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Media Violence: Are You Immune?By KRISTEN STERNBERG | NIE Educational Consultant If you were to look up the word "medium" in a dictionary, you would find one of its meanings to be "a means of communication that reaches the general public and carries advertising." With that in mind, how many kinds of "media" (media is the plural form of medium) can you name? Brainstorm for a moment. If your answers included television, radio and printed materials (newspapers and magazines, for example) you did a great job! All of these are forms of media. Some types of entertainment, such as cartoons, popular music, video games and films, may also be considered media. What else did you come up with?
Many people are concerned about the amount of violence they are exposed to in the media. Experts estimate that by the time you are 18 years old, you'll have seen roughly 18,000 murders on television alone. You'll certainly see or listen to many violent acts in films, videos and video games, cartoons, comics and even books and music. Some media, such as newspapers and TV and radio news programs, have an obligation to notify the public about news, current events and other items of public interest. In general, we trust the mainstream news media to report the facts, without glorifying violence or making it seem sensationalistic. Other entertainment media, notably the television and film industries, sometimes produce shows in which violence is glorified. To be fair, the industries seem to be responding to what the public wants. Shows with fights, murders and other violent acts can draw huge audiences and bring in millions of dollars. (You'll have an opportunity to prove this yourself in one of the newspaper activities, below.) Also, the media are sometimes their own censors: consider the movie rating system, for example. Check out a recent newspaper article about the television airing of a Madonna video, and then see what one media personality has to say about rapper Eminem. Do you agree? Some say that these efforts are not enough. Entertainment violence does seem to be on the rise, and so do the number of violent acts reported by news media. Is there are relationship between entertainment violence and real-life violence? Find out what the author of a recent News-Journal article reported about some kids and video games. Do you believe you're affected by what you're exposed to in the media? Try the newspaper activities and follow the web links, below, they may influence your opinion. Try these fun activities using The News-Journal! 1. In your newspaper's entertainment section, read the TV, film and video listings and advertisements. In how many of the popular shows does violence play a prominent role? What is the ratio of shows you would characterize as violent to those you consider not containing violence? Graph your results. (Sunshine State Standards: MA.E.1.2.1, MA.E.3.2.1) 2. Use your newspaper and other media to find and read news about popular music stars. Is violence ever an issue in today's music? Talk to a parent or other adult about music that was popular when he or she was your age. What were some of the issues with popular music of that era? Try to hear examples of some of those songs. How many similarities can you find between songs of the two periods? How many differences? (Sunshine State Standards: MU.C.1.2.3, MU.E.1.2.2, MU.E.2.2.1) 3. Scan your newspaper's entertainment section for a movie you are familiar with. Choose several of your favorite scenes from the movie. Plan how to act out those parts without including any actions that could be considered violent. Ask a friend or adult to be your audience as you dramatize the scenes you chose-using your peaceful substitutions for the violent parts. (Sunshine State Standards: TH.A.1.2.1, TH.B.1.2.1) 4. Scan several different sections of your newspaper for articles about acts of violence that have been committed. Discuss with an adult whether or not newspapers should report on such stories. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.A.1.2.2, LA.A.2.2.5) 5. Newspapers are important as a medium. They are sources for many different kinds of information, including current events. Find and read at least one current events article in which violence plays a part. Imagine you were in a position to have prevented the violence that occurred. Rewrite the news story, describing events as they might have unfolded due to your peacekeeping influence. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.B.1.2.1, LA.B.2.2.6) A copy of Florida's Sunshine State Standards can be found at intech2000.miamisci.org. Check out these links to learn more: An organization called Children Now offers resources on the effect of media violence on children (once at the web site, click on Children & the Media). You can read an article from the Los Angeles Times about violent media's effect on kids. Do you agree? Check out what kids think about the relationship between the exposure to media violence and school violence in a poll recently conducted at the Kid Exchange. Click on Poll Results--your peers have some interesting things to say! The site has some related links you can follow, among other activities. Some of these activities involve on-line chatting or other interaction. As always, be sure to check with an adult to make sure it's safe for you to leave comments or information about your identity. Take a look at this report on violence in G-rated animated films! Then, choose the links to your favorite news and entertainment sites, including anime, TV and video games. The Newspaper Association of America's web site contains links to many newspapers in the U.S. and around the world. Visit the site and check out some of them to see if they have recently published any articles about violence in the media. To access the newspapers at the site, select a state. Click on the "Internationals" button to view choices from other countries. The Daytona Beach News-Journal NIE Program, published April 2, 2001 |
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