Violence on canadian television networks.
BACKGROUND
Over the past twenty years, the question of the effects of violence on television has figured prominently in public opinion and hundreds of studies have been devoted to this subject. Many researchers have determined that violence has a negative impact on behavior. The public, broadcasters and political figures all support the idea of reducing the total amount of violence on television - in particular in shows for children. A thousand programs aired between 1993 and 2001 on major non-specialty television networks in Canada were analyzed: TVA, TQS, as well as CTV and Global, private French and English networks, as well as the English CBC Radio and French Radio-Canada for the public networks.


METHODS
The methodology consists of a classic analysis of content where an act of violence constitutes a unit of analysis.


RESULTS
The data collected revealed that the amount of violence has increased regularly since 1993 despite the stated willingness on the part of broadcasters to produce programs with less violence. The total number of violent acts, as well as the number of violent acts per hour, is increasing. Private networks deliver three times more violence than public networks. Researchers have also noted that a high proportion of violence occurs in programs airing before 21:00 hours, thereby exposing a large number of children to this violence.


CONCLUSIONS
Psychological violence is taking on a more significant role in Canadian Television.
Paquette
Guy
G
Centre d'éudes sur les médias, Département d'information et de communication, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy (Québec) G1K 7P4.