All rights reserved. Prime time television portrayals of government are becoming more positive, as are portrayals of its representatives in elected office and the civil service, according to a study released today by the Council for Excellence in Government and its Partnership for Trust in Government, with support from the Ford Foundation. The West Wing was directly responsible for giving elected officials the second most improved image the study recorded among all occupations. The proportion of positive roles increased by eight percentage points and raised public officials from dead last in the occupational rankings in the 1990s to twelfth currently. Civil servants had the most improved image of any group other than medical doctors.
Law enforcement remains the most visible part of government in prime time.
Half of all government employees portrayed on television today are peace officers. Previous research has shown that the American public does believe that the images of government they see on entertainment television are true. Television can be an important and powerful civics teacher for viewers of all ages. S. Robert Lichter, President of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, directed the study, which examined 161 episodes from all 122 fictional prime time series that aired on the four major broadcast networks during the past two seasons. Individual characters and thematic treatments of government are getting better.