Violence on Television: Distribution, Form, Context, and Themes

TV violence has long been identified as a significant causal agent in relation to the prevalence of crime and violence in society. Critics have accused the medium of presenting excessive quantities of violence, to the point where it is virtually impossible for viewers to avoid it. This work presents the findings of what is to date the largest British study of violence on TV ever undertaken. One chapter is included to give a comparison of findings from Britain and the USA. The book concludes that it is misleading to accuse all broadcasters of presenting excessive quantities of violence in their schedulaes. This does not deny that problematic portrayals were found. But the most gory, horrific and graphic scenes of violence were generally contained within broadcasts available on a subscription basis or in programmes shown at times when few children were expected to be watching. This factual analaysis proves that broadcasters were meeting their obligations under their national regulatory codes of practice.