Media, Children
& Youth
Adams, Phillip (1997), 'Lambs
to consumer slaughter', The Weekend Australian Mar 8-9. Strong views
from Adams on children and television, and an extended plug for the
Australian Children's Television Foundation.
Adams, Phillip (1997), 'Toontime
draws to the quick', The Weekend Australian July 5-6. Phillip really
like The Simpsons!
Alexander, Alison &
M.A. Morrison (1995), 'Electric toyland and the structures of power:
an analysis of critical studies on children as consumers', Critical
Studies in Mass Communication 12:3, Sept. An examination of Kline, Seiter
and Kinder as three major writers who provide different critical/cultural
theoretical perspectives on children's culture.
Austin, Eric Weintraub,
C. Knaus & A. Meneguelli (1998), 'Who talks how to their kids about
TV: a clarification of demographic correlates about parental mediation
patterns', Communication Research Reports 14(4). American research,
based on telephone surveys, suggests that 'demographics hold little
value for explaining why and how parents hold particular attitudes or
engage in particulat behaviors relevant to television and parenting'.
Barker, Anne (1999), 'Computer
violence: Are your kids at risk?', Reader's Digest October. Rather too
long on opinion and short on evidence.
Begley, Sharon (2000), 'A
World Of Their Own', Newsweek May 8. Being a teen in 2000.
Bell, Richard (1997), 'Time
for Telebye-bye', Cult TV October. One example of the development of
Teletubbies as an adult cult object.,p. Bulmer, Alice (1998), 'Battles
of the box', Little Treasures Oct/Nov. New Zealand perspectives on television
and its youngest viewers.
Blizzard, Catherine (1999),
`Nearly normal-a real-life study of young adults', Admap July/August.
Market research of 17-30 year olds in Britain cautions against some
claims about `youth culture'-suggesting, for example, doubts about `claimed
rather than actual media consumption research'.
Brabazon, Tara (1996), 'Post-youth
culture & the politics of memory', Youth Studies Australia June.
Style and forgetfulness in the youth culture of the 1990s.
Brown, Maggie (1999), 'Kids
stuff?', The Guardian Dec 13. Questions the performance of UK children's
television programming.
Buckingham, David, Issy
Harvey & Julian Sefton-Green (1999), 'The difference is digital? Digital
technology and student media', Convergence 5:4, Winter. The opening
debate from a special issue of Convergence, on "Children, Young People
and Digital Technology". Other contributions include Susannah Stern
'Adolescent girls' expression on Web home pages'; David Oswell on Internet
regulation; Gill Valentine & Sarah Holloway on schools and technology;
Andrew Burn on digital frame capture; and Toni Downes on Australian
children and computers.
Buckingham, David &
M. Allerton (1996), Fear, fright and distress. A review of research
on children's 'negative' emotional responses to television. Broadcasting
Standards Council [UK] Research Working Paper, 12. A considered review
of research, which properly regards the relationship between children
and television as complex rather than simple.
Bin Zhao & G. Murdock
(1996), 'Young pioneers: children and the maling of Chinese consumerism',
Cultural Studies 10(2). A wonderfully insightful and original piece
of academic writing, focusing on a case study of the craze for Transformer
toys among Chinese children in 1989. The best article I have read this
year--and I have read a few!
Carvell, Tim & Joe McGowan
(1996), 'Showdown in Toontown', Fortune Oct 28. The battle for the children's
television market in the US. Includes a sketch of the attitude of 'America's
youth' to television.
Cassie, Fiona (1999), `Box
of monsters', NZ Education Review July 23. Despite the rather silly
title, this is an interesting review of children's television in New
Zealand, with its central focus being an interview with Ruth Zanker.
Chan-Olmsted, Sylvia M.
(1996), 'From Sesame Street to Wall Street: an analysis of market competition
in commercial children's television', Journal of Broadcasting &
Electronic Media 40. Competition and its consequences in US children's
television, with recommendations for policymakers.
Christenson, Peter (1994),
'Childhood patterns of music uses and preferences', Communication Reports
7:2, Summer. Suggests that 'the gravitation toward pop or rock music
usually associated with early adolescence, in fact, begins much earlier'.
