HEY LOOK! A new PTC Study!!!!!

[SuperJerk 0]

Press Release

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 2, 2006

 

New PTC Study Finds More Violence on Children’s TV than on Adult-Oriented TV

 

Levels of Dark Violence, Sexual Innuendo, Offensive Language Show that Children’s Programs are “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing”

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES (March 2, 2006) – The Parents Television Council released its first study on children’s television titled, “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: A Content Analysis of Children’s Television,” which found that there is more violence on children’s entertainment programming than on adult-oriented television.

 

 

 

Children’s programming has been around as long as television itself, but until recently, it was limited to Saturday mornings or before school. Today, thanks to a handful of cable channels, cartoons and child-targeted programming are available almost around the clock. In fact, few broadcast networks are even offering original Saturday morning children’s programs.

 

 

 

“Parents often take it for granted that children’s programs are, by definition, child-friendly. While a lot of entertainment programming for children is perfectly wholesome, parents nevertheless have to worry about the part of it that isn’t appropriate. This disturbing trend signifies that parents can no longer be confident that their children will not have access to dark violence, sexual innuendo or offensive language on entertainment programming targeted toward children. We do realize that this is probably not a deliberate effort to undermine the social fabric of young children, but this thoughtlessness still produces the same end result,” said L. Brent Bozell, president of the PTC.

 

 

 

For this study, the PTC focused on entertainment programming for school-aged children aged 5-10 on broadcast television and expanded basic cable. Eight networks – four broadcast and four cable – offer programming matching that criteria: ABC, Fox, NBC, WB, ABC Family, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. The PTC focused its analysis on after-school and Saturday morning programming. The analysis covered a three-week period during the summer of 2005 for a total of 443.5 hours of children’s programming. The study did not include children’s educational programming.

 

 

 

The study found:

 

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3,488 incidents of violence for an average of 7.86 instances per hour. [Even when the innocent, “cartoony” violence (i.e. an anvil falling on Wile E. Coyote’s head) is extracted, there were still 2,794 instances of violence for an average of 6.30 instances per hour. According to a 2002 PTC study, the six broadcast networks combined averaged only 4.71 instances of violence per hour during prime time programming.]

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858 incidents of verbal aggression for an average of 1.93 instances per hour

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662 incidents of disruptive, disrespectful or otherwise problematic attitudes and behaviors for an average of 1.49 instances per hour

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275 incidents of sexual content for an average of 0.62 instances per hour

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250 incidents of offensive language for an average of 0.56 instances per hour

 

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Although the Cartoon Network had the highest total number of violent incidents, the ABC Family Channel turned out to pack the most punch-per-program, with 318 instances of violence (only 11 of these could be considered “cartoon” violence) for an average of 10.96 violent incidents per episode.

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The Disney Channel had the least-violent children’s programming with 0.95 incidents per episode.

 

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The WB had the highest levels of offensive language, verbal abuse, sexual content and offensive/excretory references.

 

 

 

Examples of content on child-focused television programming:

 

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VIOLENCE – The influence of Japanese anime on children’s cartoons is quite evident. This very intense scene took place on Fox’s Shaman King: Zeke and Yoh continue fighting. Yoh is knocked down many times and is worn down. Finally, Zeke knocks Yoh’s sword away and then kicks him in the head, knocking him out. Zeke then yanks Yoh off the ground by his hair then reaches into Yoh’s chest. Yoh is screaming. Zeke takes Yoh’s soul and puts it in his own body. Yoh appears dead. [August 13, 2005]

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PROFANE LANGUAGE – During the study period Nickelodeon aired an episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants entitled “Sailor Mouth,” the subject of which is foul language: Innocent Sponge Bob doesn’t understand the dirty word graffiti he sees on a dumpster but Patrick tells him it’s a “sentence enhancer” for when you want to talk fancy. The rest of the episode features Sponge Bob and Patrick using bleeped foul language [“fuck,” “asshole,” etc]. The bleeps are made to sound like a dolphin which makes the whole thing seem humorous. At the end Sponge Bob and Patrick realize the words are bad and promise to never use them again but the episode ends with them telling Momma Krabs the 13 bad words Mr. Krabs has just said. All are punished by Momma Krabs for “talking like sailors.” [August 1, 2005]

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SEXUAL CONTENT – Disney’s Sister, Sister had sexual content falling into a number of categories, from references to pornography to innuendo:

 

Lisa falls down and hurts her back while getting ready for her date. When Terrence gets there, he starts rubbing her back and Lisa moans and groans.

 

Lisa: “Have you ever done this before?”

 

Terrence: “Not with anyone as pretty as you.”

 

Lisa: “You have done this before!”

 

He feeds her a melon and then talks about choosing the best melon.

