Dying to see dying on TV

And television producers responded -- yet again -- by saying things like: "This study persists in using the same flawed methodology."

Meanwhile, viewers continue to tune in to shows in which people are blown up, blown away and blown to pieces. Yet again and again.

Going up

The latest survey, released in April, found that about two-thirds of prime-time network and basic cable channel programs in mid-1997 contained violent scenes. That is an increase from about 50 percent of such programs when the survey was begun in 1994.

The study, the largest of its kind, was commissioned by the National Cable Television Association. It examined 10,000 hours of programs on 23 channels from October 1994 to June 1997. The channels included ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox; independent TV stations; basic cable networks like A&E, AMC, BET, the Cartoon Network, Disney, the Family Channel, Lifetime, MTV, Nickelodeon, TNT, USA and VH-1; and pay cable channels such as Cinemax, HBO and Showtime.

Doing the survey were researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of North Carolina, the University of Texas and the University of Wisconsin.

Where it lies

"For those who think the TV violence problem is solved, it is not," said Daniel Linz, one of the researchers. He is from UC-Santa Barbara.

As might be expected, pay cable networks like HBO and Showtime, which carry uncut movies, televised the highest percentage of programs with violent content, averaging 92 percent since 1994, the study found.

The networks and program producers retort with a familiar complaint, voiced this time by Marty Franks, senior vice president of CBS: "This study persists in using the same flawed methodology that led several years ago to the 25th anniversary of 'Laugh In' being named that year's most violent program by simply counting acts of violence without taking dramatic context into account."

What it is

The study defined violence as any "overt depiction of a credible threat of physical force or the actual use of such force intended to physically harm an animate being or group of beings."

Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, which represents the major networks, retorted that the new findings contradict a network-funded study by UCLA researchers. That survey concluded that "violence on broadcast television has declined steadily over the last three years."

Wharton pointed a finger at HBO and friends, saying: "The simple, undeniable fact is that the vast majority of violence on television is on pay cable."

Regardless of where it is, what's wrong with violence on TV? Said one researcher: You "teach children that violence is desirable, necessary and painless. We need to see more anti-violence messages in TV shows."

As for the fairly new ratings given at the beginning of shows, the study found they do not provide adequate information to parents.

All together

To repeat:

* A study has found that violence on TV is increasing. Yet again.

* Those responsible for it have excuses. Yet again.

* Viewers like violence. Yet again.

And so it goes on and on until I write about it -- yet again.

(05-07-98) [[In-content Ad]]