No. 2, 2005 Published by The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media at Nordicom Göteborg University Box 713 SE-405 30 Göteborg SWEDEN Editor: Catharina Bucht Publisher: Ulla Carlsson

Special Section Children, Young People, Sports and Media – Introduction Children’s Use of Media Sport – Two U.S. Studies Sports and Media in Zimbabwe Football-playing Girls in Sweden. Mediated Sport, Youth Culture and Gender Identity Professional Wrestling Sports Media Exposure and Body Image Distortion in College Women in the U.S. Children’s Rights in Sports and Media – a European Perspective Media Use in Germany Sports for Development and Peace on International Children's Day of Broadcasting Media Violence Mood Management: Catharsis as a Motive for Playing Violent Video Games? Television and Children’s Fear – Research Findings from Slovakia Media Literacy Can Help Prevent Youth Violence Internet, Computer Games, NICT Virtual Community for Teen Counselling Teens Online Activities in the US On-line Safety Tips for Parents and Children In Brief ABU Children’s TV Programme Item-Exchange The Arab Child Subject to Different Cultural Influences Measures and Regulations Colombia Signs Commitment to Quality Television for Children In Brief Library as Center for Learning Modernisation of the ’Television without Frontiers’ Directive Proposed Journal of Children and Media – New in 2007 Special Section Children, Young People, Sports and Media – Introduction [Special Section] by Ylva Ågren Project Assistant and Guest Editor The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media 2005 is declared by the United Nations to be The International Year of Sport and Physical Education with the aim to promote sport as a way to help reach the Millenium Development Goals. This newsletter focuses partly on the collective topic of Children, Young People, Sports and Media. We have tried to gather as much existing research on the subject as possible, but research on sports media in relation to children and young people is almost nonexistent. However, work in this area seems to be developing. Below are a number of articles and items on the subject, describing the situation for children as regards sports and media in Zimbabwe, Sweden, Germany and the U.S. There exist several different questions on the topic of Children, Young People, Sports and Media which would be interesting to approach and examine further. For example: Do large sports competitions blur the boundaries between countries, or is the opposite in fact the case – that the Olympic Games and other competitions create a stronger sense of nationalism? How do media influence the way children perceive their own and other countries? Do media portray athletic children of other nationalities in a distorted way? Furthermore, today’s media turn certain athletes into heroes and icons. They play superhuman roles and become strong trademarks. How does this affect young people? Can athletic children be heroes as well? Has sport replaced religions in some way? Moreover, it is obvious that child athletes are not spared from doping. What happens with these children when they leave the competitions and return to normal life? And how does one protect a sporting child from becoming burned out? In addition to these issues, it would be interesting to conduct more research on fashion in the world of sports, focus on gender problems in sports, and examine how handicapped children are portrayed in sports media. In conclusion, there is a great need to focus more on the responsibility that the media and other adults have towards athletic children. We hope this newsletter will help to inspire new research. Top Children’s Use of Media Sport – Two U.S. Studies [Special Section] by Peter Dahlén Associate Professor Department of Information, Science and Media University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway Although the media landscape has been saturated with sports content for a long time, and sporting activities are highly popular among younger people, the actual media sport use by youngsters is a neglected area in the research field on sport and media (as is, generally speaking, audience research on the use of media sport among adults). However rare, some studies do exist, though – most notably the two conducted by the Amateur Athletic Foundation (AAF) of Los Angeles, a private, non-profit institution created to manage Southern California’s endowment from the 1984 Olympic Games. Use of Different Sports Media In 1999, the AAF commissioned Statistical Research, Inc. of Westfield, New Jersey to conduct a nationwide survey among US children aged 8 to 17, Children and Sports Media, to explore their exposure to sports through different forms of media. The primary purpose of the study was to measure how many youngsters use sports media, how often they use them, what sports and what media ”products” were most popular among young consumers, and in what social contexts media use occurred. Although Children and Sports Media did not evaluate the impact of sports media on young people, it was the Foundation’s hope that the report would provide a starting point for researchers who wished to examine how, if at all, the sports media contribute to the development of children’s perceptions and values. The Children and Sports Media study examined eight major forms of media: television, radio, newspapers, books, magazines, video games, the Internet, and movies. Survey questions sought to determine exposures to sports via each medium, with follow-up questions establishing a context of use for each medium. In addition, interviewers asked questions regarding personal and household demographics. The report provided important findings and pointed out those instances where responses vary among major subgroups. The results of the study showed that interacting with sports through the media is a widespread phenomenon among U.S. boys. A remarkable 98 percent of boys use some form of sports media, while girls do not come far behind, with 90 percent reporting that they use sports media. The study was also able to show that nearly one in three children use some type of sports media every day, while seventy-one percent do so weekly. Television, movies and videos with sport themes, video games, newspapers, books, magazines, the Internet and radio all convey information about sports to young people. Not surprisingly, television is the most-used of these media, and young people seemed to be equally enthusiastic about broadcasts from actual events or television sports news programmes featuring highlights. Gender, Ethnicity and Different Sports In 2001, the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles and ESPN jointly commissioned a similar study to the one conducted in 1999. Generally, children’s use of individual media was similar to that reported in the previous study, with television, radio, magazines and newspapers slightly below videogames, the Internet, and sports movies viewed on broadcast, videotape or DVD somewhat above the previous levels (the initial survey 1999 did not include DVD). More than nine in ten (93%) of the children aged 8 to 17 reported using at least one of the eight media listed for sports, with more boys (97%) than girls (89%) reporting sports media use. Although the overall sports media use by boys and girls was similar, boys were more likely to use each medium. Boys (25%) were also five times more likely than girls (5%) to report watching sports on TV every day. Furthermore, many sports displayed stereotypical bias for gender, with boys dominating the children’s audiences for contact sports such as football, hockey, and professional wrestling, while girls dominated children’s audiences for highly aesthetic sports such as ice-skating and gymnastics. Children from all racial and ethnic groups reported high levels of sports media use. Despite similar levels of overall usage, notable variations by race and ethnic origin were seen in the use of each medium and in sports preferences. Children from non-white households tended to favour telecasts of the NBA (National Basket Association.) and boxing, whereas children from white households leaned toward viewing the NHL (ice hockey), baseball, extreme sports (snowboarding, skateboarding, hiking, etc.), and golf compared with households of other races. Videogames were more likely to be a chosen medium for African-Americans than other racial subgroups. The Potential of Media Sports These and other figures indicate that sports have the potential to develop and reinforce the values of young people. It is, furthermore, inevitable that the way in which the media present sports to young people play a role in shaping their attitudes. The sword cuts both ways, however: Children can learn positive lessons about fair play, respect for others, cooperation, sacrifice, discipline, avoidance of violence, gender relations and race relations from sport. But they can also derive what most of us would consider being anti-social messages regarding the benefits of cheating and exaggerated use of violence, as well as stereotypical and degrading depictions of women and non-white people. References AAF/ESPN Children & Sports Media Study (2001), Westfield, NJ: Amateur Athletic Foundation and ESPN (www.statisticalresearch.com) Children and Sports Media (1999) Los Angeles & Westfield, New Jersey: Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles (Ed.: Wayne Wilson) (www.aafla.org / www.statisticalresearch.com). Top Sports and Media in Zimbabwe [Special Section] by Sifelani Tsiko Journalist The Herald Harare, Zimbabwe In Zimbabwe, sport has its own history. In pre-colonial Zimbabwe, sport played an integral role in traditional ceremonies, fishing, hunting and when young boys were herding cattle and other domestic animals. As in pre-colonial societies, young people continued to be the main actors in the sporting arena in the colonial times through to the present, celebrating the strength, survival and resilience of the African people despite the challenges facing Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole. But sociologists at the University of Zimbabwe and the elders continue to mourn the death of traditional games, which in the past taught them about endurance, instilling a sense of fair play, respect and a sense of communal belonging – games like ‘tsoro’ (draughts and count), ‘pada’ (toss a stone and hop-push it game), ‘nodo’ (equivalent to ball juggling) and numerous other traditional games that have vanished because of lack of promotion by the media. The Zimbabwean youth has lost out from this alternative traditional Olympic movement due to lack of media publicity, community elderly trainers and a shift in attitudes due to the colonial legacy of sport over the years. Rarely do the young take interest in traditional sports because of the prominence given to the Euro-centric sporting activities like swimming, soccer, volleyball, tennis, cycling, netball, etc., by the media. Local sporting organisations and sport researchers have limited resources and capacity to resuscitate traditional games and promote them to a level that may help promote Zimbabwe’s social and cultural identity. Daily, the Zimbabwean youth are bombarded with foreign sporting cultural images that are full of foreign values, which in most cases appear to alienate them and instil a sense of backwardness when compared to sports elsewhere in Europe, the U.S. and parts of affluent Asia. Very often, in the dusty township streets, you hear young children playing soccer and calling themselves by names of prominent players in European clubs rather than their own. When they identify with their own culture, it probably has to do with African players plying their trade in Europe. Generally, the Zimbabwean media through their own selectivity process tend to promote young Zimbabweans who achieve, like in the case of 20-year-old swimmer Kirsty Coventry who won a gold medal at the Athens Olympics Games in 2004. The media poured glowing praise on her, calling her the ‘Golden Girl’. Similarly, tributes were paid to young Tatenda Taibu, who made history by becoming one of the pioneering young black cricket players to score a century. Little coverage is given to young black cricket players in the townships who often use plastic balls, cleverly designed bats made from any wood they can lay hands on, and dusty roads as their ‘test’ grounds. Traces from the Colonial Area Still Evident The impacts of colonial policies are still evident in Zimbabwe today and have influenced the relations between the media, sport and the young in this southern African country of 11.4 million people. During the colonial era, blacks were barred from taking part in elite sports such as cricket, rugby, tennis, shooting, cycling and motor racing. This partly explains why it has taken