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- Title
Youth and violence on local television news in California.
- Authors
Dorfman, Lori; Woodruff, Katie; Chavez, Vivian; Wallack, Lawrence
- Abstract
The article explores how local television news structures the public and policy debate on youth violence in California. The distinction between defining violence as a public health issue and defining it as a criminal justice problem is important, since the definition of a problem determines the solutions considered feasible. This study departs from the traditional perspective that televised violence directly affects viewers' behavior, to examine how news stories about violence influence public and policy maker opinion. Most television news stories focus on people or events isolated from broader social conditions and policies. This study is part of a larger effort to prevent violence among youth in California. Given the news media's role in setting policy agendas and framing social issues, researchers wanted to know how youth and violence are portrayed on local television news and whether such coverage includes thematic stories, especially those with a public health perspective. Much more television news is produced locally than nationally, so while this study did not examine what the whole nation was exposed to, it did examine the type of news more viewers are likely to see and believe to be most credible.
- Subjects
YOUTH &; violence; TELEVISION broadcasting of news; PUBLIC health; MASS media &; criminal justice; INFLUENCE; SOCIAL problems
- Publication
American Journal of Public Health, 1997, Vol 87, Issue 8, p1311
- ISSN
0090-0036
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2105/AJPH.87.8.1311