In a puff piece for Monday’s NBC Today, correspondent Sheinelle Jones proclaimed: “During a news conference, President Obama revealed that cell phones are banned from the family dinner table. And his comments are striking a chord with parents across the country...”
Moments later, Jones applauded the President for taking on the morning-show-friendly topic: “Leading the charge to bring discussion back to dinner time, President Obama. During a press conference for his ConnectHome initiative, which aims at providing internet access to low-income communities, the nation’s father-in-chief told fellow parents that he and the First Lady run a tight ship when it comes to cell phones at the table.”
While Today was eager to devote two and a half minutes to Obama’s parenting advice, the broadcast offered a mere 39 seconds to the Planned Parenthood scandal in which the abortion provider was accused of selling fetal body parts.
Later in Monday’s report, Jones touted: “The President told young people to take responsibility and look up, leaving them with a valuable lesson in modern manners.” A soundbite ran of Obama lecturing his adoring fans: “I always tell young people when I meet them, sometimes they just have their phone up, I'm standing right in front of them, and I've got to tell them, ‘Young man, put down that phone, shake the hand of your president, then you can maybe go back to taking pictures.’”
Jones added: “So, to the 41% of teens who consider themselves addicted to smart phones, you’re supposed to put it down and pay attention...when your meeting the leader of our country.”
Here is a transcript of the July 20 segment:
8:04 AM ET
LAUER: Let's talk about the great debate over screen time and family time. As a parent, how do you help your children strike the right balance? Today’s Sheinelle Jones is here with more on that. Sheinelle, good morning to you.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: President Pushes to Put Phones Down; Bans Phones From Family Dinner Table]
SHEINELLE JONES: Good morning to you, Matt. During a news conference, President Obama revealed that cell phones are banned from the family dinner table. And his comments are striking a chord with parents across the country, especially in these summer months when kids are home and spending more time on their devices.
The dinner table, once a sacred place for families to dig into the day's events.
[CLIP FROM HAPPY DAYS]
MARION CUNNINGHAM [MARION ROSS]: Is something bothering you, Richard?
RICHIE CUNNINGHAM [RON HOWARD]: No, mom, I’m fine.
JONES: Now filled with sounds like this.
[CLIP FROM PARENTHOOD]JULIA BRAVERMAN-GRAHAM [ERIKA CHRISTENSEN]: Victor, put the phone away, please.
JONES: Leading the charge to bring discussion back to dinner time, President Obama. During a press conference for his ConnectHome initiative, which aims at providing internet access to low-income communities, the nation’s father-in-chief told fellow parents that he and the First Lady run a tight ship when it comes to cell phones at the table.
BARACK OBAMA: There’s nothing wrong with every once in a while putting the technology aside and actually having a conversation. This is something I talk to Malia and Sasha about.
JONES: The President's comments are an example of the ever-growing challenge parents face, managing technology use with their kids. According to a recent study by Common Sense Media, 72% of children under the age of 8 use a mobile device, including 38% of kids under the age of 2. The majority of that screen time is spent playing games and half of the time using apps. So how many hours in a day do children under 18 spend on their phones? One expert says it's almost impossible to measure.
CRISTA SUMANIK [COMMON SENSE MEDIA SENIOR DIRECTOR]: Screens are everywhere. Computers, laptops, tablets, cell phones. And you think about every tweet or every text. How do you add it all up?
JONES: But limiting screen time isn't just a job for parents. The President told young people to take responsibility and look up, leaving them with a valuable lesson in modern manners.
OBAMA: I always tell young people when I meet them, sometimes they just have their phone up, I'm standing right in front of them, and I've got to tell them, “Young man, put down that phone, shake the hand of your president, then you can maybe go back to taking pictures.”
JONES: So, to the 41% of teens who consider themselves addicted to smart phones, you’re supposed to put it down and pay attention, Matt, when your meeting the leader of our country. I’m not surprised, though.
LAUER: No, that makes great sense, Sheinelle. Thank you very much.
JONES: Absolutely.