time to develop sports in the urban areas and, still worse, in the rural areas where more than 80 percent of the population lives. Colonial era sports aimed at discouraging blacks from actively participating in sporting activities and the general thrust of the segregatory policies was to prepare blacks for menial and demeaning roles in the wider colonial economy. Sports were controlled by whites and were mainly developed on the basis of Western activities, values and beliefs. The thrust of the media in Zimbabwe when it comes to the youth and sport has been to generally promote black and white achievers in elitist sports, such as swimming, tennis, cricket and, of course, achievers in the country’s most popular sport which does not require much investment like the other elite games – soccer. Sport as a Possibility to Escape Poverty With the influence of the international media, new media technologies and other media channels, the young generation is increasingly seeing sport as an avenue to escape wallowing poverty. A number of young Zimbabweans now use sport to get overseas scholarship and jobs, to earn money and as an easy route to fame and fortune. You cannot blame them for being conditioned to think that way, because of the economic hardships prevailing in the country. Unemployment levels are high; economists estimate that the joblessness rate is more than 80 percent for the formal economy. Economic sanctions imposed on the country by Western countries opposed to President Robert Mugabe’s government have also affected investment in the development of sport in the country. Sports, and more importantly the youth, continue to bear the burden of dwindling donor support in sporting programmes. Support comes whenever the corporate sector and the government take interest in one’s achievement, i.e., when there is interest in making mileage through sport. Swimming sensation Kirsty Coventry was honoured by the government for winning a gold medal and was given more than US$ 50,000 to help her in her studies in the U.S. Companies also jostle for young sports achievers for mileage and rarely do they take interest in sport development of, say, cricket and tennis in the townships and, more importantly, in the rural areas where sport is still underdeveloped. As mentioned, commercialisation of sport has also caught up with the Zimbabwean youth who now view sport not for its aesthetic beauty but more as a means of survival and an avenue to fame and fortune. Many have, thus, tended to shy away from local and continental competitions in favour of the more lucrative sporting events in Europe, the U.S., Australia and Asia. Local organisations have limited capacity to pay athletes huge sums of money to retain talent – hence the export of sporting talent to the rich countries. Consequently, the media have in a way influenced the youth’s perceptions – from taking sport as a positive vent to seeing it as an easy way to riches and fame. This way sport has encouraged the youth to value personal glory, greed, hatred of rivals, intolerance and contempt more than the good sporting values espoused by the world’s Olympic movement – strengthening understanding and friendship among peoples. Sport researchers into the Zimbabwean sport say the country faces problems related to the presence of expensive and elite sport, the manipulation of sport for political, business and corrupt personal ends. Added to this are the peddling of foreign beliefs, values and practices by the media, which often glorifies personal success in sports and not a sense of responsibility and that of belonging. This has, in turn, affected the development of sporting programmes that aim to assist young Zimbabweans to utilise their talents. Other challenges include poor management and sport leadership. Sport as a Way to Fight the Pandemics In Zimbabwe, just like elsewhere in Africa, weak, incompetent and corrupt leadership has affected the development of sport, something that continues to adversely affect the youth. Over half the population in Zimbabwe is less than 18 years old and with the right parental guidance, an improved socio-economic environment, and the right for children to participate in decisions affecting them, they can ensure a bright sporting future. The Zimbabwean youth faces enormous challenges related to the raging HIV/AIDS pandemic killing more than 3,000 people a week, unemployment, drug abuse and the burden of caring for family members living with HIV and AIDS or in worse situations heading families orphaned by the disease. There are more than 600,000 children orphaned by the pandemic in Zimbabwe and this gives more scope to use sport to fight the pandemic by giving the youth a positive safety valve. But there is hope. The Zimbabwean government has set aside ZD$ 3 billion for the Silver Jubilee National Youth Games pencilled for August 2005 (US$ 1 = ZD$ 6,200 according to the official rate). At least 3,000 youths from across the country will take part in the games at which 400 officials are expected to administer. The youths will battle it out in various sporting disciplines that include soccer, athletics, netball, handball, basketball, volleyball and boxing, among others. Sports for Education, Health, Development and Peace There have also been partnerships between the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee and the Sports and Recreation Commission in a number of United Nations youth programmes using sport to promote education, health, development and peace. The UN, the International Olympic Committee, the World Health Organisation, the Swiss Agency for International Development and Co-operation, the Norwegian Olympic Committee, the International Red Cross Society and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) have all agreed to fund Zimbabwe’s Youth Education through Sport (YES) programme for 2006. There is a shared understanding by the stakeholders that sport can help tackle many problems facing the youth. And schools still hold various competitions at local, provincial and national level to promote local youth talent. Media coverage of schools is still limited in scope, as there is a tendency to focus on ‘bigger’ sporting events elsewhere in the country or abroad. Sports in schools continue to be adversely affected by lack of funds, poor corporate and government support, lack of well-equipped sporting facilities and trained manpower to administer sports. Debate is also still raging on the appropriateness of the National Youth Service training which includes vocational training, military training and training in various technical fields. Critics charge that the youth service is being as a tool to use the youth to engage in violent activities against the opposition, while the government and its proponents say the service enhances the youth’s role in development and social integration. But inadequate funding and the limited scope of training offered have cast a shadow on this concept, which is still in practice in countries like Israel and a few others in Africa. It is not compulsory as widely believed by opponents of the government. It is an area of public contestation, on which the government wants to instil a sense of patriotism, national pride, identity and an appreciation of the country’s struggle for independence in the wake of the on-slaught of Western values. On the other hand, critics see it as an unnecessary venture that promotes youths to engage in violence and promiscuity and as a ploy that indoctrinates the youths. Need for More Media Related to the Youth Generally, poor economic performance, sanctions, abuse of funds by donor agencies purporting to represent the interest of the youth, lack of funds for youth sporting programmes, and lack of skilled manpower and sporting research have remained as a mill around the necks of the Zimbabwean youth. This points to the need for an increase of teen magazines, newspapers, and youth television slots, among other issues, to raise the profile of media contents related to the youth. The mainstream media have no time to fully address the concerns of the youth except to make profit and survive on sales of the handful of teens that succeed in sports. Despite the mountains and mountains of problems, sport is still big business in Zimbabwe and gives a reason why there should be meaningful participation by parents, the government and corporate world, sports bodies and the youth to ensure they benefit from it. And despite the woes attached to it, real or imagined, sport continues to give Zimbabwe and Africa a reason to celebrate life among the youth. “Sport is an endemic part of African culture. When we compete and we win then you see the whole continent coming together”, Kwaku “Nana” Owuse-Kwarteng of the Institute of the African Child once remarked. Top Football-playing Girls in Sweden. Mediated Sport, Youth Culture and Gender Identity [Special Section] by Britt-Marie Ringfjord PhD Student School of Social Sciences Media and Communication Studies Växjö University Växjö, Sweden Media science has long had an interest in gender representations of men and women in all sorts of media genres, such as news, advertisements, children’s programmes and sports. The content of media texts can show us how gendered spheres in mass media interplay with cultural formations of gender identities. To study media as an important part of culture is to understand the relationships between media content and audiences’ meaning-making processes as an important part of the activity by which the identity refines and takes form. The process of media reception by different groups in society is also deeply linked to media content and forms of expression, such as the conditions for media production and, naturally, individual differences in interests and access to all sorts of media. The central purpose of this project was to analyse and discuss sport media’s representation and construction of gender and how cultural meaning of media content appropriates in a cultural context by sport-active football-playing girls (Boyd-Barrett & Newbold 1995, Gauntlett 2002:4, Kleberg 2003, van Zoonen 1994:105f). The sport landscape of football, as well as its rules, is well represented in a wide variety of media: in the press with texts and photos, on the radio as the report from the football arena, and in television where we see the players moving around the arena. These media contexts help us comprehend the football-culture, and we can interpret the presented reality of modern football (Boyle & Haynes 2000:131, Rowe 1999:121). A female football player automatically compares her own sport activities with the general conventions of how serious football should be played according to the male norms. There is also a strong allusion to separate male and female football, whereby the latter must adapt to the hierarchical structures in the ideology of football. Sport identities available for football-playing girls are thus restricted by the clear affluence in favour of male football represented in mass media. In a social context, all these symbolic forms of mediated conventions are related to masculinity and femininity transformations, given different shapes in cultural processes by sport-active girls and boys. The media ethnographic method The main focus of this project – an ongoing PhD thesis – was to investigate the relationships and processes between sport media and forms of collective gender identities in a specific cultural context of football-playing girls’ lived experiences, the interrelations with mass-mediated sport and other media content they take part in, and how this might interact with how they understand and express their own gender identities. We might have common ideas about teenagers’ media use and the ordinary way of obtaining information on these groups is by audience-measurement ratings. To approach the football culture and gather data for this study, a media ethnographic method was used. These methods are often termed interpretative procedures, the theoretical tradition known as interactionism that is represented in the works of Erving Goffman. The ethnographic fieldwork is thus a way to understand culture from a hermeneutic perspective and to interpret the meanings and experiences of social actors with consideration of individuals and context. This can be achieved only through face-to-face interaction with the individuals involved. A researcher using a media ethnographic method takes an active part as a member of the culture, and tries to understand and take the members’ perspective on media in order to present an in-depth description of people’s actions, expressions and thoughts (Gillespie 1995:54f, Bell et al. 1995, Hammersley & Atkinson 1995). During a six-month period in 2004, fieldwork was conducted in a team consisting of 17 fifteen-year-old girls in a female football