Youth audiences are prized targets for TV shows, film, and advertising, but are kids growing up too fast? Do they suffer physically or emotionally from the messages conveyed in entertainment and advertising? What is our responsibility as influential adults and writers?
Fact-based storytelling raises complex challenges. Consider bioterrorism: Should you write about it, or will it alarm viewers or give terrorists ideas? How constrained by the facts should you be? Where can you get accurate information? What is your responsibility as a public citizen and as a dramatist?
The Second Sentinel for Health Award was given to The Young and the Restless (CBS) for the storyline "Raul's Diabetes" for its portrayal of diabetes in a teenager. The award was presented at Soap Summit VI, hosted by Population Communications International.
Media effects and behavioral change are discussed by Miguel Sabido, the internationally recognized father of entertainment education, and Albert Bandura, founder of the social learning cognitive theory. Bandura, a professor and a psychologist, showed through his seminal Bobo doll studies in role modeling that audience members learn behavior as effectively from televised models as from ones in real life. His principles were later creatively employed by Sabido at Televisa, the Mexican national TV network, to produce seven entertainment-education telenovelas between 1975 and 1982, including Ven Conmigo, which was about adult literacy. Studies showed that during the roughly one-year period of the Ven Conmigo broadcasts, enrollment in adult literacy classes increased in Mexico.
The first-ever Sentinel for Health Award was given in 2000 to One Life to Live (ABC) for "Viki's Breast Cancer." The storyline depicted a woman's experience with the early diagnosis of breast cancer and its emotional impact on her and her family members. The award was presented during a luncheon program for Soap Summit V, an educational conference hosted by Population Communications International.
Sociologist and communication scholar Everett Rogers discussed his findings on the use of entertainment media to prevent AIDS and increase family planning in Africa. This event was sponsored by the USC Center for Health and Medical Communication and Population Communication International. Through his research, Rogers has signficantly raised standards for producing appealing and effective media to enhance the quality of people's lives. He was an associate dean and Walter Annenberg Professor of Communication at the USC Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism.
