SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Why Newsweek is Bad for Kids
Nov 14, 2002
Did you see the cover story of Newsweek magazine last week?
The cover story is titled, "Why TV is Good for Kids."
What are we to expect from Newsweek next week?
Why Soda Pop is Good for Kids.
Why Sedentary Living is Good for Kids.
Why Obesity is Good for Kids.
Some things are good for kids.
Reading is good for kids.
Love and caring is good for kids.
Teaching is good for kids.
Running, playing basketball and baseball and tennis and swimming are good for kids.
But don't try and insult us by telling us that sitting in front of a TV is good for kids.
Why, against all common sense, is Newsweek going to try and convince us that television is good for kids?
Well, one reason might be: Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post Company, which owns a sprawling cable company and six broadcast stations around the country.
Of course, nowhere in the article does Newsweek tell us this.
And how does Newsweek try and convince us that TV is good for kids?
They trot out an expert, Daniel Anderson, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, who claims that TV is good for kids.
But what Newsweek doesn't tell us is Anderson is a paid consultant to a variety of television networks and advertising interests.
His clients include: NBC, CBS, Universal Pictures, Sony, General Mills, the Leo Burnett ad agency, Nickelodeon and the National Association of Broadcasters.
The article says that TV is a good thing because kids learn from television and parents are "looking for TV to help them do a better job of raising kids."
But Frank Vespe, executive director of the TV TurnOff Network (www.tvturnoff.org), points out that the article misses a crucial issue: the average American school child spends more time in front of the television each year -- about 1,023 hours -- than in the classroom -- about 900 hours.
"This amount of television -- more than twice what anyone thinks is a healthy amount -- has negative consequences for health, education, and family time," Vespe said.
This amount of television watching actually hurts children.
Vespe points to studies documenting how kids gain weight from watching TV, and that TV reinforces sex roles and stereotyping.
Voracious TV-watching kids turn into voracious TV-watching adults. The average American watches four hours a day, 1460 hours a year, about two full months, 24 hours a day, every year.
Newsweek did run a one-page counterpoint ("No It's Not") to its "TV Is Good for Kids" eight pager.
The "No It's Not" counterarticle is written by a mom who points out that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children younger than two and a maximum of two hours a day of "screen time" -- TV, computers or videogames -- for older kids.
We rang up the author of the "Why TV Is Good for Kids" article, Daniel McGinn.
McGinn immediately points out that at the end of his article, he did write that the expert, Anderson, advised on a handful of television shows during their conception.
"People who help create television shows get paid to do so," McGinn tells us.
Well, yes, but Anderson gets paid to do much more.
According to his own bio, Anderson has been paid by NBC and by General Mills to consult "on television viewing behavior."
And he's been paid by the Leo Burnett ad agency to consult on "children's cognitive processing of television."
That's a touch more than helping to "create television shows."
We asked Newsweek's McGinn why he didn't inform his readers that Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post which owns a cable company and six broadcast news outlets.
"Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post," he says. "I'm not sure what the Washington Post owns today."
You mean you don't know that the Washington Post Company owns television outlets?
It's right on the company's web site: WDIV in Detroit, KPRC in Houston, WPLG in Miami, WKMP in Orlando, KSAT in San Antonio and WJXT in Jacksonville.
The Post also owns Cable ONE, the owner and operator of cable television systems serving subscribers across the country.
Earlier, McGinn left a message on our machine saying he was willing to talk with us "at whatever length."
At this point, though, McGinn decides the conversation has gone on long enough.
"Who do you write for?" he asks. We tell him.
"Have a great day, bud." And he hangs up.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Robert Weissman
Robert Weissman is the president of Public Citizen. Weissman was formerly director of Essential Action, editor of Multinational Monitor, a magazine that tracks corporate actions worldwide, and a public interest attorney at the Center for Study of Responsive Law. He was a leader in organizing the 2000 IMF and World Bank protests in D.C. and helped make HIV drugs available to the developing world.
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
Did you see the cover story of Newsweek magazine last week?
The cover story is titled, "Why TV is Good for Kids."
What are we to expect from Newsweek next week?
Why Soda Pop is Good for Kids.
Why Sedentary Living is Good for Kids.
Why Obesity is Good for Kids.
Some things are good for kids.
Reading is good for kids.
Love and caring is good for kids.
Teaching is good for kids.
Running, playing basketball and baseball and tennis and swimming are good for kids.
But don't try and insult us by telling us that sitting in front of a TV is good for kids.
Why, against all common sense, is Newsweek going to try and convince us that television is good for kids?
Well, one reason might be: Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post Company, which owns a sprawling cable company and six broadcast stations around the country.
Of course, nowhere in the article does Newsweek tell us this.
And how does Newsweek try and convince us that TV is good for kids?
They trot out an expert, Daniel Anderson, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, who claims that TV is good for kids.
But what Newsweek doesn't tell us is Anderson is a paid consultant to a variety of television networks and advertising interests.
His clients include: NBC, CBS, Universal Pictures, Sony, General Mills, the Leo Burnett ad agency, Nickelodeon and the National Association of Broadcasters.
The article says that TV is a good thing because kids learn from television and parents are "looking for TV to help them do a better job of raising kids."
But Frank Vespe, executive director of the TV TurnOff Network (www.tvturnoff.org), points out that the article misses a crucial issue: the average American school child spends more time in front of the television each year -- about 1,023 hours -- than in the classroom -- about 900 hours.
"This amount of television -- more than twice what anyone thinks is a healthy amount -- has negative consequences for health, education, and family time," Vespe said.
This amount of television watching actually hurts children.
