" Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press"(1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution). Conversely, there should be a limit to these freedoms granted by the constitution when they are pushed too far. In the past forty years, sociologists have researched, government officials have studied, and many consumers have worried about how violence in the media affects society. Most of the studies done to date concluded that there is some correlation between media violence and societal violence. Nevertheless, the violence displayed on television today has significantly contributed to the problem of aggressive and delinquent children.
Today the average American home has more media-gathering technology than a state-of-the-art newsroom did 10 years ago (Leon, 3). Originally the television was created to inform people on the national and local levels. Gradually, television has developed into one of America's most popular entertainment sources. As a result, the numbers of families investing in televisions increased. Along with that, the number of children watching increased. The media and television networks are aware that the young audience is the most vulnerable. Companies know that kids are the jackpot if they are trying to cash in. Unfortunately, the networks attract the young viewers through shows containing sex and violence. Kids are not interested in modern television if these two elements are not included in their programming. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a report in September 2000 that found that most adult-rated shows, films, music and video games were marketed to children ("Television Content"). The networks know if this is included it means a larger audience; of course this guarantees higher ratings, and more revenue for the network. Early television programming was relatively low in violence with only an estimated 8 percent focusing on violence (Leon, 160).
