Abstract

With the advent and popularity of Television by the end of 1950s and early 1960s, researchers focused the role and effects of this new medium on its growing audience. Himmelweit and Schramm are considered the pioneer researchers in the field. The volume of scientific studies regarding televised violence was largely increased following the landmark State Reports in US published between 1972 and 1982. These reports indicated that the proliferation of TV has exposed children to media violence at home. However, violence is rarely caused by a single factor, it rather involves multiple factors. Signorielli in her book Violence in the Media rightly commented that television plays a unique role of an entertaining storyteller but the increasing commercialization of TV is a serious matter of concern.1 The objective of this literature review is to provide a holistic overview of the landmark studies conducted on televised violence and its contribution to real life crimes and violence in society.