MUNCIE, Ind. -- Talking "dirty" at work is not considered acceptable behavior, but the television newsroom may be an exception.

"Newsrooms are frequently populated with young, outgoing and outspoken people," said Bob Papper, telecommunications professor at Ball State University. "The positive energy that produces lively debates and creative television can also produce tasteless jokes and the kind of sexual banter that can lead to trouble."

Papper and fellow Ball State professor Michael Gerhard interviewed news professionals nationwide to determine how common dirty talk is in the newsroom and what the industry is doing about it. The research, completed for the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), revealed news staffs knew a problem existed.

Most news directors and staff acknowledged the jokes and comments, Papper said.

"They identified several main reasons why they think we have so much sexual banter in the newsroom," he said. "Age is part of it---a lack of maturity, some would argue. Many newsrooms, especially smaller ones, are loaded with highly charged young people right out of school."

The lure of the glamorized news industry brings in an especially boisterous crowd to the business, he said. As one news director noted, the illusions are soon shattered.

"By about your tenth body bag you figure out this business is not terribly glamorous," said Perry Boxx, KTNV-TV in Las Vegas. "You develop these defense mechanisms, like emergency personnel do, so you can cope with seeing these things and dealing with trauma, misery and human suffering every day." The unstructured nature of the newsroom and the stress of deadlines might also paint the newsroom blue.

Whatever the reason, newsrooms talk the talk.

Jill Geisler, former news director at WITI-TV in Milwaukee and now with the Poynter Institute, said the responsibility for the culture and climate of the newsroom falls on the news director.

"If the news director is doing it, it's the mother of all problems," she said. "If the news director is allowing it, then it's the mother-in-law of all problems."

What are news directors doing to change the newsroom culture?

"Nothing beats a great set of rules," Papper said. "A newsroom is considerably less likely to have a problem if it has a written policy about sexual harassment---if everyone is given and reads and reviews that policy---and you follow it religiously."

Many news directors said they had done just that, but had not had many real problems.

Papper said the climate is definitely shifting.

"It's hard to determine whether the atmosphere is changing with the times or whether it's simply changing for some of the people as they age," Papper said. "There's been a dramatic rise in the number of women running newsrooms, but there's no hard evidence that it's led to a kinder and gentler newsroom."

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information about this story contact Lori Rader at 765-285-1560 or lrader@bsu.edu.)