Drawing by John Murray

Local seminar to discuss effects of TV violence on children

(Sept. 18, 2003)--The Mind Science Foundation and Methodist Children's Hospital will present a seminar, "Minding TV -- Television and Our Children," at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 22, at the University of the Incarnate Word Sky Room, 847 E. Hildebrand.

The seminar will feature research scientist and psychologist John Murray and award-winning TV producer Cyrus Yavneh. Steven Levitt, chair of the UTSA Department of Communication, will moderate a discussion after the presentations.

Admission is $20 with reservations required. To make a reservation, call 210-575-0355.

Murray, a professor of developmental psychology at Kansas State University, will discuss his research on the effects of TV violence on children. To share a media perspective, Los Angeles-based TV producer Yavneh will describe the day-to-day realities in the television industry. Together, they will explore the choices parents have in television viewing for their children and the consequences of those choices.

Murray has researched the effects of TV violence on children for more than 30 years, moving from experimental studies of aggression to "mapping" children's brains as they watch violent scenes. Murray's original research on brain mapping was underwritten by San Antonio's Mind Science Foundation and carried out in collaboration with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

He has written articles for Psychiatric Times, among many others, and his 1980 reference book is used today to understand television and its effect on youth. His 11th book on the subject will be published next year.

Yavneh was named Producer of the Year 2002 for the drama "24" with Kiefer Sutherland. During his 30 years as a film and TV producer, he co-produced the Emmy Award-winning mini-series, "Son of the Morning Star," and won a Peabody Award and the prestigious Humanitas Award for the TV series "Nothing Sacred."

The Mind Science Foundation supports scientific research and education on human consciousness. As a not-for-profit foundation, MSF supports research in mind-made health, brain mapping, intuition, creativity and learning, imagination and motivation, and Alzheimer's disease, among other topics.

Methodist Children's Hospital is the only pediatric hospital in San Antonio designed and built especially for children. The hospital is a member of Methodist Healthcare System, a San Antonio health-care provider with 22 facilities including seven acute-care hospitals.

For more information, contact Cathy Brillson at 210-821-6094.

To receive a free publication, "Children and TV: Using TV Sensibly" by John Murray, e-mail info@mindscience.org.