SATURDAY LETTERS / TV RIOT COVERAGE : Sensational TV Gets Blame for Violence

Roger Bell, KABC news director, was quoted in “News Directors: We Made the Right Call” (May 9) as saying: “The actions of people who do something based on what they see is their responsibility, not ours.”

On first blush, there seems to be some obvious logic and merit to that position. However, there is an aspect of media impact that I think has been too long overlooked. That is that the human mind is such that it is very susceptible to the power of suggestion. And even when you tell it not to think about or do something, it very often does the very thing it was told not to do.

For example, notice what your mind does with the instruction: “Do not think of a pink elephant.” Most people get a picture of a pink elephant to not think about. In other words, the mind is so logical that, in order not to do something, it must first create that something, so that it can then correctly follow instructions by “not” doing it.

The constant barrage of violence and lawlessness that we see in the movies and in the typical daily news broadcast, in my opinion, is a major cause of perpetuating that kind of behavior.

The media ought to start thinking less in terms of “scooping” disasters and more in terms of reporting good and positive news that gives people hope and positive visions to pursue and emulate.

ALLEN M. ROSENTHAL

Marina del Rey