The relative effectiveness of real news violence and fictional entertainment violence was assessed in an experiment with pre-adolescents. One group saw a brief fight scene portrayed as a news story in a simulated TV newscast, while a second group saw the same scene presented as a movie preview during a commercial break. The primary dependent variable was hypothetical situational aggressiveness, measured with self-report hierarchical response scales. The reality treatment produced significantly more aggression than the fantasy treatment; both types of violence significantly increased aggression above the baseline for the non-exposed control condition. Interaction analyses indicated that the perceived reality of the presentation was the key factor facilitating effects on aggression. The findings suggest that realistic televised violence is more disinhibiting than fictional violence and that TV news programs have a distinct potential for producing aggressive behavior among young viewers. (Authors)