club situated in a community in the south of Sweden. The data collected consist primarily of observations of as well as conversations and interviews with these girls, but team’s coaches and the girls’ parents were also included to some extent. The primary aim of this study was to contribute with explanations of the relationships between gender structures in society and appropriation of media content, by showing how teenage girls create cultural meaning of gender and sports in their everyday lives using newer media such as television, Internet and cellular phones. Perspectives This thesis combines sociological gender perspectives on identity and media theories on sports. Using John B. Thompson’s appropriation concept, the analysis of media ethnography makes the necessary connections between theory and cultural contexts, explaining how we understand and make sense of media content as a part of social constructions of gender identities. Appropriation is a concept that directs our attention to contextualising processes of reception, as we need to consider how society and global processes at macro levels are interrelated with people’s ordinary everyday lives in their micro-social world. This concept also helps us to direct our attention to uniting the contexts of production, content and reception in order to analyse culture as meaning-making processes. Thompson placed a strong emphasis on the use of a hermeneutic approach in analyses of how the process of appropriation works (Thompson 1995:174ff, Boyle & Haynes 2000:15). Although the focus in this study was on the recipients of mediated sport, this must be related to some of the important structures in the organization of media production and content of sport media in order to show how mediated symbolic forms adjust in a cultural context by active meaning-making subjects (These structures are often referred to as the Media-Sport Complex, by which the analyses of global power relations are connected to perspectives on political economy and culture. See Miller at al.2001, Roche 2000, Boyle & Haynes 2000). Preliminary findings on mediated sport and gender identity The results of the study show some tendencies. The girls studied relate to media content in their social contexts, in a peer group of shared experiences where the collective gender identity takes shape and refines. By studying group activities we can reveal how these cultural processes actually sustain the formation of both personal and collective identities. We can also understand and analyse identities as symbolic forms of expression in a sport culture and relate it to cultural meaning making. At one level, the sport organization mediates a value system of norms and regulations communicated by the coaches and sport media. This level represents ideological and/or discursive practices administered and communicated by power structures at macro levels in society. At another level, the girls’ own culture works simultaneously, whereby experiences and media use negotiate or stand in opposition to ideologies of sport and gender. This level represents a process of cultural meaning-making in a specific culture with obvious supportive members at the micro-social level. Even separate, both views have a clear relationship with how media institutions mediate symbolic forms of gendered spaces in our culture or society. However, in using a hermeneutic approach, this analysis relates the micro-social context with the macro structure of mediated sport on a global level. This also has implications for flows between different discourses in the football culture for girls. On the one hand, these girls appreciate sports on television or in the newspaper, but on the other hand they also watch reality soaps or romantic films, or listen to music while they are surfing, chatting or playing games on the Internet. Football-playing girls’ own experienced identity as female football players clashes with the unbalanced content of football in sport media, as they meet conflicting demands regarding femininity in the football culture and in surrounding society as well. The football culture encourages one type of femininity that is perhaps a bit tough and physical, at least when it comes to matches. Here, they are encouraged by their parents and coaches to develop a strong independent femininity. They also watch programmes that on the other hand encourage young women to take care of their appearance through diets, dress codes and makeup, another type of subordinate femininity. For young teenage girls it might seem difficult to find a balance themselves, as the demands of modern society on all of us - regardless of whether we are children, teenagers or adults - appear to imply that this is a personal duty for us to perform. As regards sport media and sports, it appears that this last bastion for masculinity is in decline, considering the strong defence displayed against female interference. Sport media reproduce well-preserved gender discourses in team sports such as football with an ambition to maintain the traditional power relations in gender structures specific to sports. Masculinity and femininity in sports are thus restricted to certain pre-defined spheres that emphasize a traditional ideology of sports, supported by other institutional power relations in society, in which mass media play a key role. Conclusion A brief conclusion thus presents itself when mediated sports focus on male players in mass media; in certain ways the representations are built on an ideological understanding of football as a typically masculine field of action, which clashes with the girls’ reality in a supportive sport culture. Against the superficial supportive atmosphere in this cultural context stand the demands on women (and men) to adjust to a society in which football for men and women is considered two separate spheres, concealed and supported by global sport media content. References Bell, Diane, Caplan, Pat and Karim, Wazir Jahan, ed. (1993/1995) Gendered fields, women, men and ethnography, London: Routledge Boyd-Barrett, Oliver and Newbold, Chris, ed. (1995) Approaches to media: a reader, London: Arnold Boyle, Raymond & Haynes Richard (2000) Power Play. Sport, the Media and Popular Culture Harlow: Longman Gauntlett, David (2002) Media, Gender and Identity – an introduction. London: Routledge Gillespie, Marie (1995) Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change. London: Routledge Hammersley, Martyn & Atkinson, Paul (1995) Ethnography- principles in practice. London: Routledge Kleberg, Madeleine (2003) Feminism och genus i svensk medieforskning, in Kvinnovetenskaplig Tidskrift Temanummer 2003:2 Journalistikens kön Miller Toby, Lawrence Geoffrey, McKay Jim, Rowe David (2001) Globalization and sport. Playing the World. London: SAGE Roche, Maurice (1998)Sport, Popular Culture and Identity. Meyer & Meyer Sport Rowe, David (1999) Sport, Culture and the Media, Philadelphia: Open University Press, Buckingham Thompson, John B (1995), The Media and Modernity, Cambridge: Polity Press van Zoonen, Lisbeth(1994),Feminist Media Studies, London: SAGE Publications Top Professional Wrestling [Special Section] by Ylva Ågren The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media Professional Wrestling is not a sport in the way football, basketball and baseball are. This form of wrestling is an entertainment industry in which the program is staged in advance and the outcomes of the matches are predetermined. The differences between the professional wrestling opponents are emphasized from the start, with “good guys” and “bad guys”. The good guys are often handsome while the bad guys are often physically grotesque, dressed ridiculously and dark-skinned. Almost every form of violence and humiliation is allowed until the opponent is brutally defeated. The few rules that exist in the game are there to be broken, and the judge exists only to be ignored. There is a tacit understanding between the public and the actors that the matches are not for real and that the purpose is to entertain, however understanding this can be difficult for an observer who doesn’t normally watch these shows. Sources Boys to Men – Sports Media. Messages about Masculinity. Children Now and The Amateur Athletic Foundation, Los Angeles, September 1999 http://www.aafla.org/9arr/ResearchReports/boystomen.pdf retrieved 2005-05-22 Dafna Lemish (1998) “Fighting against Television Violence. An Israeli Case Study”, in Ulla Carlsson & Cecilia von Feilitzen (Eds.) (1998) Children and Media Violence. Yearbook from the UNESCO International Clearinghouse on Children and Violence on the Screen. Göteborg University, Nordicom, pp. 107-124 *** How Does Professional Wrestling Viewership Affect Children in the U.S.? In a study, researcher Matthew J. Bernthal at the University of South Carolina in the U.S. examines the extent to which children are vulnerable targets for professional wrestling and the extent to which consumption of pro wrestling harms children. Professional wrestling has skyrocketed in popularity and Bernthal points out two primary reasons for this. The first is that it is a highly stylised and choreographed “sport as theatre” form of entertainment. Violence is the entire fabric of the theatrical narrative, and the shows are filled with ever-increasing amounts of sexual and violent content – a content that is clearly attractive to large numbers of young males. The second reason is that wrestling is target-marketed. An additional reason is that the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment – formerly known as WWF, World Wrestling Federation) also actively attracts children with wrestling-related toys and merchandising. To explore the effect that children’s viewership of pro wrestling has on aggression, a survey was mailed to 1, 200 2nd-8th grade teachers in a southeastern state of the U.S. The sample was draw randomly from a list of both public and private elementary and middle schools. Of the 1,200 teachers, 370 (only circa 30%) returned usable answers. One of the questions the teachers were asked was to indicate the popularity of professional wrestling among their students. They were also asked to point out the extent to which they could see that their students were influenced by professional wrestling, as evidenced by verbal or behavioural imitation (indicating on a five-point scale the extent to which they observed some kind of imitation of aggressive and/or vulgar movements, language gestures, etc., that could be related to wrestling viewership). The results from the study illustrate that, generally, elementary school students imitate wrestling moves more than middle school students do. As regards imitation of language and behaviour carrying sexual connotations, the teachers in the study say that they can observe this from time to time. In conclusion, the children showed that they were affected by the programs mainly in the simulation of wrestling moves. Bernthal draws the conclusion that, according to the teachers, pro wrestling does indeed exert negative consequences on children, in terms of physical and verbal imitation. Source Matthew. J. Bernthal (2003) “The effect of professional wrestling viewership on children”, The Sport Journal, Vol. 6, No. 3, Summer (http://www.thesportjournal.org/2003Journal/Vol6-No3/wrestling.asp retrieved 2005-05-22). *** Sport Commentators in the U.S. A study carried out by Children Now and the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles has examined the words sport commentators use to describe sports action, and the messages boys and young men receive from these programs. The study is based on a sample set of programs that appeared during a week in May 1999, and illustrates how commentators use martial metaphors and language of war and weaponry in the programs. The conclusions drawn in the study are that many of the most popular sport programs that boys and young men consume contribute to an image of men as strong, aggressive and hard. The study also shows that these messages are most clear in professional wrestling programs. Source Boys to Men – Sports Media. Messages about Masculinity. Children Now and The Amateur Athletic Foundation, Los Angeles, September 1999 (http://www.aafla.org/9arr/ResearchReports/boystomen.pdf retrieved 2005-05-22). *** Influence of Wrestling Programs in Israel During 1993-1994 in the northern part of Israel, an increasing number of reports showed that children were wounded while trying to imitate their idols from the professional wrestling television series WWF (the World Wrestling Federation – today called WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment). Due to growing public concern, a study aiming to examine the role the WWF played in children’s lives was conducted. The study was accomplished in three phases and included quantitative