Category: media

“All that groundwork from the ‘Sesame Street’ people paid off. It created a culture both within and without the TV industry where higher standards, better understanding of the learning value of watching television and improved content based on early childhood development curriculum (cognitive learning, motor skills, etc.) were incorporated.”

“The commission concludes that, oh yes, let’s expand the FCC’s power to regulate broadcaster content with a new law, but cautions Congress on the difficulty of actually defining excessive violence. One person’s example of gratuitous media violence is another person’s idea of a film classic, a fantastic war documentary, or a brilliant newscast from an urban riot. But far from being daunted by the perpetual needlework of OK’ing one kind of violence because it’s artistic, historical, or newsworthy but nixing another as too wanton, the FCC appears to relish the idea of refereeing all television programming everywhere.”

“Movie critics are held to a different standard than other critics. If a book critic were to pan a Jackie Collins novel, or a food critic were to point out that the Whopper isn’t Kobe beef, they wouldn’t be called ‘out of touch.’ Film critics, however, are expected to be cheerleaders. But criticism – reasoned, informed, independent-minded criticism – is truly the only thing protecting the consumer from the seller in the movie marketplace prior to a film’s release. That’s why studios try to marginalize serious critics.”

For the second week in a row, NBC has set new records for its lowest ratings ever. “One week after NBC averaged 6.8 million viewers — its smallest in-season audience since at least 1987 — the network sank to 6.2 million the week of April 16-22.”

A new study says that some TV shows are benefiting from digital video recorders. “Fox’s ‘House’ and ABC’s ‘Lost’ led a recent week in increases in absolute viewers, with “House” gaining 2.7 million viewers in DVR playback — on top of the 19 million who watched the show live — and “Lost” adding 2.5 million to its 10.8 million viewers seeing the show when it first aired for the week ending April 8.”

The FCC says that the US government could regulate violence on television. “The report indicates that Congress could develop a definition of excessively violent programming but that such language needs to be narrowly tailored in conformance with judicial precedent.”

“Is PBS really a network for and by the people?” The exclusion of Latinos and Native Americans from Ken Burns’ upcoming World War II miniseries is hardly an exception for the network, Ilan Stavans argues. “We need a new model of public broadcasting that isn’t paternalistic. To keep on perceiving ethnic people as an appendix to our country’s past is not to recognize the dramatic transformation we’ve undergone in the last 25 years.”

Online publishing juggernaut Amazon is preparing to launch a music download site which would compete directly with Apple’s iTunes. Amazon’s service is also expected to offer its downloads without digital copy protection, a sticking point for many consumers.

“A minor miracle occurred Thursday night at the Hirshhorn Museum. A new piece of contemporary art truly worked. A crowd of ordinary Joes and Jills sat through a 90-minute, plot-free piece of experimental cinema. Instead of grumbling, shifting in their seats or simply leaving, the overflow audience for ‘Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait’ sat engrossed….”

“Federal regulators, concerned about the effect of television violence on children, will recommend that Congress enact legislation to give the government unprecedented powers to curb violence in entertainment programming, according to government and TV industry sources. … For decades, the FCC has penalized over-the-air broadcasters for airing sexually suggestive, or ‘indecent,’ speech and images, but it has never had the authority to fine TV stations and networks for violent programming.”