Video Violence Report

In one way, at least, the new television season is ahead of its time: by soft-pedaling assault and murder, it accurately forecasts the Federal Government's report on TV violence. The report, scheduled to be released this week by the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, links video violence to real violence, particularly in poorer families or families that are disorganized or culturally deprived. In those cases, "in the absence of family, peer and school relationships, television becomes the most compatible substitute for real life experiences."

The commission--a mixed bag of Congressmen, lawyers, educators, psychiatrists and sociologists--was established last year. Its report recommends self-policing by the networks and suggests guidelines. These include a reduction in programs that contain violence; elimination of violence from children's programs; and adoption of the British practice of scheduling crime and adventure stories in the evening after children are in bed.

The report certainly will not end the debate about the effects of TV violence. FCC Chairman Kenneth Cox cautions against a "bland approach" that would cut violence out of television altogether, saying there are many Washington officials who feel that if war, for example, "is such a terrible thing, maybe people should see more of it. Maybe they would know then what it really means." FCC Commissioner Robert E. Lee doubts that a cause-and-effect relationship can be scientifically established. "I kind of doubt the experts will find a connection," he says, though "once in a while you may find an isolated incident." Meanwhile the networks are planning their own investigations, and the U.S. Surgeon General's office is well into a report of its own. All the research may prove to be the best offering of the 1969 television season.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.