Cases of drinking and driving on U.S. prime-time television programs over an eight-year period are described and analyzed. They are also judged according to criteria developed within the industry. Some stories are rated as consonant with public health education, some are not. Central criteria for analysis involve the portrayed consequences of DWI, the way humor is used, and the potential for identification between TV characters and viewers. Recent episodes have reduced the stereotyping found earlier and have presented the greater complexity and subtlety as well as the everyday nature of DWI.
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