Collingwood, Harris (1997),
'The Spot', WorkingWoman May. The characteristics of the post-1965 generation
(so-called 'GenerationX').
Cook, Daniel Thomas (2000),
'Childhood is killing 'our' children: some thoughts on the Columbine
high school shootings and the agentive child', Childhood 7:1. Challenges
conventional discourses about childhood 'innocence'.
Cottrell, Sonia (1996),
'The video playing fields', AdMedia February. Marketing video games
to New Zealand teenagers.
Davies, Hannah, D. Buckingham
& P. Kelley (1999), `Kid's time: childhood, television and the regulation
of time', Journal of Educational Media March. An interesting study of
the relationships between children's understanding of the organisation
of television time, and their sense of what it means to be a child-suggesting
that `Kids' time is, in this respect, only partly their own'.
Davies, Maire Messenger
& David Machin (2000), 'Children's Demon TV--reality, freedom, panic:
children's discussions of The Demon Headmaster', Continuum: Journal
of Media & Cultural Studies 14:1. Interesting child-centred research,
which investigates the 'modality' awareness of fantasy drama.
Davis, Mark (1998), 'Sick
wicked culture; the global politics of regional youth', AQ Sept-Oct.
Davis, the author of Gangland: Cultural Elites and the New Generationalism
(1997), defends comtemporary youth against the 'demonisation' of the
media.
Denby, David (1996), 'Buried
Alive', The New Yorker July 15. A churlish, bad-tempered diatribe against
'the avalanche of crud' in contemporary children's culture. Despite
the tendency of Denbyto mythologise his own childhood, there is much
to agree with here.
Di Stasio, Michael (1995),
'Lights, camera...reaction. Television and videoclip technology-who
controls the dial?'. Paper to the NZ Association for Research in Education
conference, Massey University. Interesting research on young Australian
adolescents' viewing of music videos.
Doi, David J. (1998), 'The
myth of teen violence', State Government News, April. Argues that media
reports of violent crime distort the role of teens as perpetrators.
Earle, Wendy (1999), 'Don't
watch with mother', LM 123, September. Children's TV producer Alan Horrox
argues that UK children's television is 'insipid [and] one-dimensional'.
Eastman, Wayne (1995), 'Crisis,
what crisis? Making television work for young children', Canadian Children
20:2, Fall. Advice of mixed value regarding television and young children
Farhi, Paul (1998), 'Teens
starting to rule network's programming', Washington Post Oct 21. Teen
programming on US television.
Fletcher-Flinn, Claire M.
(1997), `Introducing computers to preschoolers', New Zealand Research
in Early Childhood Education v.1. Teenies need training with the computer
as much as their older peers.
Funk, J.B. & D.D. Buchman
(1996), 'Playing violent video and computer games and adolescent self-concept',
Journal of Communication 46(2), Spring. Suggests that a preference for
violent video games is not significantly related to self-concept.
Frankiss, Wendy (1997),
'Stocking up for Christmas', CA Magazine December. Citing the merchandising
blitz associated with Teletubbies in the UK, this is a surprisingly
critical view of marketing to children (for an accountants journal!).
Freeman, Matt (1997), 'Electronic
media and how kids (don't) think', The Education Digest November. Calls
on Jane Healy and Neil Postman to doubt the efficacy of electronic learning.
Frenette, Micheline &
Andre H. Caron (1995), 'Children and interactive television: research
and design issues', Convergence 1:1. Discusses the relationship between
children and television, and the possibilities of age-appropriate interactive
television content. From a new interesting journal Convergence: The
Journal of Research into New Media Technologies.
Geary, James (1999), `Childhood's
end?', Time Aug 2. Examines how advertising is intensifying its pressures
on children, and how some European countries are countering with increased
regulation.
Gladwell, Malcolm (1998),
'Do parents matter?, The New Yorker Aug 17 1998. This presents a 'radical
new theory' about how children are socialised but it isn't all that
radical when you realise that its central argument--that peer groups
have more influence on children than parents--is a belief-system marketing
has been using for a long time. A bloody interesting article, even though
it provides more questions than answers.
