Marisa Naughton
Senior Director, Marketing & Communications, Common Sense
Meet Betsy Bozdech, Our Expert in Quality Media
Common Sense Media's Editorial Director, Head of Ratings and Reviews, shares her thoughts on censorship, quirky questions with her colleagues, and her passion for media.
Topics: Quality Media
Common Sense News
Our "Meet the Subject Matter Expert" series uncovers our team's superpowers and showcases the unique human talent behind our mission to improve the media landscape for kids and families. Read on to learn more about Betsy Bozdech, who works to ensure that parents, caregivers, and educators have the information they need to make informed media choices. Read our previous posts about Girard Kelly and Kelly Mendoza.
Tell our readers how you came to this role. What attracted you to Common Sense Media?
I first heard of Common Sense Media when I was working at Netflix in the early 2000s. Netflix was one of Common Sense's first content-licensing partners. After my team at Netflix was restructured, I joined Common Sense Media in early 2006 as the site's first TV editor, and my first big goal was to expand our library of TV reviews to more than 1,000 within my first year of work. From there, I took on responsibility for our theatrical movie coverage and, ultimately, management of the team of editors who produce our huge library of reviews for parents and caregivers.
I was drawn to the organization because it seemed like the perfect combination of my previous experience in parenting content—my first job out of journalism school was on the editorial staff of BabyCenter.com—and my passion for media. I'm a lifelong movie, TV, and book lover, and it still delights me that it's my job to know everything there is to know about the media that kids and families have questions about. Mix all of that together and add Common Sense's mission to improve kids' lives, and it's no wonder I've been here for almost 18 years!
How do you see Common Sense making an impact with parents and caregivers?
We hear every day from people whose lives we've had an impact on. From helping them settle a family argument over what to pick for family movie night, to managing tricky parenting topics like cyberbullying and cellphones, the reviews and advice we provide really help people navigate the often-overwhelming world of media and technology. There's a firehose of content coming at kids and parents all the time, and it's impossible to keep up. So we're here to give families the tools they need to make and manage their media decisions—to help them find things they can feel good about saying "yes" to.
What's coming up for you and your team this year?
Our top priority is always to keep publishing our thorough, trustworthy reviews of everything kids want to watch, play, read, or—in the case of podcasts—listen to. For the last year, we've been building our library of reviews translated into Spanish, and we want to continue that work going forward, as well as review more original Spanish-language content. We also work hard every year to keep our hundreds of curated lists up to date with the latest picks for families. And we support organization-wide initiatives and goals, from advocating for better mental health resources for kids to understanding the opportunities and challenges surrounding AI.
What's one important issue or trend you see in the area of ratings and reviews that you think deserves more awareness?
I'm disappointed by the fact that people use the information found in detailed ratings and reviews—including ours—as justification for censoring or banning media in schools, libraries, and communities. We want parents to have the information they need to make the decisions that are right for their own families, but we do not support the wide-ranging bans that have been on the rise lately, especially in the United States. Research shows that it's important for kids to both see themselves reflected in the media they consume and to learn about people who've had different experiences than they have. There's a wonderful world of diverse media out there, and it's important for kids to have access to it.
What's something you do in your current role that most people wouldn't know about—or that would surprise people?
I regularly have to have conversations with people that, in most workplace situations, could be considered very inappropriate. For example: "Exactly which body parts did you see? Was it the whole breast, or just the side?" "Did the twin brothers have sex with each other?" "Which precise swear words and slurs did that character use?" "How many eyeballs were gouged out?" etc.
I also have to triage hundreds of press releases and pitches a week as part of deciding which movies we'll cover for the site (alas, we just aren't able to do all of them!). This means I have a working knowledge of all of the fringe-iest horror movies released over the years, from Monsturd to Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter (yes, these are both real films).
What was your favorite show, book, and movie when you were a kid, and why?
Whenever I have to choose a single favorite movie, my answer is always The Princess Bride. I love many movies, but few have inspired the same sense of wonder and appreciation that I felt when I first saw that movie in 1987, when I was 12. It's the absolute perfect mix of romance, humor, and adventure. And I watch a lot of television, too, but my "lifelong fan" badge belongs to Saturday Night Live. I've been watching regularly since I was 13, and in 2022 I won the studio-audience ticket lottery after years of entering and was able to attend a show (the week Oscar Isaac hosted)—a true bucket-list item! On the books front, my childhood favorites were L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and Emily series; I reread both of those (plus Tamora Pierce's Tortall books) many times.
