NCJ Number
122973
Date Published
1990
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This analysis of violence on television in Australia and efforts to address it focuses on public attitudes toward the portrayal and reporting of violence, the most appropriate method of regulating it, and the powers of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (ABT) to prevent unacceptable levels of violence in television programming.
Abstract
The Australian government requires that films imported for commercial television should be classified by the Film Censorship Board under the standards determined by the ABT. The classification system includes four basic categories: general viewing, parental guidance recommended, adults only, and not to be televised at any time. Recent ABT research on community perceptions has found that violence is not a single entity, because it is influenced by the interaction of viewer characteristics and television content. In addition, the public is concerned about the cumulative impact of television violence on children. Possible ways of improving the current system include providing clearer guidelines, revising schedules so that violent programs are not clustered, giving viewers more advice on program content and classification, and changing the classification criteria. The research findings will be useful both for ABT decisionmakers and for television industry professionals. Figure and 14 references.