Advisors: The TV Patrol

by John Waters
Fall 1997

It's called "convergence;" the integration of our telecommunications hardware-television sets, telephones, faxes, computers, and modems-into one omnipresent, information-dispensing appliance. As the machines merge, providing us with almost instantaneous access to virtually any medium, labels like "television show," "video game," and "Web site" begin to blur.

Discerning viewers need help sifting through this explosion of cross-platform content. Access to all this information must enrich our lives, or in the end it won't matter whether the box is sitting on your desk or in your den--it will still just be the boobtube.

Fortunately, the information age has brought with it a new breed of media-savvy reviewer. These "advisors," as we call them, offer their observations in a wide variety of print and online publications.

Our goal is to report on the emerging field of advisors, doing our best not to make suggestions as to which are worthy. We prefer to let you decide which (if any) you'll consider credible. Look for advisors that share your concerns, interests, or points of view. Siskel & Ebert, for example, are looking for compelling entertainment while Dr. Joyce Brothers is looking for intellectual or emotional fitness. We hope to help you discover who these advisors really are and help you determine if they are in a position to make recommendations worthy of your interest.

Viewers for Quality Television

Viewers for Quality Television (VQT) is a nonprofit grassroots advocacy group, working to support high-quality television on the networks. VQT emerged as an organization in 1984 from the successful campaign of one Dorothy Swanson to save the television series Cagney & Lacey. The group has since become a recognized and credible forum for viewers who want their voices heard by the networks. The group claims a current membership of around 17,000 and its funding comes solely from donations.

VQT publishes a newsletter, The Viewer, around 10 times a year, and maintains a fairly comprehensive Web site (http://www.vqt.org).To receive the newsletter, you must become a member, which you can do for as little as $10 a year, but the Web site is available free to anyone with Internet access.

For more information contact: VQT, P.O. Box 195, Fairfax Station, VA 22039.

WorldVillage

The WorldVillage Web site debuted on the World Wide Web in July 1995 (http://www.worldvillage.com). Created by Texas-based InfoMedia, publisher of National Software Review, WorldVillage is a multimedia site designed for non-techie home computer users. The site features software reviews, games, product demos and downloads, cartoons, and live chat, among other features.

WorldVillage has earned a reputation as a great family site, and its popularity continues to grow. The site has won kudos from CNN's Computer Connection, was named a leading Internet contender by The Red Herring, and has received "cool site" ratings from Prodigy, Compuserve, USA Today, NetGuide, and MultiMedia World.

American Family Association

Founded by Donald Wildmon, The American Family Association (AFA), Inc. is a Christian ministry based in Tupelo, Mississippi. AFA believes that the entertainment industry has played a major role in the decline of the American values that keep a society and its families strong and healthy. In conjunction with the Christian Family Network (CFN), they've developed the Media Watch Campaign, which strives to change advertising practices, and ultimately targets changes in what they deem as "offensive program content."

A recent target of the AFA/CFN "watch" has been the Walt Disney Corporation. The AFA has boycotted the company, claiming they've drifted from their family-friendly heritage with movies like The Hunchback of Notre Dame (whose musical scores, they claim, contain sexually explicit language), and through events like Disney's un-official hosting of a Gay and Lesbian Day in Orlando's Magic Kingdom in 1996.

As we go to press, AFA is aggressively boycotting the TV program Ellen, as well as the Howard Stern Show.

More information about AFA can be found on their Web site: http://www.afa.net/.

John K. Waters is a documentary scriptwriter and freelance journalist covering high technology.