that is gaining favor among educators, the video lists four ideas that parents can impart on their children to make them more critical TV viewers: ``Television programs and their messages are created to achieve specific results.'' In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , TV shows elicit e·lic·it tr.v. e·lic·it·ed, e·lic·it·ing, e·lic·its 1. a. To bring or draw out (something latent); educe. b. To arrive at (a truth, for example) by logic. 2. emotions by pretending. They are not real. Dramatic elements such as slapstick slapstick Comedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, often violent action. It took its name from a paddlelike device, probably introduced by 16th-century commedia dell'arte troupes, that produced a resounding whack when one comic actor used it to violence or chase scenes, along with music, lighting and camera angles, are used to tell a story. ``Each person interprets programs and messages differently.'' Men, women, children and people with different backgrounds or life experiences get different things out of TV. The video urges parents to discuss the images presented by television, including stereotyping and the way different characters respond differently to situations. ``Television violence takes many forms.'' From funny to thrilling to realistic, violence is portrayed in many ways on TV. The key for parents is to help their children distinguish between the consequences depicted on television and those that would occur in real life. |
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