Check out more of Betsy's perspectives:
Our "Meet the Subject Matter Expert" series uncovers our team's superpowers and showcases the unique human talent behind our mission to improve the media landscape for kids and families. Read on to learn more about Betsy Bozdech, who works to ensure that parents, caregivers, and educators have the information they need to make informed media choices. Read our previous posts about Girard Kelly and Kelly Mendoza.
Tell our readers how you came to this role. What attracted you to Common Sense Media?
I first heard of Common Sense Media when I was working at Netflix in the early 2000s. Netflix was one of Common Sense's first content-licensing partners. After my team at Netflix was restructured, I joined Common Sense Media in early 2006 as the site's first TV editor, and my first big goal was to expand our library of TV reviews to more than 1,000 within my first year of work. From there, I took on responsibility for our theatrical movie coverage and, ultimately, management of the team of editors who produce our huge library of reviews for parents and caregivers.
I was drawn to the organization because it seemed like the perfect combination of my previous experience in parenting content—my first job out of journalism school was on the editorial staff of BabyCenter.com—and my passion for media. I'm a lifelong movie, TV, and book lover, and it still delights me that it's my job to know everything there is to know about the media that kids and families have questions about. Mix all of that together and add Common Sense's mission to improve kids' lives, and it's no wonder I've been here for almost 18 years!
How do you see Common Sense making an impact with parents and caregivers?
We hear every day from people whose lives we've had an impact on. From helping them settle a family argument over what to pick for family movie night, to managing tricky parenting topics like cyberbullying and cellphones, the reviews and advice we provide really help people navigate the often-overwhelming world of media and technology. There's a firehose of content coming at kids and parents all the time, and it's impossible to keep up. So we're here to give families the tools they need to make and manage their media decisions—to help them find things they can feel good about saying "yes" to.
What's coming up for you and your team this year?
Our top priority is always to keep publishing our thorough, trustworthy reviews of everything kids want to watch, play, read, or—in the case of podcasts—listen to. For the last year, we've been building our library of reviews translated into Spanish, and we want to continue that work going forward, as well as review more original Spanish-language content. We also work hard every year to keep our hundreds of curated lists up to date with the latest picks for families. And we support organization-wide initiatives and goals, from advocating for better mental health resources for kids to understanding the opportunities and challenges surrounding AI.
What's one important issue or trend you see in the area of ratings and reviews that you think deserves more awareness?
I'm disappointed by the fact that people use the information found in detailed ratings and reviews—including ours—as justification for censoring or banning media in schools, libraries, and communities. We want parents to have the information they need to make the decisions that are right for their own families, but we do not support the wide-ranging bans that have been on the rise lately, especially in the United States. Research shows that it's important for kids to both see themselves reflected in the media they consume and to learn about people who've had different experiences than they have. There's a wonderful world of diverse media out there, and it's important for kids to have access to it.
What's something you do in your current role that most people wouldn't know about—or that would surprise people?
I regularly have to have conversations with people that, in most workplace situations, could be considered very inappropriate. For example: "Exactly which body parts did you see? Was it the whole breast, or just the side?" "Did the twin brothers have sex with each other?" "Which precise swear words and slurs did that character use?" "How many eyeballs were gouged out?" etc.
I also have to triage hundreds of press releases and pitches a week as part of deciding which movies we'll cover for the site (alas, we just aren't able to do all of them!). This means I have a working knowledge of all of the fringe-iest horror movies released over the years, from Monsturd to Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter (yes, these are both real films).
What was your favorite show, book, and movie when you were a kid, and why?
Whenever I have to choose a single favorite movie, my answer is always The Princess Bride. I love many movies, but few have inspired the same sense of wonder and appreciation that I felt when I first saw that movie in 1987, when I was 12. It's the absolute perfect mix of romance, humor, and adventure. And I watch a lot of television, too, but my "lifelong fan" badge belongs to Saturday Night Live. I've been watching regularly since I was 13, and in 2022 I won the studio-audience ticket lottery after years of entering and was able to attend a show (the week Oscar Isaac hosted)—a true bucket-list item! On the books front, my childhood favorites were L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and Emily series; I reread both of those (plus Tamora Pierce's Tortall books) many times.
Check out more of Betsy's perspectives:
Marisa Naughton is senior director of marketing and communications at Common Sense. She leads thought leadership, and marketing for our advocacy and research efforts.