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Business & Media Institute

 



Bad Company

 For American Businessmen,
Primetime is Crimetime

     This is the first in a three-part look at how the American businessman is portrayed in both the entertainment and news media. The Business & Media Institute also plans to examine how businessmen are characterized on the silver screen and in TV news.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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     The entertainment industry boasts it provides but a depiction of reality. In the real world, is the average businessman a murderer, kidnapper and/or philandering backstabber? If not, why is this the way the businessman is portrayed on television? In the world of entertainment TV, businessmen pose a greater threat than the mob.

     Almost 10 years ago, the Media Research Center’s Business & Media Institute published “Businessmen Behaving Badly,” which found that businessmen on TV committed more crimes than any other demographic. In this new study, BMI looked at 129 episodes from 12 top-rated dramas on the four networks: ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. These broadcasts were picked from two “sweeps” months in 2005 – May and November – when networks try to attract the largest audiences to maximize ad dollars.

     In this look at primetime, BMI found:

  • TV Overwhelmingly Negative toward Business: Negative plots about business and businessmen outnumbered positive ones by almost 4-to-1. Of the 39 episodes that included business-related plots or characters, 30 (77 percent) cast businessmen and commerce in a negative light.
     

  • Businessmen Are Villains, Not Heroes: When businessmen appeared on TV, they were up to no good. Only NBC’s “Medium” and “Las Vegas” featured businessmen in a consistently positive light.
     

  • TV Businessmen a Greater Threat to Society than Terrorists or Gangs: According to primetime TV, you are 21 times more likely to be kidnapped or murdered at the hands of a businessman than the mob. Businessmen also committed crimes five times more often than terrorists and four times more often than gangs.
     

  • Businessmen Almost as Likely to Commit a Serious Felony as Career Criminals: Businessmen turned up as kidnappers or murderers almost as often (21 times) as hardened criminals like drug dealers, child molesters and serial killers put together (23 times).
     

  • “Law & Order” Franchise Finds Businessmen Guilty: In the three popular NBC shows – “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” – almost 50 percent of the felonies (13 of 27) – mostly murders – were committed by businessmen.
     

  • “Desperate” Dating at Work: The ABC drama “Desperate Housewives” portrayed the office as a glorified dating service. Each office environment during the study period featured co-workers sleeping together, lying or risking adultery for the sake of advancement.
     

  • The Worst Network: CBS was the worst of the four networks, offering up far more business criminals than private-sector heroes. Shows like “Cold Case,” “CSI: NY,” and “NCIS” stacked the deck against businessmen.
     

  • Best in Show: It’s ironic that network executives had to travel to the gambling and showgirl capital of America – Las Vegas – to portray business in a positive way. But NBC’s show of the same name used this positive narrative to counter “Law & Order’s” cynical portrayal of business.

    BMI Recommends:

         While Hollywood’s exaggeration of criminal businessmen might be good for the networks, it is bad for America. Research has shown the negative messages of TV can impact the attitudes of young viewers. The constant parade of criminal CEOs and murdering MBAs on television can create a climate of mistrust in a basic institution of society. Network executives have a responsibility not to tear down the free enterprise system – the very system that enables their networks to succeed. To that end, BMI has the following recommendations:
     

  • Feature Offices that Reflect Reality: As crazy as Hollywood offices might be, TV writers and producers aren’t likely to be surrounded by murdering businessmen. The average workplace isn’t like that either.
     

  • Feature Crimes that Reflect Reality: Are the prisons really filled with as many businessmen as they are career criminals? If art is to imitate life, portrayals of people dealing with normal work situations should find their way into entertainment.
     

  • Show Business Heroes: Heroes don’t have to be just policemen and social workers. Private-sector businessmen help society as well. Businessmen, innovators and risk takers shouldn’t be cast mainly as criminals, cheats and philanderers.