The Parents Television Council is taking to the virtual streets over the upcoming Gossip Girl episode, but is it really all over nothing?

Considering while yes, the potential for something risqué is there (it is supposed to be showing a sexual act between teens). it’s unlikely it’s going to be as bad as the group is making it sound.  When one stops to think that the show has to make it’s way through the FCC, which isn’t likely to allow anything past PG-13 exploits to be shown, it may be a bit of an overreaction.

This isn’t to say that the show is all in the clear, after all even with the FCC shows have been forced to go with a protesting group before, so the move is not exactly unheard of.  While the act is not appropriate for younger children, it’s not exactly aimed at the younger set anyway.

Television uses sexual imagery to rake in viewers, it is one of the many different things that are essentially designed around creating drama for viewers.  It’s also a very tenuous slope, that is often overused.  A fact that is a major contributor to our over-sexualized society.  While that isn’t to say the episode should be pulled, it’s more of a symptom of a larger issue in the media.

The advertisements for the episode are raunchy, but truthfully it’s very doubtful that there will be any R rated material on the screen.

This article is written by a person who doesn’t watch Gossip Girl, do you watch it?  If so, what are your opinions on the protest?

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If you are one of the millions who purchased a Baby Einstein DVD since 2004, you can get a refund from Disney.  While not everyone bought into the thinking that the Baby Einstein toys and baby DVDs will make their child a mini-genius and Disney denies any wrongdoing, they are still offering the refund on the purchase.  For those interested, you can visit the company’s Guarantee/Upgrade Offer page.

The popular ‘baby media’ entertainment industry, aside from having a bit of a frightening name, has been under a bit of fire lately.  While pediatricians and the WHO are saying that television viewing for the under two crowd is harmful, no matter how you market it.

While the Disney Corporation is saying that the money back is for consumer satisfaction, various groups concerned over television and children claim it’s an admission of wrong doing.

The Baby Einstein DVDs are amongst the most popular to this day, although many are concerned over the way they were being marketed.  There was a claim and lawsuit over Disney’s commercials for the sets that they will make babies smarter, which has never been proven.  In addition, experts say that they do more harm than good (due to television viewing in general).

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By now most people have heard enough about reality television drama.

We’ve all heard all the bitterness from the soon to be exes Jon and Kate.  They’ve been publicly denouncing one another, being verbally outspoken about all the negatives with the opposing spouse and generally acting like, well, children.

Granted, divorce is never an easy process but most still keep in mind that they have children.  Then again, most divorcing couples don’t have a popular ‘reality’ television show.

They invited us into their lives, and entertained us.  Now, they both seem to be using the same fame to hurt the other.  It does need to end, they need to get out of the spotlight, it’s not entertaining anymore it’s come around to outright horror.

Can you imagine one of the children finding clips of their parent’s being so bitter when they are older?

Looking around the Internet, one can find advice articles on how to talk to your children about Jon and Kate’s divorce,  Which, alone seems to  prove this has gone too far.  Most however, are calling for it to all stop.

The network has temporarily put the show’s production on hold, until August.

“Following a retrospective of Jon and Kate’s first 10 years \[of marriage\] on June 29, the show will be on hiatus until Aug. 3,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “During this time the family will take some time off to regroup, and then a modified schedule will be in place to support the family’s transition.”

Read more:http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/06/23/2009-06-23_jon__kate_plus_8_goes_on_hiatus_.html#ixzz0JvMh9xLT&C

What about dignity?  Common courtesy?  Or maybe even enough respect for their children to not drag each other so publicly through the mud?

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It’s no real secret that advertisers have a lot to gain in marketing to children, what is surprising are the effect of advertising on a child’s mind.  They take it as honest, the sugary snack or newest toy being marketed to them without a full understanding from the child as to what the commercial really is.

Children accept the message as absolute fact, and due to the commercial will change and modify their own opinions and thoughts so they wind up closely aligning to the advertiser’s message.

Horrified isn’t a word to be taken very lightly, but this newsletter (quoted below) horrifies me. To be absolutely simplistic about it, it’s about the manipulation of children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Psychological Association recently issued some sobering news concerning advertising and children. Among their findings, they discovered that the average child who watches television views 40,000 ads on each year.

It is really a staggering statistic, what’s worse however is in the part quoted below.

The research study showed that children under the age of 8 tend to accept advertiser messages as fact. Their easy acceptance of marketing messages for fast and sugary foods in particular can lead to unhealthy eating habits. The most common products advertised to children are sugared cereals, candies, sweets, sodas, and snack foods. The study”s findings show that children express a preference for products with as little as a single viewing of a commercial.

To be sure, this isn’t something that advertisers are close to in the dark about. They know full well the initial trust they receive from children.  They also use the same to their full advantage.

The AAP recommends avoiding or reducing the effects of advertising on young children by limiting television viewing time or taping shows to be viewed later without the ads. Talk also to your child about what he has seen, either on TV or on a billboard or other media, how he feels about what he”s seen, and how you feel about it, too. Talk about how advertising does not always tell you everything you need to know about a product.

All Quotes From a Yale Parenting Newsletter

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As someone who doesn’t watch the televised drama of most ‘reality’ shows and can’t stomach much in the way of ‘celebrity gossip’ I’m painfully unaware of most of the issues with anyone ‘A-List’.  However, I do enjoy the occasional peek into the lives of Jon and Kate, alone some of the other ‘odd’ family shows.

Alongside the marital issues being experienced by Jon and Kate, are the expectations from their fans and the television producers of their show.  It’s almost surprising that along the presumption of guilt by the many the show has continued on without (much) of a hitch.  Save for the distance between the couple being painfully obvious.

There are many television critics who almost seem to forget that this is a real couple, not some kind of sitcom.  The shows critics can be cruel enough as it was, but throwing this into the mixture seems to have sent them into more of a feeding frenzy.  Now, I’m far from saying that everyone should be handling anything with kid gloves, but instead of focusing on the reasons of them being separated.  Plus lines like this:

As if that weren’t enough, the producers have to go and insult our intelligence about what our eyes are seeing with Jon telling us that he and Kate are apart so much in part because their “schedules are so busy.”

Perhaps, the writer of the above piece has indeed forgotten that this show is actually about a real family, with them being on television it can be rough to remember.  The point unfortunately seems to be missed that perhaps the couple would like some time to mentally process all that is happening at the moment, and aren’t ready for any kind of news about this to be made public.

If the rumors of Jon’s infidelity are indeed true, I cannot imagine how incredibly difficult meeting all those demand are for Kate.  The rumors are flying every which way over Jon being in Utah with his mistress, and Kate spending her birthday alone.  

It’s a little frightening to think of going through something like this in front of an entire country.  Let alone on national television.

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