Where’s a Times Reviewer When You Need One?

What’s more newsworthy, an article on no clear Oscar nominees in this winter’s group of movies or one on an important, but controversial, television program?

Dec. 1 was World AIDS Day. Calendar had a good-size blurb on the front page and a smaller one under “TV Tips” about programming on MTV commemorating this event. I’m still ticked off that no one on the Calendar staff was assigned to do an article on these timely programs. Instead, the section was full of articles about the Oscars (“The Early Oscar Line: No Shoo-Ins”), ratings, theater and music reviews.

MTV, a channel I don’t particularly like and only watch when I am checking on what video my 15-year-old is watching, did something no other channel considered on Dec. 1, and that was to use air time to educate the millions of young people who listen to today’s music.

For parents who believe MTV is totally worthless and detrimental to their children’s well-being, a review of the programs “Think Positive,” “Pedro Zamora Tribute” and “Smart Sex” could have helped them decide whether to lighten up a little and perhaps communicate with their teenage and young adult children by watching and discussing these programs.

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Our country has 500,000 reported AIDS cases as of October of this year. AIDS is a disease we can no longer ignore. It has stopped being a homosexual disease. Heterosexual teenagers are now its No. 1 victims. The numbers increase daily.

I’m not saying that I liked everything about those programs. I wasn’t very happy about the young man on “Smart Sex” who said he lost his virginity at the age of 13, but a fact is a fact.

The conservatives out there probably think I’m extremely liberal or blind. I’m neither. I just know that young people have been sexual before my grandmother was a teenager, and they will continue to be despite their parents’ objections. Isn’t it better to be informed about AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases than to be a statistic?

Responsibility is everyone’s duty. Calendar should have used a few of the columns to review MTV’s programs so skeptical parents could have been informed of how important those shows are.

As a parent, I talk to my children about abstinence, sex, responsibility and moral values. Some parents can’t or don’t. For those teenagers who learn things without guidance, sometimes videos can get the message across since they are communicating on the level and language of a great many of today’s young people.

When I heard Coolio’s “Too Hot” on the radio, I thought it was pretty tame. When I saw the video, wow, a whole different ball game with too much sex. I don’t always agree with MTV’s video interpretation of a song. I think for the most part they are too explicit, and I encourage my 15-year-old to watch them discriminatingly. But at least the “Too Hot” video conveys a message. Be responsible.

I hope the next time any station is showing an informative program, no matter how diverse, someone on the Calendar staff will give it some space in the newspaper. For me, these are the kinds of articles I would like to see included with those on Oscar nominations and theater in Costa Mesa.