This week, we've seen a prime example of how the race for a catchy headline or the editorial bent of a journal can influence how research is characterized in the press. Depending on which sources parents follow, they can come away anxious or reassured (or, likely, confused) by the same data!

For someone in my field, merely having my name in the same sentence as Mister Rogers is a heady, humbling experience. I'm too old to have grown up with him as a "television friend," but young enough that his work was seminal to my career choice.

It's easy to imagine teens of 2000 bouncing medium to medium, while longing for a connective thread -- a TV-show website that goes deeper than cast bios and "printables"; magazines that explore the worlds of their favorite games; the book-based backstory to the film they just saw.

Watching television or videos is discouraged for babies younger than 2 because studies suggest it could harm their development, a pediatricians' group...