and qualitative measures. The results suggest unequivocally that WWF wrestling was a distinct and disturbing phenomenon in Israeli elementary schools. The investigation further confirmed that viewing WWF first and foremost negatively affected children already regarded as violent, but also that wrestling had a negative effect on the non-violent children, as well. Interesting to note in this context is that some girls in the study saw WWF as an opportunity to safely experiment with the approval of male norms of behaviour. These girls staged WWF fights at home, where the home environment allowed them to experiment with their physical as well as psychological abilities to fight, and where they at the same time could avoid social sanctions from their classmates. As WWF-related injuries increased, the education system decided to fight back and adopted two general strategies. The short-term strategies were instant reactions and were addressed on four levels – individual, class, school and parental. Long-term strategies were characterized by two types of educational programs, media studies and interpersonal communication. The study illustrated that all preventive and educational measures resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of fights at school, and in many cases the fighting disappeared completely. Another important role in the decrease of WWF-related violence was played by the Council of Cable Broadcast, an Israeli public statutory body selected by the government, with the purpose of regulating the performance of cable franchisers. The Council produced a short public broadcast announcement with a popular actor who explained to children that the WWF is a television show and should not be modelled, since many of the children in the interviews not had realized that the programs were staged. As a result of the measures taken, the phenomenon had declined a year later. Fads and fashions may have played a role here as well; activities among students come and go. It is also important to consider the fact that these children live in an area affected by war and are heavily exposed to documentation of real-life violence. Source This item is a short summary of the article “Fighting Against Television Violence. An Israeli Case Study”, written by Dafna Lemish and previously published in Ulla Carlsson & Cecilia von Feilitzen (Eds.) (1998) Children and Media Violence. Yearbook from the UNESCO International Clearinghouse on Children and Violence on the Screen. Göteborg University, Nordicom, pp. 107-124. Top Sports Media Exposure and Body Image Distortion in College Women in the U.S. [Special Section] In 2001, a study examining exposure to sports media and how it affects young people’s body image was conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama in the U.S. The study explores women’s exposure to entertainment and sports media, and further examines possible links with body image distortion and eating disorders. 218 college women with an average age of 19 participated in the study. The respondents were asked to report their exposure to entertainment and sports media by recording the total time per day they spent watching television or reading magazines. To make the eating disorder symptoms visible, the researchers used four different subscales – anorexia, bulimia, drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction. Questions and statements about eating and weight were presented to the young women, and their answers were compared to extent of media exposure. The study confirms the theory that the effects of exposure to thin body ideal for women in sports media seem to be different from those in entertainment media. The findings suggest that sports media exposure might be linked to a more positive attitude regarding the body. However, the researchers noted that exposure to” thin-ideal” women’s sports such as ice skating or gymnastics were related to some extent to the respondents’ aspiration to thinness, bulimia and anorexia. It is nevertheless important to mention that the study can not determine the type of sports women are watching, because although the respondents were specifically asked to report whether it was women’s or men’s sports they were watching, they did not answer this question. Further, it is also important to mention that very few women reported watching women’s sports on television at all. These components most likely have had an effect on the outcome of the study. The women taking part in the study were mostly white; the study results show that in general, it is white women who develop eating disorders. According to the study results non-white women respond to media differently than do white women, and appear to be affected by media in a different way. The non-white women in the study also reported greater satisfaction with their bodies. Consequently, they had significantly lower scores on the eating disorder subscales. This may be explained by a social comparison theory – one of the key words in this theory is similarity, and many of the female characters in entertainment media are white. The thin-ideal image is also more often related to white culture. Source: Kimberly L. Bissell and Peiqin Zhou (2004) ”Must-see TV or ESPN: Entertainment and Sports Media Exposure and Body-Image Distortion in College Women”, Journal of Communication, March 2004 (http://joc.oupjournals.org/cgi/reprint/54/1/5 retrieved 2005-05-22) Top Children’s Rights in Sports and Media – a European Perspective [Special Section] In the book Un Champion à Tout Prix? Les Droits de L’Enfant et le Sport by Institut International des Droits De L’Enfant, several writers give their perspectives on the topic of children and sport. Paulo David contributes with an interesting article entitled "Children's Rights and Sports". He claims that since sports have become an economic, financial and political reality, young children playing sports today therefore risk being exploited and abused. The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes not only protection rights for children but also participatory rights. Participatory rights refers to each child's right to exercise sports according to his/her maturity. David points out a number of situations that can be scrutinized concerning whether they follow the Convention with regard to participatory rights. He draws parallels between the intensive early training and eating disorders, burn-out syndromes and the mistreatment of the child’s body. He also focuses on doping, children’s right to education and the influential role of parents and other adults such as trainers and directors. In the same book in an article named "Enfants, Sport et Médias", Yves Jeannotat argues that the media have a large responsibility regarding youth sports. Jeannotat asserts that the media must focus more on the rights of the child in sports, and points out the need for the journalist to preserve a critical mindset when it comes to achievements as well as ambitions of parents, trainers and directors. In other words, the media must start writing about sports differently, instead of focussing on fame and glory, for instance. Furthermore, there is a need to observe the children who practise sports at a lower level and to pay attention to those who do not participate in sports at all. Source Un champion a tout prix? Les droits de l’enfants et le sport. Institut International des Droits de l’Enfant, 1999, pp. 37-64 and 125-136 Top Media Use in Germany [Special Section] Since 1998, a research group in Germany has conducted annual studies on the value of the media in the everyday life of children (6-13 years) and teenagers (12-19 years). The studies are named KIM – Kinder und Medien – and JIM – Jugend, Information, Media – and comprise a long-term project with the aim of illustrating and documenting developments and trends in young people’s use of media. The results will also contribute to education, culture and new work in this area. 1,200 children per year participate in the KIM study and are interviewed both personally and together with a parent. For the JIM study, 1,000 young people annually are asked by telephone about their use of media. The main topics for the studies include leisure activities, media use, interest in topics and sources of information, TV preferences, use of the Internet and computer, attitudes towards computer and Internet and use of mobile phone. Although it is not the primary focus, the study also shows results concerning children’s and young people use of sports media. Sources mpfs – medienpädagogischer forschungsverbund südwest, http://www.mpfs.de/studien/kim/index_kim.html http://www.mpfs.de/studien/jim/index_jim.html Top Sports for Development and Peace on International Children's Day of Broadcasting [Special Section] The theme of International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) 2005 took place on 11 December and was dedicated to the power of sport as a tool for development and peace. Sports and games provide children and young people with opportunities to express themselves and become agents for change in their own communities. Children across the world were involved in broadcasting this particular day, and many also gave special attention to this year’s theme. In Armenia, all major TV channels broadcast six short films on traditional games and sports produced by children. In Azerbaijan, children produced and hosted a 25-minute program on children and sports, a result of a co-operation between the neighboring countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In Nicaragua, the event was celebrated with an all-day festival during which young reporters and young athletes highlighted children’s right to sports, play and recreation. A pilot TV programme called SOTNA (Our Voice) was launched in Egypt, with more than thirty children and adolescents involved in its production. "It was an amazing experiment. I’ve been dreaming of something like this" said 14-year-old Nouran about the event. Other themes were also dealt with on this day. Documentaries on children’s rights were broadcast in Germany, and Denmark focused on children’s rights related to divorce and other family issues. In Sierra Leone, special media training for children was organized countrywide. ICDB is celebrated every year, on the second Sunday in December. It is the day when TV and radio broadcasters open their studios to young producers and presenters and allow children to take an active part in the programming. The event is a joint initiative of UNICEF and the International Academy of Television Arts & Science. New this year was the founding of eight regional awards to broadcasters, which best promotes the principles, purpose and main themes of ICDB. Source: www.unicef.org Top Media Violence Mood Management: Catharsis as a Motive for Playing Violent Video Games? [Media Violence] by Stefanie van Rootselaar, MSc Elly A. Konijn, Ph.D. Free University Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Brad J. Bushman, Ph.D. University of Michigan Ann Arbor, United States Today’s entertainment media seems to be largely targeted at youth. The amount of violence in entertainment media is troubling, to society at large as well as to parents. Especially the widespread popularity of violent video games has caused quite some commotion. Not surprisingly, because scientific studies report significant effects of such games on players’ aggression level. Studies have shown that people’s behavior, thoughts and feelings become more aggressive after exposure to violent media, including violent video games (e.g., Anderson, 2004; Anderson & Dill, 2000). The most popular games are violent ones. Recent reports reveal that video games play a significant role in the lives of children and adolescents in the United States (Buchman & Funk, 1996; Gentile & Walsh, 2002). Aim and Problem Statement The media violence literature focuses to a great extent on the effects it may have on users. However, what seems to be lacking is research on why violent media are so popular in the first place. Studying motives for consuming violent media lies at the root of the media violence debate. Discovering motives for consumption might shed light on who are mostly attracted to violent media and under which circumstances. Furthermore, studying attraction to violent media may help explain certain elements of media violence effects (Rubin, 2002), as well as factors mediating the relationship between exposure to violent media and aggression. In addition, we need to know why people are attracted to violent media before we can design effective media literacy programs to reduce the harmful effects of violent media (Cantor & Wilson, 2003). For instance, it is important to know whether violent media are consumed because of their violent content, or whether other factors, such as boredom, peer-influence, or