The Children's Television Community

"""Bryant's book brings an exciting new way to consider the discipline of children's television. Each essay offers up insights, both contemporary and historical, on the confluences that define children's television in the United States. Through this book that brings together the community of academics and professionals, the ties between organizations, policy making, and the economics of the industry become clear. It belongs on everyone's shelf."" —Norma Pecora Ohio University ""Most books about children's television – even edited volumes such as this – offer a single, uniform perspective on the medium, the industry, and the place of television in children's lives. What is most impressive about this book is the diversity of its contributors. They aren't people who simply study children's television (though this is not a simple thing to do), but also people who produce it, who market it, who evaluate it, and who advocate for it. The various perspectives of the authors are truly fascinating. Through them, we clearly see the powerful roles played by historical events, economic incentives, technological breakthroughs, and political pressures in shaping what American children watch today. Readers are afforded the rare insider's view of the step-by-step process of making a children's TV series; the closed-door negotiations behind government regulations; and the machinations involved with acquiring licenses to produce TV tie-ins. This book includes some chapters that are consistent with my views on children's television, and others with which I would vehemently disagree. This is good. The high emotions and strong debates that rage in the realm of children's television (including whether and how it should be regulated and whether and how children are affected by it) are clearly evident in these pages. In reading Bryant's book, one feels as though one has been exposed to the full spectrum of views – and that there are no simple or absolute solutions to the challenges facing the children's television community."" —Amy B. Jordan University of Pennsylvania ""This excellent collection joins the growing literature on children and television...highly recommended."" --CHOICE"