Death of George Gerbner

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: David Devereaux-Weber <ddevereauxweber () gmail com>
Date: January 1, 2006 9:45:24 AM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Death of George Gerbner

<http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/new_jersey/ 
13524320.htm>

George Gerbner; led Annenberg

By Sally A. Downey
Inquirer Staff Writer

George Gerbner, 86, formerly of Ardmore, dean emeritus of the
Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania,
who researched the cultural impact of television for more than 30
years, died of cancer Dec. 24 at the Fountains at Logan Square, a
retirement residence in Philadelphia. His wife of 59 years, Ilona
Kutas Gerbner, died Dec. 8.

Among the theories about television that Dr. Gerbner developed was the
"Mean World Syndrome."

"Violent programming," he wrote, "reinforces the worst fears and
apprehensions and paranoia of people." Comic violence such as that in
cartoons, he said, is even more lethal and desensitizes children. He
advised parents to watch television with their children to help them
interpret what they see.

Dr. Gerbner encouraged the public to lobby television networks to
improve programming. Several of his studies showed that women, senior
citizens and minorities were underrepresented on television. Given
television's powerful effects, he told a reporter, it was a "new civil
right" for programs to represent people fairly and equally.

"Most of the stories that are told to our children," he said in 1993,
"are no longer told by their parents, by their schools, by their
churches, or by their communities. They are shaped instead by a small
group of conglomerates that have something to sell."

"To say you can turn off television is arrogance," he said in 1990.
"People would rather stop breathing than stop storytelling."

He felt strongly about the storytelling and folklore, his
daughter-in-law Kathie McDermott said, and encouraged his two sons,
John and Thomas, to "tell" the story of their day when they were
growing up. He continued the tradition with his grandchildren,
McDermott said.

Dr. Gerbner was chosen dean of the Annenberg School for Communication
in 1964 by Walter Annenberg, who had established the school five years
earlier. Annenberg, a conservative Republican, was publisher of
newspapers and magazines including The Inquirer and TV Guide. Dr.
Gerbner, a liberal Democrat, already had gained a reputation as a
media expert while on the faculty of the Institute of Communications
Research at the University of Illinois for eight years.

At Annenberg, he founded the Cultural Indicators Research Project to
research the influence of television. After retiring in 1989, he
established the Cultural Environment Movement, an international
organization to lobby for cultural policies. From 1997 to 2000, he
held the Bell Atlantic Telecommunications chair at Temple University.

A native of Budapest, Hungary, Dr. Gerbner fled his homeland when the
Nazis came to power and immigrated to the United States in 1939. He
earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of
California at Berkeley and wrote a consumer column for the San
Francisco Chronicle.

During World War II, he served in the Army and in the Office of
Strategic Services. He was awarded a Bronze Star for parachuting
behind enemy lines and joining Yugoslavian partisans to fight the
Germans. After the war, he helped arrest Nazi officials and personally
arrested fascist Hungarian Prime Minister Bela Imredy, who was tried
for war crimes. While in Budapest, Dr. Gerbner met his future wife, an
actress who would later direct the theater lab at Penn.

After his discharge, Dr. Gerbner earned a doctorate in journalism from
the University of Southern California.

In addition to his sons, he is survived by five grandchildren.

A memorial service for Dr. Gerbner will be held at the Annenberg
School for Communication at a later date.
Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or  
sdowney () phillynews com.


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