excitement play a role in the attractiveness of violent video games. Mood states and motives to manage moods have been shown to influence our media behavior, such as music choice (Knobloch, 2003; Knobloch & Zillmann, 2002) and Internet search behaviors (Mastro, Eastin, & Tamborini, 2002). Furthermore, the so-called catharsis theory argues that venting frustrations by means of viewing violence and behaving violently will help improve negative mood states. Because violent video games allow the player to shoot and beat up fictional characters, such games may provide an excellent platform for venting built up anger, stress, and frustrations. Therefore, this study posed the following problem statement: How do mood management motives relate to violent video game preference in adolescents? Participants and Method We designed an experiment to study the interplay of (induced) frustration and beliefs in catharsis in their effects on attraction to violent video games. Participants were adolescents, aged 13-15, attending the lowest level of secondary school in the Netherlands. Thus far, this particular population has hardly been studied in media violence research, whereas research findings show that adolescents with a low IQ are more likely to be aggressive than those with a high IQ (Huesmann, Eron, & Yarmel, 1987; Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, & Eron, 2003) and that adolescents of lower intellectual ability consume more violent media than do adolescents of higher intellectual ability (Goldstein, 1999). To induce catharsis-belief in the participants, video clips were shown describing an impressive research study that demonstrated the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of venting anger (after Bushman, Baumeister, & Stack, 1999; Bushman, Baumeister, & Phillips, 2001). A control condition was also included describing an impressive research study on a totally different topic. We induced frustration by provoking the participants (after Bushman, Bonacci, Pedersen, Vasquez, & Miller, 2005; Pedersen, Gonzales, & Miller, 2000) in the following ways: ·Asking participants to solve difficult anagrams. ·Playing loud, disturbing background music while participants solved anagrams. ·Having the experimenter make rude comments to participants. After receiving the treatment (either a pro- or anti-catharsis message vs. being provoked or not provoked), participants rated how much they wanted to play 6 violent and 6 nonviolent video games. The video game descriptions were fictitious and were selected from a larger pool of descriptions rated on attractiveness during a pretest. The descriptions were presented in a random order. They also chose one of the games to play. Two weeks prior to the experiment proper, participants completed a test measuring the personality trait ‘anger-out’, because trait-aggressiveness is found to be an important moderator of media violence effects in previous studies (Anderson, 2004). Results and Conclusion The findings of this study did not support the initial expectations. That is, we did not find a greater preference to play violent video games among the participants who were provoked nor those who were made to believe in catharsis to vent their frustration. Thus, we are inclined to conclude that violent video games are not played in order to vent angry moods. However, we did find that participants scoring high on ‘anger-out’ as well as those with high exposure to video games had a greater preference for violent video games. This preference was not found for non-violent video games. Therefore, the findings indicate that adolescents who are more aggressive by nature have a greater desire to consume violent video games. Combining this finding with previous findings in media violence effects studies, suggests that this particular group may be identified as most vulnerable to the negative effects of media violence. Thus, violent video games are more appealing to some audiences than to others, especially to people who normally express their anger in aggressive ways. Moreover, the current study found that exposure to video games in general was positively related to a preference for violent games. Therefore, exposure to video games is likely to increase exposure to violent ones, which is important to consider in media violence research. In conclusion, the present findings indicate that preference for violent video games among adolescents with lower intellectual ability is not predicted by the desire to vent frustrations – rather their game preferences are predicted by the personality trait ‘anger-out’ and the amount of general exposure to video games. Note Electronic mail may be sent to: ea.konijn@fsw.vu.nl References Anderson, C.A. (2004). An update on the effects of playing violent video games. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 113-122. Anderson, C.A. & Dill, K.E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 772-790. Buchman, D., & Funk, J.B. (1996). Video and computer games in the ‘90s: Children report time commitment and game preference. Children Today, 31, 12-15. Bushman, B. J., Bonacci, A. M., Pedersen, W. C., Vasquez, E. A., & Miller, N. (2005). Chewing on it can chew you up: Effects of rumination on triggered displaced aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 969-983. Bushman, B.J., Baumeister, R.F., & Phillips, C.M. (2001). Do people aggress to improve their mood? Catharsis beliefs, affect regulation opportunity, and aggressive responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81 (1), 17-32. Bushman, B.J., Baumeister, R.F., & Stack, A.D. (1999). Catharsis, aggression, and persuasive influence: Self-fulfilling or self-defeating prophecies? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76 (3), 367-376. Cantor, J., & Wilson, B.J. (2003). Media and violence: Intervention strategies for reducing aggression. Media Psychology, 5, 363-403. Gentile, D.A., & Walsh, D. (2002). A normative study of family media habits. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 23, 157-178. Goldstein, J. (1999). The attractions of violent entertainment. Media Psychology, 1, 271-282. Huesmann, L.R., Moise-Tinus, J., Podolski, C., & Eron, L.D. (2003). Longitudinal relations between children’s exposure to TV violence and their aggressive and violent behavior in young adulthood: 1977-1992. Developmental Psychology, 39 (2), 201-221. Huesmann, L.R., Eron, L.D., & Yarmel, P.W. (1987). Intellectual functioning and aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52 (1), 232-240. Knobloch, S. (2003). Mood adjustment via mass communication. Journal of Communication, 53 (2), 233-250. Knobloch, S., & Zillmann, D. (2002). Mood management via the digital jukebox. Journal of Communication, 52 (2), 351-366. Mastro, D.E., Eastin, M.S., & Tamborini, R. (2002). Internet search behaviors and mood alterations: A selective exposure approach. Media Psychology, 4, 157-172. Pedersen, W.C., Gonzales, C., & Miller, N. (2000). The moderating effect of trivial triggering provocation on displaced aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 790-803. Rubin, A.M. (2002). The uses-and-gratifications perspective of media effects. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media Effects: Advances in theory and research (p. 525-548). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Slater, M. D., Henry, K. L., Swaim, R., & Anderson, L. (2003). Violent media content and aggression in adolescents: A downward-spiral model. Communication Research, 30, 713-736. Top Television and Children’s Fear – Research Findings from Slovakia [Media Violence] by Elena Hradiská, Ph.D. Associate Professor Institute of Applied Psychology Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences Comenius University Bratislava, Slovak Republic Emotions are integral to people’s intricate complex of psychological expressions. They are outcomes of subjective responses to a variety of stimuli. Fear is one such emotion, and its experience is attended by many internal and external changes in the human organism. Any individual manner and form of response to an outward stimulus is contingent on inborn endowments of the organism, the social milieu in which the stimulus challenges the organism, as well as the nature of the organism. Human individuality, therefore, shows a whole gamut of ways in which persons may experience feelings of fear and fright. Among negative consequences of media impact in general, and television in particular, is its liability to produce in children, through certain elements in the content of its broadcasts, lingering fears and anxiety, which are not extinguished with the end of the fear-producing show or programme. The Study We asked via a questionnaire(1) a representative sample of 560 children, aged 10 to 14 years from both inner city areas and the countryside in the Slovak Republic, if they had ever viewed a television programme that had caused in them emotions of fear and anxiety. Over 80 per cent of the respondents answered in the positive. Subsequently, we carried out psychological tests(2) designed to discover the levels of anxiety and fright in minors. We found that children who are generally more disposed to feelings of fear and anxiety (i.e., who are generally more anxious) more often had experienced fright while watching TV programmes. These fright reactions had been provoked primarily by action and horror movies and crime series. Especially older children, however, also described fear and fright in connection with viewing television news and factual programming, with their graphic display of accidents, murders, war shooting, and the like. As regards the long-lasting nature of the feelings of fright, that is, feelings that remain after the programme is over, more than one-fourth of the children studied spontaneously reported worrisome nightmares provoked by television programmes involving frightening experiences. Among the children who were more prone to express anxiety generally, up to 50 per cent complained about recurring, haunting nightmares accompanied by uncomfortable apprehension and feelings of being threatened or eventually harmed through involvement in some form of violence. In this respect, nightmares populated with mysterious-looking beings, monsters and ghosts and ghouls were cited quite often. The Social Environment An interpretation of the survey results must take into account, besides an inborn disposition to fear and anxiety, the social environment in which a child is brought up. According to our findings, one-third of the respondents had already been exposed to scenes of violence and aggressive behaviour in real life, most frequently on the streets of major urban agglomerations. Spontaneously, the children in the study commented on real, flesh-and-blood evil people whom they had happened to encounter in their lives and had experienced fear of; on fear of walking alone at dusk; and on other, more unmotivated fears (such as an abstract fright that something vicious may happen to them or their family). Ways of psychological coping with broadcasts liable to trigger feelings of fright are also contingent on the environment in which a child views fear-generating shows or movies. The response may be far too negative if the child does not have access to anyone with whom s/he can share these disturbing feelings. This appears to be particularly true of the younger children. Often put to bed immediately after having been exposed to a scary program, only few of them could boast about parents who would spend some of their busy time discussing what the child had just seen on the screen, something that may contribute to children’s internalised feelings surfacing in different aggressive manifestations, such as brawls among children. Twenty-nine per cent of the children studied – 42 per cent of the boys and 16 per cent of the girls – mentioned that they had engaged in fight strategies and techniques imitated from television programmes and films. The fact that children become frightened or upset while and after watching television programmes is, thus, to a certain extent the outcome of the absence on the part of parents of an active interest in their children’s viewing habits. According to the children surveyed, their parents tried only minimally to regulate what is and is not appropriate to watch at their age. This was claimed to be true of not only television programmes, but also of videotapes on the market. The children often watched afternoon and night programmes with the consent of their parents, while some younger children, despite having their parents’ permission, oftentimes chose not to watch a horror or action film that was on in order to prevent the experience of fear, fright or anxiety. The children’s responses to violent and fear-producing sights and sounds were many, basically