IN THIS, THE FIRST VOLUME IN A SERIES OF SEVEN, THE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON VIOLENCE IN THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY ARE GIVEN. THE COMMISSION WAS EMPOWERED TO STUDY THE EFFECTS ON SOCIETY OF THE INCREASING EXHIBITION OF VIOLENCE IN THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY, DETERMINE IF THERE IS ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN THIS PHENOMENON AND THE INCREASE OF VIOLENT CRIME IN SOCIETY, AND MAKE APPROPRIATE RECOMMENDATIONS. THE GROUP HELD 61 PUBLIC HEARINGS ACROSS CANADA IN 1976 AND COMMISSIONED 28 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROGRAMS IN THE COURSE OF ITS INVESTIGATIONS. IT CONCLUDED THAT VIOLENCE IN NEWSPAPERS AND IN RADIO AND TELEVISION NEWSCASTS TENDED TO BE SELF-CORRECTING. IN GENERAL, THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR EDITORIAL POLICY REALIZED THAT A BALANCED PICTURE NEEDED TO BE PRESENTED, AND GOOD TASTE GENERALLY PREVAILED. A SIMILAR SELF-CENSORING POLICY DOMINATED TELECASTS OF HOCKEY GAMES, WITH INDICENTS OF VIOLENCE BEING SHOWN ONLY AS THEY OCCURRED AND NOT IN REPLAYS. THE MAJOR PROBLEMS WERE WITH TELEVISION PROGRAMS AND FILMS ORIGINATING IN THE UNITED STATES. THESE WERE EXCESSIVELY VIOLENT. BECAUSE PRINTS OF OLD U.S. PROGRAMS WERE INEXPENSIVE, SUCH MATERIAL ALSO TENDED TO DOMINATE BOTH CABLE TELEVISION AND LOCAL STATION PROGRAMMING. PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED INDICATED THAT CANADIANS OBJECT NOT ONLY TO THE VIOLENCE BUT TO THE LACK OF MATERIAL ABOUT CANADA. THE LOCALLY PRODUCED FRENCH-LANGUAGE PROGRAMS DRAW THE LARGEST AUDIENCES OF ANY CANADIAN PROGRAMMING. EVEN THOUGH THE VIOLENCE CONTENT IS LOW. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT TELEVISION CANADA PRODUCE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE MATERIALS WITH SIMILAR INTEREST. COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE: (1) A MOVIE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM TO LIMIT VIOLENT AND SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MATERIALS TO AUDIENCES OVER 18; (2) MORE LOCALLY PRODUCED PROGRAMS REFLECTING ALL FACETS OF CANADIAN LIFE; (3) CONSIDERATION OF VIOLENCE IN PROGRAMMING WHEN RENEWING BROADCAST LICENSES; (4) MORE PROGRAMMING FOR YOUTH AND MORE ATTENTION TO PROGRAMMING DURING TIMES WHEN CHILDREN WATCH; (5) LESS VIOLENCE IN FILM ADVERTISEMENTS; (6) AN OMBUDSMAN TO HANDLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT MEDIA VIOLENCE; AND (7) AN EXAMINATION OF TEXTS AND REQUIRED READING MATERIALS IN SCHOOLS. MEDIA VIOLENCE IS NOT SEEN AS THE CAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN VIOLENT CRIME, HOWEVER, THE REPORT SUGGESTS THAT IT CONTRIBUTES TO AN ATMOSPHERE WHICH MAKES SUCH VIOLENCE SEEM MORE ACCEPTABLE. THE REPORT ALSO CONTAINS A SURVEY OF MEDIA CONTENT IN 16 COUNTRIES, PRESENTED IN BOTH CHART AND NARRATIVE FORM; RESULTS OF THE 28 SEPARATE STUDIES; A LIST OF COOPERATING RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS; AND RESULTS OF THE PUBLIC HEARINGS. FOR VOLUMES 2-7, SEE NCJ 45862-45867. (GLR)