Studies conducted by Professor George Gerbner and his associates at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that people who are heavy television viewers, including viewers of television news shows, believe their communities are much more dangerous than do light television viewers. Television news, in other words, tends to frighten people. The question is, "Ought they to be frightened?" which is to ask, "Is the news an accurate portrayal of where we are as a society?" which leads to another question, "is it possible for daily news to give such a picture?", Many journalists believe it is possible. Some are skeptical. The early twentieth-century journalist Lincoln Steffens proved that he tould create a "crime wave" any time he wanted by simply writing about all the crimes that normally occur in a large city during I the course of a month. He could also end the crime wave by not writing I about them. If crime waves can be "manufactured" by journalists, then how accurate are news shows in depicting the condition of a society? Besides, I murders, rapes, and fires (even unemployment figures) are not the only way I to assess the progress (or regress) of a society. Why are there so few television stories about symphonies that have been composed, novels written, scientific I problems solved, and a thousand other creative acts that occur during the I course of a month? Were television news to be filled with these events, we would not be frightened. We would, in fact, be inspired, optimistic, cheerful.