having the character of escape. The most frequent manifestations were closed eyes, averted gaze, switching over to other programmes, flight to another room or seeking parental support. As this study suggests, children themselves are well aware of plausible negative effects of overly enthusiastic viewing of movies with violent scenes. This claim is supported by examples from the family environment, which the surveyed children themselves invoked in this context, such as “My brother watches these kinds of movies and then frightens me, or sometimes he wants to fight with me the way he has seen in the movie”. We carried out our research when X Files – a series repeatedly recognised by the respondents as frightening – was being broadcast in Slovakia. This series helped us see the problem of harmful material on television more clearly than was the case with many other genres, as many items in its content remain ambivalent – many issues remain open and problems unresolved. Children aged 10-14 are not yet able to clearly grasp the status of “supernatural” phenomena. All too often, such phenomena visited their dreams. Examples of utterances supporting this claim were: “Auntie lay sleeping at first, but when she woke up she had a bloody inscription on her face”; “First there was a warrior, but then he turned into a monster before my eyes”; “This was about a man who had been buried in a pyramid but would get up during the night to frighten me”. What is the Solution to the Problem? Appealing to broadcasters and requesting that they reduce the airing of programmes and movies that can induce such negative emotional responses among children is one viable avenue to pursue. Yet, working with parents or children’s caregivers, and with children themselves, appears at least as important. The children in our study acknowledged being fairly heavy viewers, with almost three hours of television viewing a day. If we fail to reduce viewing through re-directing children towards other pursuits and hobbies, it is more sensible to try and make the best of this pastime, getting television to contribute in a more consistent way to the broadening of children’s outlook, the promotion of higher educational standards, and a more pleasurable and gratifying relaxation. It is also essential to teach children a selective approach to media. There is evidence in our research that most children will opt for a specific programme not as a deliberate choice, but merely through random browsing of the television programmes that happen to be on offer. The study discovered that television is more or less ever-present in children’s lives. This pervasive medium accompanies them while they are getting ready for school, eating meals, doing their homework and getting ready for bed. This is where parental influence and attentive concern have a role to play. There is no doubt that children are influenced by what they are exposed to at home, and their approach to things is very similar to that of their parents. We find communication on these matters among parents, teachers and children to be of absolutely prime significance. Clarifying often obscure and ambivalent contexts and taking explicit positions to different media contents may become powerful tools in tempering and shaping children’s experiences and emotions. If properly handled, even frightening experiences associated with watching a detective programme may metamorphose from a negative emotion into a pleasant feeling of suspense, experienced in the comforting and secure presence of parents. This accounts for the necessity to have parents immediately engaged in the process of media impact on their children and sensitised to the issue. Parents must be made fully aware of the plausible adverse psychological effects of their children’s viewing programmes and movies inappropriate for their age. Notes 1. The questionnaire was prepared by us, and the children filled it in under the researchers‘ conduct. The researcher read the questions and explained if anybody of the children did not understand the meaning of some words. 2. The test, which is oriented towards identification of feelings of anxiety and fear, is constructed by the Slovak institute "Psychodiagnostika" with standards for Slovak children. Top Media Literacy Can Help Prevent Youth Violence [Media Violence] Taking Lessons From the Columbine High School Shooting in Littleton, Colorado by Jacques Brodeur Consultant in Violence Prevention, Peace Education, Media Awareness and Cultural Environment at EDUPAX Quebec, Canada www.EDUPAX.org Youth violence prevention has become a major public health issue in schools all over North America and Europe since 1990. Hundreds of studies showed that TV time exposure has a significant correlation with bullying behaviours in schools and later criminal offences. A recent research made on a 17 years period has shown that exposure to TV is an accurate predictor of future criminal violence as adult (1). Since TV, movies and videogames carry more verbal and physical violence, media literacy seems to be a good way to prevent violence. Hijacking Media Literacy Most media education material in Canada and in the U.S. (sometimes schools receive free kits) get funding from big media. The funding "naturally" helps put the blame away from the media, just like the food industry funding helps put the blame for diabetes and obesity on the lack of exercise. The ACME Coalition (Action Coalition for Media Education) was founded in 2003 to allow media literacy to grow free from big media. Dr Sut Jhally, from the Media Education Foundation, one of the founding members of ACME, declared: "Media literacy is so dangerous to media corporations that they have moved to hijack the movement as it builds momentum. ACME’s formation and launch therefore is an important political moment."(2) The Columbine High School Shooting Experienced in some schools in Canada, independent media literacy tools were used to increase kids and teens awareness against the influence of violent entertainment and prevent violence. On the 6th Anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, in Littleton, Colorado, EDUPAX released an interpretation of the event (3). It points at the cultural environment feeding kids and teens and discuss aggression and the occurrence and development of youth crime. In the text many questions are raised; What factors have made this nightmare event possible? Why did such a horrible event happen in a high school? Why has the increase of youth violence become a major public health issue in America and Europe? And, why is the number of kids with troubled behaviour in our elementary schools on the rise? According to EDUPAX’ interpretation, the blame must not be carried by schools, but that is where the increase is witnessed. Inevitably, some kids reach secondary school with their social skills underdeveloped. They become labelled "at risk" teens. If their peers are not trained to respect and enjoy differences, if sarcasm and humiliation are common in their environment, frustration heats up and the media culture of revenge comes to the "rescue" and pushes these teens to act out. Imitation is not the only effect of media violence. Massive exposure to media violence also desensitizes teens and reduces empathy, the capacity to rescue their peers victims of bullying and violence (ibid). Reversible Trend? Conscious of many hundreds of studies about the toxic influence of TV and curious to verify if that influence is reversible, Dr Thomas Robinson, professor of medicine at Stanford University, directed an audacious research project with children in San Jose, California. He produced teaching tools for teachers who agreed to prepare 3rd and 4th graders to turn off television and videogames for 10 days. The tools are part of the so called ‘SMART Program’, Student Media Awareness to Reduce Television (4). Dr Robinson measured verbal and physical violence before and immediately after the program was accomplished with a follow up 20 weeks later. Reduction of exposure to TV and video games made verbal and physical violence diminish with 50 respectively 40 per cent. The most aggressive kids made the most progress. The 10Day Challenge Informed of Robinson's study, in 2003 and 2004, teachers and parents in 20 elementary schools in Quebec and Ontario became curious to see if a similar project could produce the same results with their students. Would turning off TV make a difference? How would families respond to a call for action? The 10Day Challenge was created and evaluated by kids, teachers and parents (5). In April 2005, three more elementary schools participated in the Challenge and 1,159 new children were offered to participate. The 2005 Challenge was evaluated as well (6). 120 out of 400 kids (30%) kept their TV turned off completely for the whole 10 days. Among the 400, most have replaced TV with physical activities and reading, with parents and friends. Young Zachary tells his story. "The first day, I went to my friend’s home to play; the second day, he visited me. With my parents, I did some clean up of our house. I enjoyed the Challenge" he said. Before the Challenge, Zachary used to spend his whole weekends in front of the screen, but now, he says, I will watch it a little bit in the morning. All students and teachers participated. Not all succeeded, but all tried. "The rainy weekend didn’t help" said Louise Bolduc, a teacher. "Everyday, an average of 250 children (62,5%) replaced TV with something more useful." Sophie, a second grader, said that it was not easy, since her older brother attending another school did not participate. A similar statement was made by Philippe, who felt a little lonesome in his effort: "But my dad brought me to watch a football game with him. I also did a lot of homework", he said. Chantal, a mom met at the closing ceremony, said that she and her husband understood that children needed help to succeed. "The four of us together made us stronger. We glued a big card on our TV and in the end, it was easier than we expected", she added. Children found tons of activities to stay away from TV. Margot, a third grader, participated in a poetry evening at school Olivier took a few board games from the closet. "One Monopoly Game lasted over 4 hours", he said. Alexandre went to a karate show and made a lot of bicycling. "During supper, I noticed that we talked more instead of watching TV ", says Marc-Étienne. Mother of two, Chantal noticed that the "fast" benefited her family. "It made the links stronger, for sure. My kids played together more frequently during these 10 days", she said. Unplugging our children from TV and videogames allows them to communicate with parents and peers and helps them to become more responsible (7). Can It Work With Teens? Only one high school, totalizing 1 000 students aged from 11 to 16 years, has participated in the Challenge so far. 522 high school students participated in the evaluation, 168 parents and 32 teachers. Evaluation reveals that 78% of students participated in the Challenge. 6% of students turned off TV and videogames completely for 10 days, 23% reduced consumption by 75%, 36% by half and 35% by a quarter. Teens succeeded an average of 4.8 days without TV and videogames. Four out of 5 found the Challenge very or quite useful. Preparation reached all students, including non-participants, and media literacy sessions helped them obtain some benefits. Two thirds of parents found the Challenge very or quite useful. All teachers (100%) found the 10Day Challenge very or quite useful (8). Benefits TV and videogames deprive teens of time (well over 25 hours) that they could use to develop social skills (9). The Challenge helped increase physical activities (50% of students), time spent with friends (45%), time spent with parents and help for tasks at home (25%). The Challenge allowed improvement of teens’ social relationships; family links also improved. - Physical violence in school went down for 32% of teens, 27% say the same for verbal violence. - Verbal violence went down at home for 39% of students, 38% say the same for physical violence. - Critical sense became better for 65% of teens. 6 parents out of 10 (59%) witnessed improvement of their child’s viewing skills; 9 teachers out of 10 say the same. This was the most improved element. - Dynamics in the school, 63% of teens saw it improved. 2nd most improved element. - Dynamics in the community. 58% of teens saw it improved. 