WASHINGTON - As if it couldn't get worse for the television industry.

Younger people are leaving TV for other modes of visual entertainment -- the computer and the smartphone, for example. This makes TV viewing more and more the province of older Americans, who have been watching the boob tube ever since the kids of the baby-boom generation welcomed the first TV set their parents brought into the house.

Published in International

INDIANAPOLIS - Actor Gary Sinise, a Catholic actor who stars in the TV drama "CSI: New York" but who is perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Dan in the 1994 film "Forrest Gump," received the Gabriel Personal Achievement Award, presented by the Catholic Academy of Communication Arts Professionals.

Sinise, who was not on hand to receive the award, donates much of his time to entertaining the troops in Iraq and is co-founder of the nonprofit charity Operation Iraqi Children, which provides schoolchildren with basic school supplies.

Published in Arts News

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a program called Notorious Women of the Bible. Actually I was a little put off by the obviously provocative title. It seemed like a ploy to attract some of that large and lucrative audience normally drawn to programs like Desperate Housewives.

Not to disparage Desperate Housewives, but Hollywood depicts notorious women a dozen times a night on television. I was hoping for something a little different.

Published in Arts News

WASHINGTON - Paul Loong was determined to survive the POW camps where he was held by the Japanese for three years. While imprisoned, Loong kept a journal that had a chance of surviving him if he never made it out alive.

But Loong did. And he made his way to the United States, got married and had a daughter, Theresa, who accidentally stumbled upon her father's journal. She eventually picked up a video camera and started asking him questions about what he had written when he was in captivity.

The result is an hourlong documentary, "Every Day Is a Holiday," which airs in May and June on public television stations. (Check local listings for dates and times.)

Published in Features

STUDIO CITY, Calif. - The feature films "Hugo" and "The Way," the documentary "I Am" and the television sitcom "Modern Family" have been named winners of this year's Catholics in Media Awards.

The Martin Scorsese film "Hugo," the filmmaker's first feature given the 3-D treatment, is getting the Film Award from Catholics in Media Associates, sponsors of the prizes for the 19th year. "Hugo" won five Academy Awards in February.

"The Way," starring Martin Sheen and directed by his son Emilio Estevez, won the group's Board of Directors Award. Both films were made available on DVD in February.

Published in Movie News
January 24, 2012

Troubled airwaves

So, people constantly ask in exasperation, “What’s the world coming to?”

In the U.K., what it’s coming to are television and radio advertisements to promote private, for-profit abortion services. This regrettable development is the result of a regulatory change that, critics say, means abortion will be advertised into family homes as casually as toothpaste and breakfast cereal after new rules kick in April 30.

Published in Editorial

WASHINGTON - Just when you might have forgotten about the family-friendly television series Touched by an Angel, series star Roma Downey is tweaking the concept.

Downey, a Catholic, has created a DVD animated series called Little Angels. The premise is that twin siblings are visited by eight child-size angels who are ordinarily stuck on the walls of their bedroom but who come to life after the twins' mother tucks the kids in for the night. The angels take the children on life-lesson-learning adventures. Downey provides the voice of the children's mother.

Published in Arts News