August 16, 2017

Parents Television Council hosts discussion on harmful effects of TV on children

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

Tim Winter, president of Parents Television Council (PTC) poses with Michele D’Amour, chair of the board of the PTC at a reception held at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – The Parents Television Council hosted a reception at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Michele D’Amour is the chair of the board of directors of the Parents Television Council (PTC), which is based in Los Angeles. The non-partisan nonprofit’s mission is to protect children and families from graphic violence and sex in the media.

“We work toward focusing on all media, and limiting the sex, violence and profanity that is rampant in today’s television,” said D’Amour, a member of St. Mary Parish in Hampden.

“We do some legislation. We do some lobbying. What we try to do is ensure that children are not seeing in the family hour things that are inappropriate, that they’re allowed to be children and not desensitized by gratuitous sex, violence and profanity,” she continued. She and her husband, Donald D’Amour, have five children and 12 grandchildren. Michele D’Amour is also the chair of the Pope Francis High School Board of Directors.

Pictured are attendees at the Aug. 15 reception and discussion of harmful effects of media on children at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield.

“To me it was important as we move forward that someone was an advocate for our children. I know how hard it is to raise children. My children are raising their children in a much more challenging environment,” she said.

Conservative Catholic writer Brent Bozell, who had bi-partisan support, founded the PTC 22 years ago. The late “Tonight Show” host Steve Allen also served on the advisory board in the late 1990s. The advocacy group works on ratings reform, advertiser accountability, cable choice, and media violence.

Tim Winter, the president of the PTC, told those gathered about the impact the organization is having.

“There was a show on VH-1 on Viacom called ‘Dating Naked.’ It was rated appropriate for children by the network,” Winter explained during his presentation.

“It was very explicit. We helped pull away 94 percent of the advertisers over the course of the year. Once the advertisers pulled away, Viacom, which was facing shareholder pressure for its earnings, was forced to cancel the show,” he said.

Winter called out programs such as “Family Guy” and “13 Reasons Why,” a controversial series Netflix that detailed a teenage girl’s suicide.

“It was a show about a young girl who committed suicide for revenge. What we learned in recent days is, right after the show aired, the Google search term for how to commit suicide went up 26 percent,” said Winter. “So to say there’s no connection between the content children are watching and their behavior, it’s quite clear there is a connection.”

Winter encouraged those who attended the event to join the council’s efforts.

For more information, log on to http://w2.parentstv.org.

Watch for a video version of this story on an upcoming edition of “Real to Reel,” the Diocese of Springfield’s weekly TV news magazine that airs Saturday evenings at 7 on WWLP-22News.