Programming Behavior

Reports on the passage of a legislative bill by the United States Senate Commerce Committee that may restrict violent television programming during hours when children are watching. Correlation between increased violence and images seen by children; Investigation by the cable industry on the connection between television and real-world violence.

By Linda Formichelli, published on January 01, 2001

VIOLENCE

Each week, children spend a whopping 28 hours watching TV. [Since those hours are increasingly filled with violent images, television programming is in the spotlight.

Late last year, the Senate Commerce Committee passed a new bill that may restrict violent television programming during hours when children make up a significant portion of the viewing audience. The bill would permit the broadcast of programs carrying ratings. Parents would then use the V-Chip--a system that blocks programs rated for violence, sex and crude language. If the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determines that the V-Chip and ratings system are ineffective, it will prohibit all violent programs during these hours.

Donald E. Cook, M.D., president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Daniel B. Borenstein, M.D., president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), testified in the bill's debate that repeated exposure to violent imagery desensitizes children and increases the risk of violent behavior. Borenstein's view mirrors the APA's, which recently released a report concluding that heavy exposure to TV violence is a significant cause of societal violence.

Not everyone agrees. The National Television Violence Study, a cable industry investigation that analyzed the 1994-1995 season, found no direct connection between TV and real-world violence. And in his new book, Power Play (Basic Books, 2001) Gerald Jones writes, "children need stories of conflict and violence in order to explore the scary feelings they've been taught to deny, and then to integrate those feelings into a more complex and resilient sense of self."

Even if the bill becomes law, it could come up against the First Amendment. The FCC is responsible for deciding what constitutes a "violent" program, and some say that would be a form of government censorship. Already, Sam Brownback (R-Kansas)--one of only two senators who voted against the bill--is arguing against the bill, stating that regulating content is simply unconstitutional.

PHOTO (COLOR): Each week, children spend a whopping 28 hours watching TV.