Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 18, 1993 TAG: 9312180095
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Of the 79 percent who said they think there is a connection between violence in TV entertainment and violence in real life, two-thirds said they believe television contributes "a great deal" to the problem.
Americans also appear to be growing more concerned about crime in general. When asked to name the most important problem facing the United States today, 30 percent of the 1,612 adults polled nationwide from Dec. 4-7 said crime, which topped the list..
For the previous Times poll, in September, health care was listed as the country's most pressing problem, and crime was listed third.
Public attention has focused intensely on crime lately as violent stories keep tumbling out of the news media.
"Crime is the story du jour," said Times Poll Director John Brennan. "The media is really emphasizing crime right now, and that is having an effect on public opinion, more than some statistical increase in crime."
But that does not mean the concern about TV violence is also a product of the media attention, Brennan said. "TV violence was an issue before this very recent jump in crime consciousness," he said.
Other surveys taken this year have shown strong public concern about TV violence as one of a number of factors contributing to the nation's crime problems. Some other causes are cited more often. A Gallup poll taken in October found that 68 percent of the public considered TV violence to be a very important cause of crime in the country, along with such factors as lack of moral training in the home (97 percent), lack of punishment because of overcrowded courts and prisons (88 percent) and poor quality of schools (77 percent).
The Times poll comes as other studies suggest the amount of TV violence has actually declined in recent years. In separate interviews, many of the poll respondents who expressed concern about TV violence couldn't cite specific examples of it in entertainment programming or explain how it contributes to violence in society. For them, they said, it's just a matter of common sense.
"I've seen my kids acting out what they see on TV," said Paul Sager, 28, of Birmingham, Ala. He "strongly favors" government guidelines to safeguard his two children, ages 3 and 6. "There's a lot of students in Birmingham who bring guns to school. They just accept violent behavior as normal. If it happens on TV, it has to be true."
This year, Congress and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno have threatened to impose government regulations if the television industry does not voluntarily step up efforts to curb the depictions of murder and mayhem.
TV executives maintain that they already have drastically reduced glorified violence in entertainment programming and last fall implemented a policy of affixing "parental advisory" warnings on programs that contain violence.
In the Times poll, 43 percent of Americans said they would oppose any formal government guidelines. But the majority evidently feels the industry has not done enough. The 54 percent who said they would support government guidelines to limit TV violence in entertainment programming did so even after hearing the argument that such a move might infringe on the media's constitutional rights.
by CNB