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On Mon, 30 Jan 1995 15:36:34 CST RON CURTIS said:
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>Several respondents to this topic have seemed to suggest that it is
>the responsibility of parents and children to determine how they
>will interact with television.  While there is certainly merit in
>this idea, I wonder if it tends to let television producers off the
>hook in regard to their responsibility for what they broadcast.
>
>Television is in the public domain and is not simply a matter of
>"personal choice".  Even if children are limited by their parents
>in their viewing, friends, classmates and others are influenced
>by what television projects.  The idea that viewing is only a
>personal matter negates the dynamic interrelation that occurs
>between media and society, and although it is not simple to
>understand how this dynamic operates it must be addressed within
>a social as well as a personal context.
 
  AMEN!   And I would add to that (though somewhat simplistic) the
societal notion that there are (a) Problem Makers or (b) Problem
Solvers.  If PBS/NPR and all of public television is left out in
the cold to the donated pennies only, government has reneged on
its social responsibility to help lead society and not simply
reflect the baser elements of it.
                                 --Jerry Henderson