3rd most improved element. Repeat? Three quarters of students (72%) want to do it again. Parents agreed. Teachers showed stronger support for repeating the Challenge (89,7%). (10) The Challenge is great news for all North American parents who question addiction to media violence. The reduction of exposure to TV and video game violence seems to be a very efficient way to prevent violence. All schools in North America should be informed. Many TV stations made interviews with students and parents participating in the Challenge and all the stations expressed support, showing that they also can help prevent youth violence. A new challenge will take place April 18-27 in 2006. Note: A Complete analysis of the 10Day Challenge and required documentation is available at http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentation/1_articles/ Teens%2010Day%20Strike.htm The full title of the evaluation presented to the governments of Canada and Québec (in French) is: "Bilan détaillé du DÉFI de la DIZAINE sans télé ni jeu vidéo 2003-2004 réalisé par l’Association des comités de parents des régions de la Capitale-Nationale et de la Chaudière-Appalaches et EDUPAX. Rapport au Secrétariat de la Stratégie nationale pour la prévention du crime du Gouvernement du Canada et au Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec". http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentation/4_defi/ defi_acp0312/bilan_2003/Le_rapport.htm References: 1. Study Ties Television Viewing to Aggression. Adults Affected As Well as Children, By Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post, Friday, March 29, 2002, page A01, reprinted on The Free Radical web site: http://www.fradical.com/March_2002_tv_violence_study.htm 2. ACME’s website: http://www.acmecoalition.org/ 3. http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentation/1_articles/ Columbine%206th%20anniversary.htm 4. Effects of Reducing Children’s Television and Video Game Use on Aggressive Behaviour. A Randomized Controlled Trial, by Thomas N. Robinson et. al. in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Vol. 155, No. 1, 2001, see also: http://hprc.stanford.edu/pages/store/itemDetail.asp?169 5. Report to the National Strategy for Crime Prevention Secretariat, Government of Canada and Quebec (in French) http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentation/4_defi/ defi_acp0312/bilan_2003/Le_rapport.htm 6. http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentation/4_defi/ DEFI%20communique%20Bilan%20preli.htm 7. http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentation/4_defi/ lecole%20Les%20Bocages%20a%20relev%E9%20le%20defi.html 8. http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentation/1_articles/ Teens%2010Day%20Strike.htm 9. The amount of TV exposure (5½ hours a day = 38½ hours a week) is reported in "The Role of the Media In Childhood Obesity" by The Kaiser Family Foundation, February 2004. According to a new report, March 2005, "Media Multi-tasking. Changing the Amount and Nature of Young People’s Media", by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Young people spend an average of 44½ hours per week with the media. http://www.kff.org 10. http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentation/1_articles/ Teens%2010Day%20Strike.htm The full title of the evaluation (in French) is: "Bilan détaillé du DÉFI de la DIZAINE sans télé ni jeu vidéo 2003-2004 réalisé par l’Association des comités de parents des régions de la Capitale-Nationale et de la Chaudière-Appalaches et EDUPAX". Rapport au Secrétariat de la Stratégie nationale pour la prévention du crime du Gouvernement du Canada et au Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec. http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentation/4_defi/ defi_acp0312/bilan_2003/Le_rapport.htm Top Internet, Computer Games, NICT Virtual Community for Teen Counselling [Internet, Computer Games, NICT] by Anni Marquard Cyberhus Aarhus, Denmark The youth organisation Ungdommens Vel (“Youth Care”) based in Aarhus has established a virtual community for children and teens on the Internet – www.cyberhus.dk Volunteers work together interdisciplinary and in collaboration with the children/teens, who are actively involved both in terms of construction and communication. Dialogue with Children and Teenagers Cyberhus.dk wants to get in touch with the exposed, quiet and lonely children and teens who are hiding behind the computer screen, and create a socio-educational and qualitative forum in the childrens’ “digital world”. Cyberhus offers different types of counselling as well as empowering activities that generate contact. Non-commercial Counselling Online Cyberhus.dk is being shaped as a virtual house based on the children’s’ age and interests. Cyberhus.dk is a non-commercial and serious alternative to commercial websites – a spacious and attentive forum open round the clock on the children’s’ terms, with trust, respect and openness in focus.On cyberhus.dk children can seek various kinds of counselling: A chat counselling where the kids can speak with an adult in private, and an e-mail counselling where they can send an e-mail and receive a personal reply. Moreover, cyberhus.dk offers a range of foras where one can read contributions from other kids as well as write contributions of ones own. The child/teen can choose to be anonymous anytime. Work Ethic in Cyberhus Volunteers who are mainly students from different institutes of education carry out the socio-educational work in Cyberhus. Enrolment of new volunteers from different professions, age groups and cultures is prioritised and an special homepage,www.cyberfrivillig.dk, for the recruiting and continual education of volunteers. Target Group The primary target group are kids from the age of 9 to 18, but everyone up to the age of 23 is welcome. Visitors who especially would benefit from using Cyberhus are: - Children and teens that experience sudden, yet fairly temporary, personal problems. This pertains to children and teens that come from relatively well functioning homes where issues of bullying, love, sex and puberty may occur. - Marginalized and/or socially deprived children and teens. Our focus is children and teens whose everyday life has been or can be marked by violence, sexual abuse, drug abuse and /or crime, and who are out of touch with their school and lack adults they can trust and confide in. Number of Visitors 350 -400 kids visit Cyberhus.dk every day. 20 kids are actively involved in Cyberhus on an online basis at the present moment. Their work consists among other things in writing book reviews and articles on different subjects, and/or helping to create short flash films illustrating different issues such as alcohol, love, family, puberty, sex, etc. Cooperation The council of Aarhus as well as the Department of Education financially support Cyberhus. Our link, www.cyberhus.dk, was recently added to Unicef’s list of associated organisations in Denmark. Cyberhus aim for cooperation on international level and would be happy to cooperate across geographical borders in the future. Top Teens Online Activities in the US [Internet, Computer Games, NICT] Teens’ use of the Internet in the United States has intensified and broadened over the past four years. The number of teenagers using the Internet has grown with from 73% in 2000 to 87% in 2004 compared to 56% in 2000 and 66% in 2004 among adults. These are some of the results presented in the report “Teens and Technology” from Pew Internet & American Life Project released in July 2005. Although half of the American teens in the survey (51%) live in homes with broadband connections Internet is reached from a variety of locations such as schools, community centers, libraries and friends’ and relatives’ houses. Shopping and game playing are the online activities which have grown most since the study in 2000. Buying books, clothing or music on the web has been done by 43% of the teens, which is 71% higher than four years ago. In 2004 81% of the teens play games online which is 52% more than in 2000. E-mailing, although still on top of the list of teens online activities, used by 89%, seem to be diminishing its popularity in favour of instant messaging (IM) which is used by 75%. When asked about which way of communication was preferred and used most often to communicate with friends online teens chose IM over e-mail. Describing their view on the two means of communication in focus groups, e-mail was considered something used when communicating with ‘old people’, institutions or to send long and complicated messages. IM on the other hand was preferred for everyday conversations, from casual to more private issues. Instant messaging offers more options to customize and personalize the communication and it is also possible to post messages while away from the computer. When comparing the results from the previous study, older teenage girls (15-17 years) are leading the way in adopting the new means of information seeking and communication. Their level of engagement in e.g. text messaging, search for school, health and religious information is higher than both boys of their own age or the younger teens (12-14 year olds). The survey was based on telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1’100 teens aged 12-17 years and their parents. The interviews were conducted in October-November 2004. Four focus groups were also conducted with a total of 38 high school and middle school students. The full report, Teens and Technology. Youth are leading the transition to a fully wired and mobile nation, by Amanda Lenhart, Mary Madden and Paul Hitlin, is available in pdf-format on the web site below. Source: www.pewinternet.org Top On-line Safety Tips for Parents and Children [Internet, Computer Games, NICT] When searching the web for sites on Internet Safety one will find numerous sites from health institutions, schools, libraries, the police and other official institutions as well as from parental organisations, media companies or media literacy organisations. Many of the sites give advice to parents on house rules for on-line activities, offer guides for web-surfing or tips on how to talk to their children about Internet Safety. Many of them also have special sections addressing children and young people directly, teaching net safety through somewhat different ways e.g. with games and quizzes. As mentioned above, these sites come in hundreds. Below are a just a few examples of one alternative to help household members be web aware. Contracts One way of bringing attention to on-line safety in the family is to sign a contract promising to keep to certain rules or guidelines while exploring the Internet. The contract can be printed and signed and kept nearby the computer as a constant reminder. Many organisations provide different kinds of contracts and a few examples of these can be found on the web sites below: The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) is a UK based, non-profit organisation of Internet leaders working to develop a safer Internet. The organisation provides labels for Internet content providers to use on their sites. Users with filtering software can then choose to allow or disallow certain content described by these labels. The ICRA site mainly addresses Internet content providers but they also have a section for parents and children with “The Family Online Internet Security Contract” to print out and sign. Read Contract Girl Scouts Movement wants to inspire, challenge and empower girls and help them grow. In the everyday life one of the girl scouts motto is to “be prepared”. One way of being prepared when it comes to travelling through cyberspace is to read and sign the “Girl Scouts Internet Safety Pledge”. Read Safety Pledge Child Lures Prevention is a North American organisation for raising awareness and prevention of childhood sexual exploitation and related crimes. Among other tips on safety for the children is a section on Internet safety where the “Family Internet Safety Pact” reprinted below can be found. Go to Safety Pact FAMILY INTERNET SAFETY PACT 1. I UNDERSTAND there is some danger on-line; criminals roam the internet just as they roam the streets. 2. I UNDERSTAND that some people online pretend to be someone they are not. They can be dishonest about their age, sex, interests, job, or anything else. 3. I UNDERSTAND that some criminals try to befriend kids online, especially those who are lonely or who aren't getting along with their parents. 4. I UNDERSTAND that private and family matters should not be discussed on-line. Instead, I should talk about them with a trusted adult. 5. I UNDERSTAND that my parents need to know where and with whom I spend my time online, because they love me and want to ensure my safety. 6. I WILL NOT give out personal information online, including my full name, address, phone number, or name and location of my school. 7. I WILL obtain permission from my parents first if I want to provide personal information to enter a contest, register on a website, or buy something online. 8. I WILL NOT send photographs, video clips, or other images of myself to cyber friends. 