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Radio and Television

Risks are rarely mentioned

Television is doing one horrible job when it comes to talking about safe and responsible sex, according to a survey by the California-based Henry J. Kaiser Foundation.

The study involved more than 1,300 episodes of shows on 10 different broadcast and cable networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, HBO, Lifetime, TNT, USA and an independent Los Angeles station -- viewed between October 1997 and March 1998.

Scenes containing sexual content -- talk about sex or depictions of sexual behavior -- were checked for any mention of the possible risks and responsibilities associated with the behavior. And, not surprisingly, TV didn't score high marks.

In all, 56 percent of the shows surveyed contained sexual content, and only 9 percent addressed the issue of sexual risks and responsibilities. Sitcoms were the worst offenders, with only 3 percent including such warning language; prime-time dramas performed best, with 23 percent addressing the issues.

Better than half of all TV programs -- 56 percent -- contained some sort of sexual content. At the high end were soap operas; 85 percent of the episodes dealt with sex in some way or another (one wonders how 15 percent managed to avoid the subject). At the opposite extreme, only 23 percent of reality-based shows included sexual content, mirroring the fact that television has little problem showing people blowing themselves up or attacking others, but frowns on showing two people really making out.

Sun wire services contributed to this article.

Pub Date: 2/17/99