Zens are protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Many people feel that this right is often exercised too freely on television. Whether this is true or not is a large controversy.
Although most people believe in speaking their minds on television, it is also understood by most people that freedom of speech can be carried too far. This is kind of ironic because the constitution says that US citizens can say whatever they’d like to say whenever they’d like to say it. Violence is something that a lot of people have a problem with when they see it displayed on their television sets. It hasn’t been determined if television causes people to act violently or if violent people watch a lot of television (Sensational TV 34), but many viewers believe violence is wrong just the same. Researchers are, however, studying the effect television has on grown adults. To do this, they need to look back to the adults’ childhood.
Researchers believe that people will see over 100,000 acts of simulated violence in their childhood (Sensational TV 46). The problem with freedom of speech and television isn’t only on the viewers’ side. The people who are on television have problems also. On April 16, 1996, Oprah Winfrey said some things on her talk show about beef that may have led her audience to become scared to eat certain cattle products. Oprah didn’t think this was a big deal but realized her mistake when she was sued for $11 million for causing a decrease in cattlemen’s marketing of beef.
Oprah won the court case because she hadn’t really done anything wrong. She was simply telling her audience some simple stories and sharing information about the infamous mad cow disease. Another incident occurred when an emu rancher in East Texas claimed that a 1997 television commercial referred to emus as meat. In the commercial, a man named Joe, who was going to an emu ranch, was told that emus were the pork of the future. Buckeye Egg Farm is suing because the commercial says emus are meat, and they’ve been accused of repackaging old eggs. All of the problems with freedom of speech on television can be prevented and controlled. The V-Chip is one thing that is being used to help control what children see on television.
The V-Chip is one of President Clinton’s most prized operations. It helps put the remote control back in the parents’ hands. Another solution to the problem is the Children’s Television Act of 1996. This act told broadcasters that they needed to be more aware of children’s educational needs in their programs. In conclusion, many people appear on television daily, and they need to be responsible for what they say.
Although you have the right to say whatever you want, you may be harming others by saying certain things.
