Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 20, 1995 TAG: 9509200067
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
A gruesome murder at the center of an episode of television's ``NYPD Blue'' is OK, but a Chuck Norris bloodfest on ``Walker, Texas Ranger'' is not - and the distinctions between the two lie at the center of a major university study that suggests new ways to look at the vexing problem of violence on television.
After scrutinizing more than 3,000 hours of television programs over the last year, researchers at UCLA concluded that the context of violence portrayed on television is often more important than the mere frequency of stabbings, shootings and other graphic mayhem.
The landmark study, released Tuesday, determined that the principal television networks have taken steps toward reducing the violence broadcast into American homes each evening, but blood-soaked feature films and children's shows such as the ``Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' still portray violence too frequently.
The study, financed by the four major networks under pressure from Congress to clean up the airwaves, recommended more consistent use of parental advisories, a rethinking of children's shows in which violence is the main focus, and more restraint in deciding which big-screen motion pictures to broadcast.
``We see positive signs that some important issues of television violence - particularly in series and television movies - are being addressed,'' said the report's author, Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy. ``But at the same time, important problems still remain and need to be confronted.''
Industry critics said they hoped the report would nudge TV executives to better police their own programming decisions, especially at a time when the public is increasingly linking TV shows with crime and violence in society at large and politicians are raising the spectre of more closely regulating what the networks air.
``If anybody in the industry was looking for a whitewash, clearly it didn't happen,'' said Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill., who has persistently pressured the networks to police themselves. ``This does not guarantee that the industry is going to move, but my instinct is that they are going to take this seriously.''
Network officials expressed hope that the indications of progress in the report might appease their critics in Congress.
The House and Senate are working on a bill that would mandate the installation of the so-called ``V-chip'' in television sets so parents can tune out objectionable shows. How TV programs would be rated under such a scheme has yet to be determined.
by CNB