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For almost 15 years, I have been straddling the fence between the medical profession and the public that consumes its services. My position as a onetime practicing physician and a current communica...

In response to our call for letters on television violence we received more than 1500 letters from readers of the Journal. Seventy-two per cent of the leading television advertisers responded to a subsequent letter requesting a description of their policies regarding content of the programs they sponsor. Their responses included exculpating factors such as lack of control over programming, the limited amount of available advertising time and censorship. We presented these responses to network representatives. They commented on the difficulty in defining violence, the current decrease in the amount of violence shown and their activities in response to this issue. We maintain that the burden of proof that television violence does no harm lies with those who introduce it into society. Advertisers and networks will respond, we believe, to the problem of television violence if continuous public pressure is maintained. (N Engl J Med 296:424–427, 1977)