ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 27, 1997 TAG: 9703270016
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KINNEY LITTLEFIELD KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
At only 4 1/2 minutes long, ``Taking Charge'' can help even the busiest parents get a handle on their kids' viewing habits.
Atta girl, Rosie. First Rosie O'Donnell made daytime TV saner. Now she's restoring sanity to the on-going debate over televised sex and violence, as host of smart new video for parents, ``Taking Charge of Your TV.''
Even better - the video is totally brain-easy for harried dads and moms. It's just 4 1/2 minutes in length.
Best of all, the video is free. Call 1-800-452-6351 to obtain your copy.
You may think a short course in how to use TV is majorly beside the point, now that the new age-based TV ratings system - fuzzy as it is - is in place.
Nope.
Nothing - not the TV-G, TV-PG or TV-14 of the current system nor the S, V and L labels for sex, violence and explicit language used on cable - can replace knowing what a TV show is like, and viewing it and discussing it with your kids.
Rosie's video sets you thinking, quickly. It is pithy, provocative, articulate, on point. It is released under the aegis of the Family & Community Critical Viewing Project, a partnership of the National PTA, the National Cable Television Association and cable industry project Cable in the Classroom.
And just to keep our conflicts of interest straight here, the video's producer is HBO - home to both bloody blow-'em-away movies and the most intelligent original telefilms on TV. Perhaps it's a form of atonement.
At any rate, ``Taking Charge'' is a straight-talking affair.
In fact, that's all it is - Rosie talking.
About television.
First point: Teach your kid that TV is not real. ``TV is just one big storyteller, and sometimes storytellers make up the best part,'' Rosie says.
Next, know that different people, of different ages, stages and backgrounds, may react to the same TV program in differing ways. For example, your 10 year old and your 4 year old will respond to a sad storyline in different ways. So talk to your kids about their reactions to shows, and monitor their viewing based on what they can handle.
Three, TV violence takes different forms, from cartoon capers to more serious stuff. Kids need to know ``They can't act out the fake violence they see on TV.'' Same goes for extreme physical moves or stunts that have no consequences on TV. Such as Superman leaping off the roof, or serious head-banging Three Stooges-style.
American TV is a commercial medium. Teach your kids what commercials are, and how what you see in a commercial isn't necessarily what you get in the cereal box.
Rosie: ``It's OK to make your kids a little suspicious of the toy or treat that looks too good to be true. Healthy skepticism is a good thing in a consumer, especially a young one.''
And here's the kicker: ``Talk to your kids about TV and listen when they talk back.''
Help your kids learn how to discriminate. And teach yourself, too.
That's what has gotten lost in the endless Congressional and interest group volleys against sex talk on ``Friends'' and body blows on ``Walker, Texas Ranger.''
Individual responsibility.
Meantime, those of you who crave a more specific ratings system can take heart. The pressure on the industry to alter the current age-based ratings to include S, V, and L designations is growing.
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: KRT. ``TV is just one big storyteller'' says video hostby CNBRosie O'Donnell, ``and sometimes storytellers make up the best
part.'' color.