Vespe points to studies documenting how kids gain weight from watching TV, and that TV reinforces sex roles and stereotyping.
Voracious TV-watching kids turn into voracious TV-watching adults. The average American watches four hours a day, 1460 hours a year, about two full months, 24 hours a day, every year.
Newsweek did run a one-page counterpoint ("No It's Not") to its "TV Is Good for Kids" eight pager.
The "No It's Not" counterarticle is written by a mom who points out that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children younger than two and a maximum of two hours a day of "screen time" -- TV, computers or videogames -- for older kids.
We rang up the author of the "Why TV Is Good for Kids" article, Daniel McGinn.
McGinn immediately points out that at the end of his article, he did write that the expert, Anderson, advised on a handful of television shows during their conception.
"People who help create television shows get paid to do so," McGinn tells us.
Well, yes, but Anderson gets paid to do much more.
According to his own bio, Anderson has been paid by NBC and by General Mills to consult "on television viewing behavior."
And he's been paid by the Leo Burnett ad agency to consult on "children's cognitive processing of television."
That's a touch more than helping to "create television shows."
We asked Newsweek's McGinn why he didn't inform his readers that Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post which owns a cable company and six broadcast news outlets.
"Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post," he says. "I'm not sure what the Washington Post owns today."
You mean you don't know that the Washington Post Company owns television outlets?
It's right on the company's web site: WDIV in Detroit, KPRC in Houston, WPLG in Miami, WKMP in Orlando, KSAT in San Antonio and WJXT in Jacksonville.
The Post also owns Cable ONE, the owner and operator of cable television systems serving subscribers across the country.
Earlier, McGinn left a message on our machine saying he was willing to talk with us "at whatever length."
At this point, though, McGinn decides the conversation has gone on long enough.
"Who do you write for?" he asks. We tell him.
"Have a great day, bud." And he hangs up.
Robert Weissman
Robert Weissman is the president of Public Citizen. Weissman was formerly director of Essential Action, editor of Multinational Monitor, a magazine that tracks corporate actions worldwide, and a public interest attorney at the Center for Study of Responsive Law. He was a leader in organizing the 2000 IMF and World Bank protests in D.C. and helped make HIV drugs available to the developing world.
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
Did you see the cover story of Newsweek magazine last week?
The cover story is titled, "Why TV is Good for Kids."
What are we to expect from Newsweek next week?
Why Soda Pop is Good for Kids.
Why Sedentary Living is Good for Kids.
Why Obesity is Good for Kids.
Some things are good for kids.
Reading is good for kids.
Love and caring is good for kids.
Teaching is good for kids.
Running, playing basketball and baseball and tennis and swimming are good for kids.
But don't try and insult us by telling us that sitting in front of a TV is good for kids.
Why, against all common sense, is Newsweek going to try and convince us that television is good for kids?
Well, one reason might be: Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post Company, which owns a sprawling cable company and six broadcast stations around the country.
Of course, nowhere in the article does Newsweek tell us this.
And how does Newsweek try and convince us that TV is good for kids?
They trot out an expert, Daniel Anderson, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, who claims that TV is good for kids.
But what Newsweek doesn't tell us is Anderson is a paid consultant to a variety of television networks and advertising interests.
His clients include: NBC, CBS, Universal Pictures, Sony, General Mills, the Leo Burnett ad agency, Nickelodeon and the National Association of Broadcasters.
The article says that TV is a good thing because kids learn from television and parents are "looking for TV to help them do a better job of raising kids."
But Frank Vespe, executive director of the TV TurnOff Network (www.tvturnoff.org), points out that the article misses a crucial issue: the average American school child spends more time in front of the television each year -- about 1,023 hours -- than in the classroom -- about 900 hours.
"This amount of television -- more than twice what anyone thinks is a healthy amount -- has negative consequences for health, education, and family time," Vespe said.
This amount of television watching actually hurts children.
Vespe points to studies documenting how kids gain weight from watching TV, and that TV reinforces sex roles and stereotyping.
Voracious TV-watching kids turn into voracious TV-watching adults. The average American watches four hours a day, 1460 hours a year, about two full months, 24 hours a day, every year.
Newsweek did run a one-page counterpoint ("No It's Not") to its "TV Is Good for Kids" eight pager.
The "No It's Not" counterarticle is written by a mom who points out that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children younger than two and a maximum of two hours a day of "screen time" -- TV, computers or videogames -- for older kids.
We rang up the author of the "Why TV Is Good for Kids" article, Daniel McGinn.
McGinn immediately points out that at the end of his article, he did write that the expert, Anderson, advised on a handful of television shows during their conception.
"People who help create television shows get paid to do so," McGinn tells us.
Well, yes, but Anderson gets paid to do much more.
According to his own bio, Anderson has been paid by NBC and by General Mills to consult "on television viewing behavior."
And he's been paid by the Leo Burnett ad agency to consult on "children's cognitive processing of television."
That's a touch more than helping to "create television shows."
We asked Newsweek's McGinn why he didn't inform his readers that Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post which owns a cable company and six broadcast news outlets.
"Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post," he says. "I'm not sure what the Washington Post owns today."
You mean you don't know that the Washington Post Company owns television outlets?
It's right on the company's web site: WDIV in Detroit, KPRC in Houston, WPLG in Miami, WKMP in Orlando, KSAT in San Antonio and WJXT in Jacksonville.
The Post also owns Cable ONE, the owner and operator of cable television systems serving subscribers across the country.
Earlier, McGinn left a message on our machine saying he was willing to talk with us "at whatever length."
At this point, though, McGinn decides the conversation has gone on long enough.
"Who do you write for?" he asks. We tell him.
"Have a great day, bud." And he hangs up.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy