ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 9, 1996 TAG: 9604090107
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
More than two-thirds of Americans believe television contributes to violence, erodes family values and fosters a distrust of government, according to a poll released Saturday.
The public also is deeply troubled about increasingly graphic portrayals of sex during prime time, said the poll in this week's U.S. News & World Report.
Nearly 80 percent of Hollywood executives questioned by mail in a separate survey agreed there was a link between TV violence and violence in real life, but they were not nearly as concerned about TV's role in other social problems.
Fifty-three percent of the executives said TV contributed to distrust of government, and 46 percent thought it contributed to the decline of family values. Thirty-four percent believe TV played some role in America's divorce rate.
Eighty-four percent of the general public said they were concerned about the relationship of extramarital sex on TV and real-life problems. In contrast, 43 percent of the Hollywood executives said they were concerned.
Seventy-five percent of the public said they were concerned about the portrayal of passionate encounters and heavy kissing on TV, compared with 28 percent of Hollywood leaders.
When asked about the solutions they would favor, 95 percent of both groups agreed that parental supervision was the most important step, the magazine said.
LENGTH: Short : 37 linesby CNB