European Journalists April Issue | Page 28

TELEVISIONMANIA   Television,   printing   press,   cinema,   advertising   and   internet  play  the  important  role  of  information  and   training  among  the  new  generation.   Television,   the   extraordinary   invention   of   the   modern   age,   nowadays   is   under   accusation   much   more  than  ever.   It  doesn’t  let  you  think  and  it  stuns,  goes  senile,  it   even   kills   young   people’s   and   children’s   imagination,   it   represents   a   false   and   virtual   reality   which   has   been   substituting   the   real   one”.   These   are   the   worst   accusations   that   have   been   addressed   against   television   by   different   social,   cultural   and   scientific   sides   of   society.  It  is  true  that  it  has  become  a  vehicle  for  communicating  violence  ,  which,   at  different  levels  it  is  present  in  the  programs  for  children  too.     The   world   of   television   often   suggests   wrong   models   and   values.   Violence   is   assimilated   when   it   is   watched   on   TV   and   it   has   been   demonstrated   that   if     television   broadcasts   violent   scenes,   even   as   part   of   a   show,   it   is   responsible   of   the  increasing  number  of  crimes.   Television   has   become   a   sort   of   electrical   appliance   which   may   turn   into   a   “drug”   for   the   mind   which   forbids   the   most   intelligent   activities   and   it’s   an   obstacle   in     the  dialogue  between  parents  and  children  .   The  excessive  use  of  television  may  be  very  dangerous  that’s  why  it  is  important   that  precise  rules  must  be  established  in  order  to  control  shows  and  transmission.   It’s  essential  that  both  the  governors  and  those  who  run  this  irreplaceable  media   are   able   to   sort   out   the   great   amount   of   problems   that   television   presents.   It   is   also  true  that  Italy  has  already  promoted  some  rules  which  protect  the  youngest   audience  in  the  famous  “Carta  di  Treviso”.       This    document,  issued  in  1999  and  passed  by   the  “Italian  Order  of  Journalists”,  was  inspirited   by   the   principles   and   values   of   the   Italian   Constitution   and   the   UN   Convention   on   the   Rights  of  the  Child.     What’s   fundamental   is   the   more   or   less   appropriate   use   that   the   citizens   make   of   television.