9. I WILL NOT go alone to meet someone I know only from online. 10. I WILL NOT send threatening, unkind or disrespectful e-mail or IM's, nor post them on websites or blogs. 11. I WILL NOT go alone to meet in-person someone I know only from online. 12. If I really want to meet an online acquaintance, I WILL a) only go with my parent(s) or another trusted adult, b) meet the person in a public place. 13. I WILL tell my parents whenever I make a new online friend. Child’s Signature: Parent’s Signature: Date: Top In Brief ABU Children’s TV Programme Item-Exchange [In Brief] In July 2005 thirty-five participants from twenty-one countries in Asia and the Pacific took part in the ABU-UNESCO Children’s TV Programme Item-Exchange Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The meeting provided an exchange of ideas and an opportunity for producers to develop their skills at several workshops. It was also an opportunity to encourage the contribution of more local television content for children. Among the activities were a two-day workshop dedicated to children’s documentary productions. Besides going through storytelling, cinematography, sound effects and ethics, best practices from the EBU documentary exchange were screened. Another half-day workshop on children’s drama with its starting point in an ABU co-production series received considerable interest. Over the years this event has not only become an important platform for programme producers in the Asia-Pacific area, but has also raised interest among other organisations such as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Prix Jeunesse and URTNA/PEC Nairobi, among others. This year, for the first time, programmes from Latin America were screened as well. A total of 158 items were viewed and discussed, a third of which represented non-Asian productions for children, pointing at the potential for this meeting to become a truly international event. The next meeting has been scheduled for 3-8 July 2006. Note ABU: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Source: UNESCO WebWorld News (www.unesco.org/webworld) Top The Arab Child Subject to Different Cultural Influences [In Brief] A unique regional conference on the above-mentioned theme was held at Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt, on 25-27 September 2005. The event was organized by the Arab Council for Childhood and Development, a non-governmental organization with legal entity that was established on the initiative of HRH Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz after a resolution of the Arab League Conference on Childhood in Tunisia in 1986. The concern of the 2005 conference was to investigate the theme – the Arab Child Subject to Different Cultural Influences – within the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that includes the cultural rights of children, and the respect of ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. The objectives of the conference were defined as follows: ·Investigate the impact of the various cultural influences on the status of Arab children, define their nature and their efficacy in shaping the socio-cultural environment of Arab children. ·Monitor the phenomenon and problems that begin to emerge in the life of Arab children due to these various influences besides the impact of the current Arab reality. ·Evaluate the Arab policies at the pan-Arab and country levels in fulfilling the needs of Arab children and promoting their status while confirming their identity and strengthening their loyalty and belonging; and identify the extent of their compliance with Arab commitments at the regional and international levels. ·Develop a future vision capable of promoting the positive aspects in the status of Arab children, and generating positive policies in order to enhance this status. The conference was attended by several hundreds of experts on children’s culture, researchers, governmental authorities and voluntary organizations, the press and other media, as well as by children aged 10 to 18 – representing 21 Arab countries. A few researchers from other countries were invited, as well. The conference language was Arabic, and speeches and discussions included the following main topics: ·The sources of culture for Arab children ·The language of the Arab child in the era of globalization ·Impact of local and foreign media on Arab children ·Arab children’s rights ·Arab children speak out ·Foreign experiences ·Bibliotheca Alexandrina A printed booklet with abstracts of all speeches is available in Arabic and English. To read The Final Statement of the Conference, as well as the Recommendations of the Conference Click here For more information: Arab Council for Childhood and Development Intersection of Makram Edeid & Abdel Razzak Al sanhoury Street P.O. Box 7537, 8th distict Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt or P.O. Box 15, Orman, Giza, Egypt Tel.: (+202) 6712050 Fax: (+202) 6712059 E-mail: accd@arabccd.org Web site Top Measures and Regulations Colombia Signs Commitment to Quality Television for Children [Measures and Regulations] At an event entitled Quality Television 2005 held in Bogotá, Colombia earlier in 2005, the Commitment for Quality Television for Children in Colombia was signed. The initiative for the Commitment has been promoted by, among others, Fundación Imaginario, a non profit foundation promoting innovative use of communication for social exchange. The signing of the Commitment was attended by representatives from the Ministries of Culture, Communication and Education, the President's Special Programmes Advisory Office, directors of public and private television channels and a number of media associations in Colombia. The Commitment is intended to train young professionals and new producers of children's programming, with an increased emphasis on creative research and development. It furthermore aims to stimulate citizen participation and surveillance of children's television in Colombia and form a truly qualified television audience that feeds its criteria back to national producers. For Manuel Manrique, UNICEF Representative for Colombia and Venezuela, this is a commitment from which is expected "an attractive, quality television that promotes the development and rights of children. It is about television in which child rights are always present, and that keeps in mind the constant presence of child viewers of what in most cases is the only entertainment and recreational medium within reach." As an outcome of an extensive process of research and cross-sector negotiation, the signing of the commitment also had the blessing of such international allies of the process as the Fundación Prix Jeunesse, the Chilean National Television Council, MIDIATIVA and RED TV from Brazil, the World Summit on Media for Children Foundation and the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá. The materialization of the Commitment offers a positive panorama for Colombian children, including the Bill of Statutory Law on Children and Adolescents, introduced in August, 2005 before the Congress of Colombia. It also includes the work being done by UNICEF with state entities such as the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, ICBF and the Federation of Governors, to see that the Development Plans of the different municipalities include investments that address the priorities of Colombian children and adolescents. Quality Television 2005 brought together national and international experts, legislators, programmers, producers, regulatory functionaries, academics, students and other personalities from the audiovisual sector to exchange, analyze and debate different perceptions of how to create quality television for children. At the event, an important sample of children's television offerings was shown, with the best of Latin American and European productions such as Prix Jeunesse Suitcase from Germany, the Latin American EBU Item Exchange, Zweites Deutches Fernsehen and Divercine. Source: www.unicef.org.co Top In Brief Library as Center for Learning [In Brief] A new children’s and youth library opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November 2005. The library will offer the young visitors a range of useful and interactive learning activities that incorporate multimedia tools with the intention to capture, stimulate and interest them, and will hopefully contribute to positive social changes. This center is the first to be operated by Impact Library, an Ethiopian NGO, and aims to serve as a center that promotes learning by creating a positive environment and makes learning a rewarding and enriching experience The library is planning to hold youth fora addressing developmental issues such as health, citizenship and careers, as well as provide after-school educational activities such as computer and Internet training courses and offer assistance with homework. Films, documentaries and children’s videos will also be shown. Supportive funding for equipping the computer lab and audio-visual center and training the library staff has been provided by UNESCO. The Addis Ababa center is a pilot project, and it is hoped that the experiences here will guide the expansion of this model of library to other parts of Ethiopia. Source: www.unesco.org Top Modernisation of the ’Television without Frontiers’ Directive Proposed [In Brief] On 13 December 2005, the European Commission tabled their proposal of modernisation of the directive Television without Frontiers from 1989. This proposal aims to reduce the regulatory burden on Europe’s providers of TV and TV-like services and to allow room for more flexible financing of content production through new forms of advertising, in order to promote a strong and creative European content industry. Thus, the proposal is an update as regards the changes within technology and on the market in Europe’s audiovisual sector that have taken place since 1989. The phrase “TV and TV-like services” ensures that the directive includes products regardless of the technology used, referring to techniques such as broadcast, high-speed broadband and third generation mobile phones. The modernisation of the directive also distinguishes between linear services (which ‘push’ content to the viewer, e.g. broadcast TV and the Internet), and non-linear services (which the viewer ‘pulls’ from a network, e.g. on-demand films or news). The suggested new and more flexible forms of advertising would apply to linear services and is intended to encourage more self- and co-regulation. As regards the non-linear services, an EU-wide minimum set of rules on protection of minors from incitement to racial hatred and surreptitious advertising is suggested as a replacement for the disparate national rules. There will be no rules dictating how to place commercial breaks, as long as the maximum of twelve minutes per hour is not exceeded. The new forms of advertising supported in the new directive are split-screen, virtual and interactive advertising. Product placement will also be defined and given a clear legal framework but will not be permitted in news, current affairs or children’s programmes. The proposal will now be treated by the Commission and decision on whether the proposal will be accepted will be taken in the European Parliament before the end of 2006. Read the full text version Source: http://europa.eu.int Top Journal of Children and Media – New in 2007 [In Brief] In 2007, Journal of Children and Media will be released by Routledge with tree issues a year. It is an interdisciplinary and multi-method peer-reviewed publication that provides a space for discussion by scholars and professionals from around the world and across theoretical and empirical traditions who are engaged in the study of media in the lives of children. The aim is to be a unique intellectual forum for the exchange of information about all forms and contents of media in regards to all aspects of children’s lives, and especially in three complementary realms: Children as consumers of media, as media producers, and representations of children in the media. The journal is committed to the facilitation of international dialogue among researchers and professionals, through discussion of interaction between children and media in local, national, and global contexts; concern for diversity issues; a critical and empirical inquiry informed by a variety of theoretical and empirical approaches; and dedication to ensuring the social relevance of the academic knowledge it produces to the cultural, political, and personal welfare of children around the world. For more information, please contact: Professor Dafna Lemish Editor of Journal of Children and Media Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv P.O.B. 39040 Israel 69978 Tel: + 972-3-6407407 Fax: + 972-3-6406032 e-mail: lemish@post.tau.ac.il Top