Goonasekera, Anura (1998),
'Children's voice in the media: a study of children's television programmes
in Asia', Media Asia 25 (3). Examines what offered on TV to children
aged between six and 15 in Asian countries.
Grindlay, Mark (1995), 'Generation
X: tales from a marketing textbook', New Zealand Political Review Nov/Dec.
Scepticism on youth marketing ploys.
Guilliatt, Richard (1997),
'Hey you...boy', Good Weekend (Sydney Morning Herald), Nov 22. A rare
defence of teenage boys and 'hanging out'.
Harari, Fiona (1997), '
Buy, buy baby', The Australian Nov 26. Children and branding.
Hardman, Jeremy (1998),
'Advertising to children', Admap May. Argues that 'children are far
from vulnerable when it comes to advertising'. Faire enough but it should
not be an excuse for laissez faire attitudes!
Hine, Thomas (1999), 'The
rise and decline of the teenager', American Heritage September. A short
history of the American teenager, from Hine's book The Rise and Fall
of the American Teenager.
Hendry. Leo B., M.Kloep
& S. Olsson (1998), 'Youth, lifestyles and society: a class issue?',
Childhood 5(2). Argues that lifestyle socialisation for adolescents
is still strongly grounded in social class.
Hengst, Heinz (1997), 'Reconquering
urban spots and spaces? Children's public(ness) and the scripts of media
industries', Childhood 4:4. How the media shapes and assists concepts
of where children play and belong.
Hendry. Leo B., M.Kloep
& S. Olsson (1998), 'Youth, lifestyles and society: a class issue?',
Childhood 5(2). Argues that lifestyle socialisation for adolescents
is still strongly grounded in social class.
Hontz, Jenny (1999), `Genre-ation
gap hit sitcoms', Variety April 26-May 2. Suggests that US teens are
tuning out of traditional live-action sitcoms.
Hopkins, Susan (1995), 'Generation
pulp', Youth Studies Australia Spring. An examination of the the generation
'that defines itself by entertainment discourse
Jeffres, Leo W. & David
J. Atkin (1995), 'The impact of new and traditional media on college
student leisure preferences', World Communication 24:2 . Mixed results
on what media young American students prefer.
Josephson, Wendy L. (1995),
Television Violence: A Review of the Effects on Children of Different
Ages. [report for] Canadian Heritage. A useful report and innovative
in that it refuses to regard children as a homogenous age group. More
wide-ranging than some other reviews of the literature but it is still
not the full story.
Kelley, Peter, D. Buckingham
& H. Davies (1999), `Talking Dirty: Children, sexual knowledge and television',
Childhood 6(2). Considered research on how children respond to and deal
with sexual content on television.
Kennedy, Erin (1996), 'Chips
censor kids' TV', The Dominion March 19. Backgrounds the v-chip, the
US-initiated technological 'fix' for a perceived problem.
Kendall, Lori (1999), `Nerd
nation: images of nerds in US popular culture', International Journal
of Cultural Studies 2(2). Examines the `changing and contested meaning
of the term nerd' in popular culture (film, news and the WWW) and its
implications for constructions of masculinity.
Kirsh, Steven J. (1998),
'Seeing the world through Mortal Kombat-coloured glasses: violent video
games and the development of a short-term hostile attribution bias',
Childhood 5:2. Argues for a connnection between playing violent video
games and 'the development of a hostile attribution bias'.
Kline, Stephen (1995), 'The
play of the market: on the internationalization of children's culture',
Theory, Culture & Society 12. A very good article on the spread
of global marketing of toys.
John, Deborah Roedder (1999),
'Consumer socialization of children: a retrospective look at twenty-five
years of research', Journal of Consumer Research 26. Reviews the decades
of effort put into understanding how to sell to children. One might
ask--to what end?
LaFrance, J.P. (1997), 'Games
and players in the electronic age', Reseaux: The French Journal of Communication
4:2. ways of analysing the use of video games by adults and children.
