Help Screen

by Whitney Wolff
Fall 1997

Kick the TV Habit!
Steve and Ruth Bennett
(1994, Penguin Books, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY, 10014, 134 pp., $7)

A husband-and-wife team presents their ideas on how to manage your children's television in Kick the TV Habit! Originally published in 1994, this book has stood the test of time, offering parents solid advice on kids and TV. It's short, easy to read and covers a lot of ground.

First, it defines the negative messages kids absorb and asks questions that help parents determine how these messages impact their children. Then, realizing that no two families are the same, the authors guide parents through a step-by-step process to help them customize a "TV reduction" program.

This handy book gives you the tools to cut back your children's television diet whether you wish to do so with their active participation or to impose a reduction by edict.

It then moves beyond the family, giving ideas for getting schools and communities involved in TV reduction. This is a practical, wonderful book that takes parents through the entire thinking process. In a pleasant way, it helps parents see that it's not just their children that need changing. Talking about the importance of being a role model it asks, "Are you willing to set an example and live without some, or all, of your favorite shows?" Don't worry, the authors provide you with a list of activities to do with your kids. rating: 5 couches

Questioning the Media: A Critical Introduction (Second Edition)
Editors: John Downing, Ali Mohammadi, and Annabelle Sreberny Mohammadi
(1995, Sage Publications, Inc., 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, 511 pp., $29).

Questioning the Media, second edition, is a collection of essays written by published communication scholars covering current, major media issues in the United States. Some of the issues addressed are: Myths In and About Television; AIDS News and News Cultures; Computers and Communication; Gender, Representation and the Media; Popular Music; and How Media is Born and Developed. Each essay provides a well-rounded view of its topic, displaying the differing opinions, problems and questions that have been raised on each subject. Myths In and About Television, for example, questions the commonly held belief that television serves only two purposes: to provide entertainment for non-thinking individuals and to create a platform for bombarding these individuals with advertising for products and services.

The editors open up issues for discussion rather than telling the reader what's what. Each section comes complete with questions for further consideration or discussion.

Targeting the college market, this book encourages students to extend beyond what they are hand fed in the core courses. It challenges the reader to think about the economic, political and social forces behind the issues. rating: 3 couches

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present (Sixth Edition)
Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh
(1995, Ballantine Books, 201 E. 50th St. New York, NY 10022, 1386 pp., $23)

"They don't make 'em like they used to," is what you'll end up telling yourself. And if you're wondering what they are making, well, you get that too.

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, in its 6th revised edition, covers not only every prime time TV series since television's inception, but hundreds of original shows running on the major cable networks as well. It's trivia city! You get each show's history, cast, plot and air dates, and occasionally, but not often enough, some background information. (Did you know that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz used $5,000 of their own money to produce a film pilot of I Love Lucy?)

Could you use this book to determine if you should watch a TV show or not? Probably not, as it doesn't include any type of rating system. However, if you read the two plus pages about the TV drama, Melrose Place, you'll ask yourself if you could ever admit to watching it. While you shouldn't count on this book as a filter for your family's TV viewing habits, it is a wonderful guide if you'd like to be entertained. rating: 4 couches