James T. Hamilton

About the author: James T. Hamilton is a professor of public policy, economics, and political science at Duke University and the author of Channeling Violence:

The Economic Market for Violent Television Programming. Television programmers and advertisers purposely feature violence in their programming to attract viewers—mostly males ages eighteen to thirty-four. In doing so they unintentionally expose children to adult-themed violence. In this respect, TV violence is similar to the problem of pollution: The manufacturers of this toxic violence do not intend to harm society with it, but neither do they take responsibility for its effects. Communities and the government must take action to limit the harmful effects that this industrial pollution has on children's cultural environment.

Editor's note: The following remarks were presented to the Senate Committee on Commerce...