Losyk, Bob (1997), 'Generation
X: what they think and what they plan to do', The Futurist March-April.
More on Gen-X.
Leonhardt, David (1997),
'Hey kid, buy this!', Business Week June 30. An interesting and surprisingly
critical overview of marketing to children.
Lynch, Andrew P. (1998),
'Youth control: young people and the politics of hip hop graffiti in
Aotearoa/New Zealand', New Zealand SOCIOLOGY 13(1). The clash between
New Zealand subcultures and officialdom.
Lyons, Donald (1998), 'The
long goodbye: fathers and sons and American cinema', Film Comment July-Aug.
Focuses on East of Eden and other examples.
Mahy, Penny (1995), 'Short-changing
the children', Listener Oct 21. Criticism of current children's programming
on NZ television.
McCrone, John (2000), 'Rebels
with a cause', New Scientist Jan 22. Argues that teenage behaviour has
much to do with brain changes during the teenage years.
McGee, Tom (1997), 'Getting
inside kids' heads', American Demographics Jan. Advice on marketing
to children but little acknowledgement of ethical issues.
McKie, David (1996), 'The
engine of envy', The Guardian Dec 23. Children and Christmas advertising
in the UK.
McKendrick, John H., M.G.
Bradford & A.V. Fielder (2000), 'Kid customer? Commercialization of
playspace and the commodification of childhood', Childhood 7:3. The
commercialisation of the public spaces devoted to children's play.
Murray, Taima Anne (1997),
'Is our romantic view of childhood still proper?, New Zealand Herald
June 20. How children can learn from soaps like Shortland Street. The
only perspective of media in the lives of children, in the Herald's
otherwise excellent week-long special on children.
O'Donovan, Cheryl (1997),
'The GX styles', Communication World Oct/Nov. I am getting a bit sick
of articles like this, repeating the same old half-truths about the
so-called 'Generation X'.
Oswell, David (1998), 'The
place of 'childhood' in Internet content regulation: A case study of
policy in the YK', International Journal of Cultural Studies 1(2). How
policy decisions are made 'not in relation to 'real'; children, but
in relation to their representation and the authority of those who claim
to represent them'. A very good article!
Pasquier, Dominique (1996),
'Teens series' reception: television, adolescence and culture of feelings',
Childhood 3. The exploration of values and relationships in television
for French teens,.
Pecora, Norma (1995), 'Children
and television advertising from a social science perspective', Critical
Studies in Mass Communication 12:3, Sept. Argues that much of the literature
on children and TV advertising lacks an acknowledgment of 'an increasingly
sophisticated perspective of the child'.
Potter, W. James & Ron
Warren (1996), 'Considering policies to protect children from TV violence',
Journal of Communication 46(4), Autumn. Describe three efforts in the
US (the V-chip, programme ratings, scheduling), arguing that 'the thinking
behind each of these proposals is fundamentally flawed'.
Press, Eyal (1996), 'Barbie's
betrayal: the toy industry's broken workers', The Nation Dec 30. How
Mattel (the world's largest toy maker with its recent acquisition of
Tyco) treats its workers . In a word: dreadfully!
Pryor, Cathy (1998), 'Discovery
Generation', The Weekend Australian Feb 28-March 1. How 'technology
is transforming children's lives, while parents struggle to keep up'.
Raney, Mardell (1997), 'Captain
Kangaroo on children's TV', The Education Digest May. An interview with
a hero of US children's television.
Reese, Shelly (1997), 'Kids
as ... Big Busine$$', The Education Digest March. How advertisers target
the $17 billion kids spend annually, and the $170 billion adults fork
out on their behalf.
Roger, Fred (1997), 'Mister
Rogers on kids and technology', The Education Digest April. Another
hero of US children's television.
Ross, Chuck (1996), 'Children
turning out TV in alarming numbers', Advertising Age Oct 7. Alarm at
the dramatic drop in children's viewing of the US networks, with onlyNickelodeon
on cvable TV bucking this trend. One answer is provided in 'Kidvid puzzle'
(Advertising Age Oct 14), in 'an evident dearth of quality children's
programming'.
