>Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 10:23:43 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Jesse Hirsh 
>To: adbusters@lglobal.com, media-l@lglobal.com, a-infos@lglobal.com
>Subject: TV TurnOff Week
>Sender: owner-a-infos@presence.lglobal.com
>Reply-To: a-infos-d@lglobal.com
>
>
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>    -   The alternative newsservice   -
>   http://www.lglobal.com/TAO/ainfos.html
>
>Rising Above the Dreck
>TV Turnoff Week '96 is October 14-20
>
>Night after night, we sit for long hours in dark
>rooms. Identical images flow into our brains,
>homogenizing our perspectives, knowledge,
>tastes, desires. We spend more hours watching
>nature shows than experiencing the real thing;
>more time laughing at TV jokes than making
>jokes ourselves; more often experiencing
>simulated sexuality than having sex ourselves. 
>
>Twenty years ago the environmental movement
>shocked the world into realizing that our natural
>environment was dying. Now, our mental
>environment is facing a different kind of
>apocalypse... 
>
>Micro jolts of mind pollution flood into our brains
>at the rate of 3,000 marketing messages per day
>-- twelve billion display ads, three million radio
>ads and over 300,000 TV commercials are dumped into our collective 
>unconscious like toxic sludge. As a result, our attention spans are 
>diminishing, our  imaginations giving out and we are increasingly unable to 
>remember the past. 
>
>TV Turnoff Week is a collective attempt to save our most precious 
>resource: the clarity of our own minds. 
>
>
>Television Statistics
>
>According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 
>4 hours of TV each
>day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 
>65-year life, that
>person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.
>
>Family Life
>
>   1.Percentage of households that possess at least one television: 99 
>   2.Number of TV sets in the average U.S. household: 2.24 
>   3.Percentage of U.S. homes with three or more TV sets: 66 
>   4.Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 
>hours, 47 minutes 
>   5.Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating 
>dinner: 66 
>   6.Number of hours of TV watched annually by Americans: 250 billion 
>   7.Value of that time assuming an average wage of $5/hour: $1.25 
>trillion 
>   8.Percentage of Americans who pay for cable TV: 56 
>   9.Number of videos rented daily in the U.S.: 6 million 
>  10.Number of public library items checked out daily: 3 million 
>  11.Percentage of Americans who say they watch too much TV: 49 
>
>Children
>
>   1.Approximate number of studies examining TV's effects on children: 
>4,000 
>   2.Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful 
>conversation with their
>     children: 3.5 
>   3.Number of minutes per week that the average child watches 
>television: 1,620 
>   4.Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70 
>   5.Percentage of parents who would like to limit their children's TV 
>watching: 73 
>   6.Percentage of 4-6 year-olds who, when asked to choose between 
>watching TV and spending
>     time with their fathers, preferred television: 54 
>   7.Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 
>hours 
>   8.Hours per year the average American vouth watches television: 1500 
>
>Violence
>
>   1.Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes 
>elementary school:
>     8,000 
>   2.Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18: 200,000 
>   3.Percentage of Americans who believe TV violence helps precipitate 
>real life mayhem: 79 
>
>Commercialism
>
>   1.Number of 30-second TV commercials seen in a year by an average 
>child: 20,000 
>   2.Number of TV commercials seen by the average person by age 65: 2 
>million 
>   3.Percentage of survey participants (1993) who said that TV 
>commercials aimed at children
>     make them too materialistic: 92 
>   4.Rank of food products/fast-food restaurants among TV advertisements 
>to kids: 1 
>   5.Total spending by 100 leading TV advertisers in 1993: $15 billion 
>
>General
>
>   1.Percentage of local TV news broadcast time devoted to advertising: 
>30 
>   2.Percentage devoted to stories about crime, disaster and war: 53.8 
>   3.Percentage devoted to public service announcements: 0.7 
>   4.Percentage of Americans who can name The Three Stooges: 59 
>   5.Percentage who can name at least three justices of the U.S. Supreme 
>Court: 17 
>
>
>
>Answers to 10 Frequently Asked Questions
>
>"Why turn off the television completely? Can we do it for just one day?" 
