"If it bleeds, it leads." The phrase captures television news directors'
famed preference for opening newscasts with the most violent stories
they can find. And what is true for news is often true for entertainment
programming, where violence is used as a product to attract both viewers
and sponsors. In this book, James Hamilton presents the first major
theoretical and empirical examination of the market for television
violence.
Hamilton approaches television violence in the same way that other
economists approach the problem of pollution: that is, as an example of
market failure. He argues that television violence, like pollution,
generates negative externalities, defined as costs borne by others than
those involved in the production activity. Broadcasters seeking to
attract viewers may not fully bear the costs to society of their violent
programming, if those costs include such factors as increased levels of
aggression and crime in society. Hamilton goes on to say that the
comparison to pollution remains relevant when considering how to deal
with the problem. Approaches devised to control violent programming,
such as restricting it to certain times and rating programs according to
the violence they contain, have parallels in zoning and education
policies designed to protect the environment.
Hamilton examines in detail the microstructure of incentives that
operate at every level of television broadcasting, from programming and
advertising to viewer behavior, so that remedies can be devised to
reduce violent programming without restricting broadcasters' right to
compete.