Rushkoff, Douglas (1997),
'Screenagers: children of the remote control', The Weekend Australian
April 19-20. An extract from his Children of Chaos: Surviving the End
of the World as We Know It.
Stepp, Carl Sessions (1996),
'The X factor', American Journalism Review Nov. This article asserts
'If newspapers hope to woo [Generation Xers] they'll have to provide
the content young readers are seeking, stop sneering at youth culture
and deliver the goods in a hip and accessible way'.
Should our children be spared
Ronald?, The Guardian Nov 22 1999. A debate about targeting children
with television advertising, with Rupert Howell arguing for a ban and
Helen Seaford against restrictions.
Snyder, Beth (1998), 'Rivals
attracted to Nickelodeon's sweet success', Advertising Age Nov 9. Competitors
attempting to copy the success of the US children's cable channel.
Sterngold, James (1999),
`Lessons not quite ready for prime time', The New York Times March 28.
Children's TV in the USA.
Tait, Gordon, G.Kendall
& B. Carpenter (1995), 'Youth, government and violence in the media',
Youth Studies Australia Spring. Examine Australian government policy
on media and youth.
Thompson, Teresa L. &
E. Zerbinos (1995), 'Gender roles in animated cartoons: has the picture
changed in 20 years?', Sex Roles 32:9-10. Compares gender representation
in children's cartoons of the 1970s with cartoons of the 1990s, finding
that although there is some consistency (eg male characters dominate)
there is less stereotypical portrayal of characters--particularly female
characters.
Toy, Vivian S. (1999), `Teen-agers
are all talk with own cell phones', New York Times Aug 2. The proliferation
of cell phone use amongst American teens.
Upitis, Rena (1998), 'From
hackers to luddites, game players to game creators: profiles of adolescent
students using technology', Journal of Curriculum Studies 30, 3. An
interesting study of how young students (in Ontario) use computers.
Valkenburg, Patti M. &
J.W.J. Beentjes (1997), 'Children's creative imagination in response
to radio and television stories', Journal of Communication 47)2), Spring.
What children remember from radio stories and television stories.
Valkenberg, Patti M. & Sabine
C. Janssen (1999), ` What do children value in entertainment programs?
A cross-cultural investigation', Journal of Communication Spring. Compares
Dutch children with American children but the results are not remarkable
eg boys in both samples `attached more value to action'
Violence and the Media:
Influence on American Youth. From Children, Violence, and the Media:
A Report for Parents and Policy Makers. Congressional Digest [US], November
1999. Five pages describing a very American problem.
Wellwood, Elinore (1997),
'TV with X-Appeal', Waikato Times June 24. The sunden discovery of a
'youth market' on New Zealand television.
Williams, Sue (1997), 'Why
bananas wear pyjamas', The Australian March 10. How parental pressure
is forcing children's programme-makers to self-censor their output.
Wright, John C. et al (1995),
'Occupational portrayals on television: children's role schemata, career
aspirations, and percedptions of reality', Child Development 66. Do
young children get ideas about what they want to be when they grow up
from TV? They do and they don't.
Wallis, David (1999), `The
Groening of America', The Australian Media May 6-12. The creator of
The Simpsons talks about fatherhood, and his new animated series Futurama.
One choice remak: `..if you don't want your kids to be like Bart Simpson,
don't act like Homer Simpson'.
Wolff, Michael (1999), `Strangers
in cyberspace', The Australian Media June 24-30. Claims about how the
Internet is changing children.
Zanker, Ruth (1997), 'Children
miss out in scramble for broadcasting resources', New Zealand Herald
June 6. The neglect of funding for a range of programming for NZ children.
Zanker, Ruth (1999), 'Capturing
Kids: Pester Power in Pink November', Southern Review 32.3. The strategies
and assumptions in marketing to New Zealand children.
Zhao Bin (1996), 'The little
emperors' small screeb: parental controland children's television viewing
in China', Media, Culture & Society, v. 18 A companion piece to
'Young pioneers', co-authored with Graham Murdock (Script 38). This
article is just as good, examining the place of television within the
context of one-child Chinese family life.
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