>
>Turning off the television for seven full days helps participants realize 
>that life without television is not
>torture and may actually be more fun. A week-long TV-Turnoff allows 
>sufficient time to develop
>habits likely to be more productive and rewarding. A one-day turnoff 
>provides too little challenge.
>
>"Is all TV bad? What about the Discovery Channel or PBS?" 
>
>All TV is passive, sedentary and non-experiential. Most viewers tend to 
>watch show after show --
>not individual programs. Instead of watching a documentary about birds, 
>go out (with binoculars if
>you have them) and see how many live birds you can identify in your 
>neighborhood. The purpose of
>National TV-TurnoffWeek is to leave behind judgments about the quality of 
>television and focus
>instead on creating, discovering, building, participating and doing. Turn 
>off the Discovery Channel
>and make your own discoveries. 
>
>"What about media literacy and teaching critical viewing skills?" 
>
>By going without television for a week, people will learn a great deal 
>about their television habits and
>will likely be more critical viewers if and when they decide to return to 
>the tube. Television looks and
>sounds different after a Turnoff. The canned laughter and camera tricks 
>often seem contrived after a
>week without the tube. A TV-Turnoff is a step along the path to media 
>literacy.
>
>"I can't give up my programs! Don't interfere in my home!" 
>
>Participation in National TV-TurnoffWeek is voluntary and meant to be 
>fun. It is intended to build
>family and community spirit. Coordinate your Turnoff in a way that does 
>not alienate or offend
>parents -- they already have their hands full. Send a letter to parents 
>that asks for the family's
>participation in the Turnoff (see index). Indicate the support of the 
>principal, the teachers, PTA or
>other groups that you have. Parents are more likely to sign on if they 
>know that school professionals
>support the project. 
>
>"Do we have to plan an activity every night?" 
>
>Some organizers feel providing an activity every night doesn't mimic real 
>life and allows for a big
>letdown after the Turnoff, so they plan just a few. Plan activities you 
>might consider doing the
>following week. In-school activities are a possibility also, and most 
>organizers agree it is good to
>have at least one family activity during the Turnoff. 
>
>"What about the name TV-Free America? Are you advocating the complete 
>eradication of
>television?"
>
>TV-Free America encourages Americans to reduce, voluntarily and 
>dramatically, the amount of
>television they watch in order to promote richer, healthier and more 
>connected lives, families and
>communities. A TV-Turnoff is an effective way to help break the 
>television habit. While it may be
>unrealistic to think participants will never watch television again 
>(although a few won't), many will
>regard the medium in a much different way henceforward.
>
>"How can we best appeal to teenagers?"
>
>Make the Turnoff fun and provocative. Copy and distribute articles and 
>environmental and social issues surrounding television and have students 
>debate the opposing views.
>Some teachers have awarded extra credits to participating students who 
>keep a journal and write an
>essay about their week without television. Past TV-Turnoff organizers 
>have asked local businesses
>(theaters, skating rinks, miniature golf courses, bowling alleys, etc.) 
>to offer discounts to students,
>families,and individuals who show a signed TV-Turnoff "Pledge Card."
>
>"I need some peace and quiet when I come home. The television occupies 
>the kids while I
>fix dinner."
>
>Invite the children to help with simple tasks or have them talk with you 
>while you prepare dinner.
>Developing a few special (and regular) pre-dinner activities and habits 
>for children is a very
>worthwhile investment. Some parents also find playing with kids for just 
>a few minutes helps relax
>the kids as well as themselves. 
>
>"Our neighborhood is unsafe. Better that my kids sit in front of the 
>television at home than
>risk harm outside."
>
>There are many indoor activities that are fun, productive and TV-free 
>(see list). Ask neighbors to
>help develop alternative indoor and outdoor activities for participating 
>families. Point out that
>neighborhood improvement will never occur as long as residents merely 
>retreat to the fictional,
>vicarious world of television. Getting to know your neighbors is the 
>first step in making a
>neighborhood safer. 
>
>"I can't afford the cost of these 'substitute' activities!" 
>
>There are many free and simple activities (lists) sponsored by libraries, 
>environmental groups,
>museums and universities. Local newspapers will have listings of free, 
>public events. Outdoor
>recreation is an activity that is generally free and healthy! 
>
>
>
>-=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~
>Jesse Hirsh -  jesse@lglobal.com
>
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