Dale Kunkel et al.

Dale Kunkel is a professor of communication at the University of California and a senior researcher of the National Television Violence Study (NTVS), a three—year study begun in 1994. Below, Kunkel and seven other researchers who worked on the NTVS give their recommendations to the television industry, policymakers, and parents on how to reduce the potential negative effects of media violence on society. They call on the TV industry to provide less violent programming and to incorporate antiviolence themes into shows, and for policymakers to support further research on the issue. However, they contend that the best way to deal with television violence is for parents to watch television with their children and teach them to critically evaluate its content.

THE RECENT POLITICAL DEBATE SURROUNDING the topic of television violence is...