Broadcasting of violence on Spanish television: a quantitative panorama

Abstract

A quantitative analysis of broadcasted violence by the main television (TV) channels transmitting for Madrid (Spain) was carried out using a novel method that randomly selects fragments of delimited duration from TV broadcasts. The device selects acts of aggression shown in those TV extracts, and classifies them according to their type. There was a high incidence of aggressive acts, especially physical (particularly leading to death), in TV fiction: films, serials and promos. The device also allowed examination of the prominence of aggression in children's programs, as well as showing minimal variation in the number of aggressive acts over screened time intervals. The pattern of the collected data suggests that the broadcasting of violence on TV emphasizes the conflicting elements of social reality, reproducing it in fiction, news reports and children's shows. Aggr. Behav. 32:137-145. 2006.

Gender Differences in the Representation of Violence on Spanish Television: Should Women be More Violent?

“…From this material, we selected those episodes and aggressive acts that contained violence, according to the definition by Fernández-Villanueva et al (2006). Each one of these episodes (minimal units of meaning) may contain several aggressive acts, which are intentional behaviors causing harm, as stated before.…”

Los espectadores ante la violencia televisiva: funciones, efectos e interpretaciones situadas

“…Cada bloque duraba unos 11 minutos. Como consecuencia de investigaciones previas (Fernández-Villanueva et al, 2004, 2006a, 2006b se determinó que las variables más relevantes de la violencia para seleccionar los fragmentos son su grado de realidad (Ficción vs Imágenes reales) y el tipo de violencia (Física vs Social). Para evitar cualquier efecto debido al orden de presentación y al fragmento concreto se prepararon dos "bloques" de fragmentos, cada uno de ellos con contenidos distintos y con el orden de presentación alternado (ver tabla 1).…”