The filth just keeps flying in the "family hour" of broadcast television, according to one conservative group, with Americans watching more sex, violence and profanity than ever. A study by the
Parents Television Council claims that instances of violence during family-hour broadcasts have jumped by 52.4 percent since its last such survey in 2001.
Sex isn't as prevalent; the
group finds objectionable behavior up just 22.1%. "In the past six years, the family hour has become even more hostile to children and families," says the PTC. It looked at programs originally aired
during three two-week periods of the 2006-2007 television season on major broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, CW, Fox and My Network TV.
It says it counted 2,246 instances of sex,
violence and/or profanity in 180 hours of original programming -- roughly one instance every five minutes. The PTC labels Fox network the "worst offender," with an average of 20.78 such instances an
hour, while CW was the least objectionable, with only 9.44. While the group says broadcasters and advertisers had tried to "clean up" the family hour after the 2001 study, "that initial encouragement
was short-lived."
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