TV / RESEARCH: Romanian TV Shows Have Bad Influence on Children

Romanian TV Shows Have Bad Influence on Children

UNICEF Romania, the National Audiovisual Council (NAC) and the Centre for Media Studies and New Communication Technologies at the University of Bucharest today launched a study on TV violence and its effects on children.

The report gives a clear picture of violent content in TV programmes and makes a classification of the frequency, duration and intensity of violent scenes that can be seen on different TV channels. The research aims at making the general public aware of the impact media violence has on children and the responsibility of the family, the school and the mass-media to protect young viewers.

A number of TV channels – TVR1, ProTV, Acasă, Antena 1, Antena 3, Realitatea TV, Prima TV, OTV, Cartoon Network, Jetix and Minimax – were studied. Results show that the average number of violent scenes that can be watched in one hour of TV broadcast (excluding commercials and promo images) varies from 9 on TVR1 to 23.4 on ProTV. Cartoon networks recorded even higher values, varying from 20 violent scenes on Minimax to 37 on Jetix.

OTV channel was found to have the longest duration of violent acts on the air: 22.6 of 60 broadcast minutes (excluding commercials and promo images). At the opposite end, we find Acasa TV, with 3.6 minutes.

An act of violence lasts an average of 60 seconds on OTV (the highest value recorded) and 20 seconds on Prima TV (the lowest value recorded). As far as cartoon networks are concerned, the average duration of a violent scene is of 15 seconds on Cartoon Network, 11 seconds on Jetix and 10 seconds on Minimax.

“NAC will show zero tolerance to any deviation from audio visual legislation on TV/radio stations, especially since some channels might think of adding violent content to their shows for the purpose of boosting their audience during the economic crisis” declared Răsvan Popescu, President of NAC.

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