 

Terrence: “You gotta’ get real close (he moves closer) and feel it. Then you gotta smell it.

 

Lisa: “Mmmmm.”

 

Terrence: “Of course, the skin should be firm but supple.”

 

Lisa: “Just the way I like it.”

 

Terrence: “And it should want to give…”

 

Lisa: “Oh, it wants to give.” [August 27, 2005]

 

 

 

“This new study has found that the violence aimed towards little children is almost double compared to the levels of violent content directed towards families and adults during prime time hours. One might quickly dismiss violence in children’s programming as inconsequential, but what has changed is that the violence is ubiquitous, often sinister, and in many cases, frighteningly realistic,” continued Bozell.

 

 

 

“In addition, one of the more disturbing trends in this study was the amount of adult-oriented subtext that was laced throughout both the animated and live-action programs. Sadly, producers must think that if they can entertain parents with double entendres and innuendo the parents will encourage the children to watch.

 

 

 

“The downward spiral of children’s television must stop. Broadcast and cable networks must be held accountable for allowing such inappropriate content to corrupt our children. We must also hold advertisers responsible for underwriting these messages,” Bozell concluded.

 

http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/...e/2006/0302.asp

 

AP Article which takes the study at face value without once questioning the accuracy of its statistics:

 

Study: Children's TV Studded With Dark Acts

 

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

 

Thursday, March 2, 2006

 

 

(03-02) 18:49 PST New York (AP) --

 

Children's television is studded with violence, much of it darker and more realistic than when an anvil dropped on Wile E. Coyote's head, a watchdog group reported on Thursday.

 

The Parents Television Council analyzed 444 hours of kids' daytime programs last summer and detailed 2,794 violent incidents, even after sifting out "cartoony" moments like those involving the Road Runner. That's 6.3 incidents an hour — more than the PTC found in prime time aimed at adults during a 2002 study.

 

Programs like "Teen Titans" on the Cartoon Network and ABC Family Channel's "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" often feature intense fights with swords, guns and lasers, the group said.

 

It detailed a scene on Fox's "Shaman King" where two characters have a lengthy sword fight. One character is knocked out by a blow to the head, and his opponent reaches into the chest of his screaming rival and pulls out his "soul," leaving him dead.

 

There's nothing wrong with fanciful, fantasy violence, said Brent Bozell, PTC founder. "I grew up with `Tom and Jerry' and I think I'm OK," he said.

 

"Popeye beat up Bluto and you cheered," he said. "That was perfectly fine. Now the protagonists will be caught in dark, powerful, oftentimes scary scenarios where there is hard violence."

 

Violent cartoons can increase children's anxiety, desensitize them or lead them to believe that violence is more prevalent — and acceptable — in real life than it really is, said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center of Media and Children's Health at Harvard University's medical school.

 

Children under age 8 are cognitively unable to distinguish between real and fantasy violence, he said. Rich studied reactions to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and found children much less upset than their parents, perhaps because they couldn't distinguish it from what they saw on TV regularly, said Rich, who endorsed the study.

 

"They will tell you it's only make-believe," he said. "The responses they have to it are exactly the same as the real-life information."

 

The PTC cited the Cartoon Network as having the most violent incidents. The watchdog group also criticized the ABC Family Channel while praising the Disney Channel as the least violent network; both are owned by the Walt Disney Co.

 

Fox and NBC, with more live-action children's shows, scored low on the violence meter.

 

The Cartoon Network, in a statement, said that "we are confident that our standards and practices policies ensure that the programming on our air is age-appropriate. All of our shows undergo several reviews throughout the production process to make sure they are suitable for their intended viewers."

 

The watchdog group also criticized networks for coarsening the dialogue with potty humor and mean-spirited name-calling. There's also been a trend toward mimicking movies in including double-entendres so shows will appeal to both children and adults, their report said.

 

Rich said he didn't expect critical reports like this to change the industry's habits. Only if parents become more aware and reject violent shows will the industry listen, he said.

 

"This should be the age of utter innocence for a child," Bozell said. "Hollywood should do anything within its power to protect that innocence."

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../e141331S76.DTL

[Vampiro69 0]

I know after I watch the road runner cartoons I so wanted to go to Acme and buy an anvil to drop on people I didn't like.

 

I so dislike people like Bozell. Hey parents, try watching shows with your kids instead of using it as a babysitter!

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Well the solution to this problem is clear........... we should get rid of all children's programming.

[AndrewTS 0]

Well the solution to this problem is clear........... we should get rid of all children's programming.

 

 

"At least the Earth programs."

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Children under age 8 are cognitively unable to distinguish between real and fantasy violence, he said. Rich studied reactions to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and found children much less upset than their parents, perhaps because they couldn't distinguish it from what they saw on TV regularly, said Rich, who endorsed the study.

