Traumatic TV watching by kids -- where to draw the line?

As Bethany posted on last night, the amount of violence and sex kids see on television these days can be downright disturbing. Does it take a superhuman and vigilant parental effort to ensure your kids are not being subjected to much of the trash on television these days? Sure it does -- but by not monitoring usage, what are the consequences?

Now let's drop the ratings-pumping sex and violence on television for a moment and look at real-life television, such as that coverage of a major traumatic event (like Monday's school shooting in Virginia). The mass media and news outlets unfortunately cover these event ceaselessly to get their fair share of viewers -- no new news here. Just how much should you expose your kids to this, though?

Sheltering kids from the events of daily life are just as unhealthy as exposing them constantly to all the negative news and trashy programming there is -- so what to do? It's takes a lot of effort to fine-tune (and explain) television programming to kids to distinguish reality from fantasy. What methods work best for you?