This short article from the Wall Street Journal is interesting (found via the Freakonomics Blog):
The study, titled “Bad Company,” looked at the top 12 TV dramas during May and November in 2005, ranging from crime shows like “CSI” to the goofy “Desperate Housewives.” Out of 39 episodes that featured business-related plots, the study found, 77% advanced a negative view of the world of commerce and its practitioners.
On the various “Law & Order” shows, for instance, almost 50% of felonies–mostly murders–were committed by businessmen. In almost all of the primetime programs, when private-sector protagonists showed up, they were usually doing something unethical, cruel or downright criminal.
It’s kind of interesting to me, because I watch those shows all the time and never noticed.