 

Well that's the excuse used when little Bobby stabs his sister with a knife, or when he bodyslams some other kid; they didn't know any better.

 

Curious to know what "sexual content" consists of, not to mention "offensive language."

[Vampiro69 0]

If you look at anything hard enough, almost anything can be construed of having sexual connotations.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

You said "hard".

[SuperJerk 0]

^Quote of the Week.^

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

Y'know, I grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Darkwing Duck, the Power Rangers, Duck Tales, Chip 'N Dale's Rescue Rangers, Tiny Toons, Looney Tunes, and a few years later, Hercules and Xena. I have never sliced anyone with a katana, shot anyone with a gas gun, used a battle ax on a person, jumped into a pile of money, stolen cheese from someone's sandwhich, caused a gigantic tidal wave, dropped an anvil on someone, or ran anyone through with a sword, or throw a discus sorta thingy[chakra?] at someone's throat. I did try chili because of Sonic the Hedgehog though

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Well there you go.

[Cowboy Battlenuts 0]

These are the people who don't believe in remotes right? Not fair, I'm easily as offended by their retardation as they are by violence and sex on TV, if not more so.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Children under age 8 are cognitively unable to distinguish between real and fantasy violence, he said. Rich studied reactions to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and found children much less upset than their parents, perhaps because they couldn't distinguish it from what they saw on TV regularly, said Rich, who endorsed the study.

 

There's a good amount of truth to that.

 

People on this board here are awful onesided on this issue and are using exaggerations to make their byist points. Like it or not, there is a good amount of truth to the PTC article.

 

And the remote control arguement that people use to counter these arguements is extreamly difficult if not impossible to do in real life

[Mole 0]

PROFANE LANGUAGE – During the study period Nickelodeon aired an episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants entitled “Sailor Mouth,” the subject of which is foul language: Innocent Sponge Bob doesn’t understand the dirty word graffiti he sees on a dumpster but Patrick tells him it’s a “sentence enhancer” for when you want to talk fancy. The rest of the episode features Sponge Bob and Patrick using bleeped foul language [“fuck,” “asshole,” etc]. The bleeps are made to sound like a dolphin which makes the whole thing seem humorous. At the end Sponge Bob and Patrick realize the words are bad and promise to never use them again but the episode ends with them telling Momma Krabs the 13 bad words Mr. Krabs has just said. All are punished by Momma Krabs for “talking like sailors.” [August 1, 2005]

Umm didn't they see the point of the episode is to teach kids NOT TO SWEAR.

[Dr. Zaius 0]

Children under age 8 are cognitively unable to distinguish between real and fantasy violence, he said. Rich studied reactions to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and found children much less upset than their parents, perhaps because they couldn't distinguish it from what they saw on TV regularly, said Rich, who endorsed the study.

 

There's a good amount of truth to that.

 

People on this board here are awful onesided on this issue and are using exaggerations to make their byist points. Like it or not, there is a good amount of truth to the PTC article.

 

And the remote control arguement that people use to counter these arguments is extreamly difficult if not impossible to do in real life

It is difficult to understand, in the era of V-chips and TV ratings, why parents need an organization like the PTC to tell them what shows are good for their children. The PTC, of course, has a right to voice their finding and opinions in a public setting, however (more times than not) these findings are used to incite people who already think TV shows are too violent or sexual into voting a certain way, rather than actually monitoring their children more closely. In addition, the idea that violence on TV caused some children to not be as concerned as their parents about 9/11 can be attributed to a multitude of other reasons (children are unfamiliar with the concept of terrorism, unable to grasp the number of victims, general immaturity and self-centeredness especially in regards to teenagers). It is a knee-jerk reaction to blame violence on TV for that. It has been documents time and again that children in other countries who are exposed to American television do not suffer from the alledged desensitization that American children are. The PTC, I feel, is attempting to present a correlation as proof.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

I'll never forgive the PTC for forcing me to have to watch Val Venis, Bull Buchanon, Ivory, and Charles Wright attempt to "work" every week.

[JHawk 0]

I just want to know what the criteria for each category are.

 

Oh, and 95% of the Japanese anime I've seen is not what I would consider to be children's programming in the first place. Did they count South Park while they were at it?

[Cowboy Battlenuts 0]

And the remote control arguement that people use to counter these arguements is extreamly difficult if not impossible to do in real life

 

Almost impossible to use a remote? For who, people with missing digits?

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Wow I guess someone in the PTC finally read Mick Foley's second book and took his rant at the end a little too seriously when he talked about the violence in cartoons.

[Vampiro69 0]

And the remote control arguement that people use to counter these arguements is extreamly difficult if not impossible to do in real life

 

Almost impossible to use a remote? For who, people with missing digits?

 

I heard that the Venus De Millo has a hard time using a remote control.