Gunter, B. and McAleer, J. (1997) Children and Television: The One Eyed
Monster London: Routledge
- Under the ethos of the public service broadcasting, television has been required not only to entertain, but to educate and inform. [p. 56]
- Television is commonly cited by people as their major source of information about what's happening in the world. In public opinion surveys, samples often claim that they learn a great deal about the world from watching television, and that news on television is more important in keeping them informed than any other sources. [p. 56]
- There is no doubt that children do learn some things from watching television, both from programmes designed to entertain and from those whose main objective is to inform. [p. 56]
- If children decide to view for amusement and entertainment, much of what they watch will simply wash over them; little will stick. On the other hand, if they are motivated to find out about something through viewing, then learning is more likely to occur. [p. 57]
- Ultimately, whether or not children learn from television depends on a mixture of factors which relate to the viewers' background knowledge and interests, reasons for watching television, degree of concentration and attention while viewing, and the way that the programmes are produced. [p. 57]
- Educational television programmes represent one area of television output which has been dedicated to improving children's know-how. Some of these productions are broadcast as part of mainstream television for children, while others have been specifically made for schools audiences. [p. 57]
Learning from TV Quiz Shows
- Children can learn from programmes that are designed specifically to entertain. Research among children in Britain has shown that, by watching TV quiz shows, children's general knowledge (on topics covered by the questions on the show) can be improved. Thus, even entertainment orientated shows may provide a source of learning for young viewers. [p. 59]
- One of the key reasons given by children for watching quiz shows was 'to compete against contestants'. This means that, when watching quiz shows, children may be encouraged in generating their own answers. Participation, as well as the additional mental effort in processing an answer from the question may produce an atmosphere in which children actually learn from these programmes. [p. 59]
Learning from TV News
- Television news is defined both by it's producers and it's audiences as programming designed specifically to inform. This is not to say that news is not also found entertaining. Indeed, it often tries to arouse and entertain. [p. 60]
- Despite its central aim to inform the public, research has shown that audiences often display poor memory for news on television. This happens consistently, even though people subjectively feel that television news provides well for their news needs. [p. 60]
TV News and Political Learning - Parents and school are known to have an influence over children's and adolescents' political opinion forming, but their is some indication too that the media can play an important role in this as well. (Chaffee, S.H., McLeod, J.M. and Wackman, D.B. 1973) [p. 61]
- Political knowledge has been found to be related to children's and adolescents' use of the mass media and in particular to their interest in news and current affairs. (Gunter, B. 1997) [p. 61]
Remembering What News Programmes Said - Recall of television news varies with the type of story and the way in which it is presented. The presence of film footage in news items can have a significant effect on how well it is remembered. Dan Drew and Stephen Reese found that memory and understanding among 10- to 16-year-olds were better for TV news accompanied by film footage than when presented by a 'talking head' only. [p. 65]
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