BROADCASTERS PRESSED TO BRING BACK CODE ON DECENT CONTENT
Broadcasters were pressured Wed. to bring back a code of conduct that would include cable, to police programming. “I think they need to do their own voluntarily code of conduct,” said Sen. Brownback (R-Kan.) at the closed-door NAB Summit on Responsible Programming: “It’s something that I pushed the industry for years to do. They haven’t. I think they need to do that again.”
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Brownback said he was glad to see the Ad Council and 4 networks volunteer to air public service announcements (PSAs) to educate parents about the programming blocking device, the V-Chip (CD March 30 p10). “But, rather than warning people that the river is polluted, why not just take the pollution out? I hope that would just stop the culture pollution,” Brownback said.
The broadcast code of conduct, which was thrown out by the Justice Dept. in 1982, could be tossed out again, suggested one TV executive at the Summit: “Who knows? There’s a lot of talk about many options.”
Broadcasters want self-regulation. “The industry is doing their darnedest to clean up, to self-police themselves so there is some good coming from this” event, said Rep. Stupak (D-Mich.) Stupak said broadcasters didn’t “appreciate” his suggestion about looking at the number of indecency violations before the FCC at license renewal time. “My reaction from the NAB today was that it was not necessarily reasonable to do that, but I think it is,” Stupak told reporters.
The 350 Summit attendees -- the top network executives, the FCC and other govt. officials -- looked at voluntary options including adopting a central code or individual codes, such as Clear Channel’s “zero tolerance” efforts. “I think there will be something tangible coming out of this,” NAB Pres. Eddie Fritts told us: “Whether we jump to a code immediately is a giant step. This is a good faith effort in the context of Congress moving forward with legislation.”
Parents TV Council Pres. Brent Bozell said he was encouraged: “Never in my entire career have I seen such a broad coalition.” But he questioned whether broadcasters would abide by any code once the spotlight is off them. He noted the 1973 family hour had lasted a year.
Attendees said cable and satellite should be part of the indecency discussion. “I can see it being added on in conference and I think there wouldn’t be any objections from the House,” Stupak said. FCC Comr. Copps agreed, saying 85% of homes get their TV signals from cable and satellite. “And let’s not forget that cable and DBS make liberal use of the people’s spectrum too and this incurs an obligation to serve the public interest.” Copps called upon Fritts and NCTA Pres. Robert Sachs to conduct a more-inclusive industry summit on indecency.
The issues of sexual and violent content could easily get to the courts because hard data are accumulating on effects of kids’ consuming violent and sexual material, Brownback warned. “Given the hard science that we are starting to see, the brain mapping work on the impact of violent sexual material on kids… is quite condemning. The most egregious cases probably would be the ones that would come up first.” But he said it shouldn’t have to come to that.
Common Sense Media suggested the NAB support a national media literacy campaign “designed to give young consumers the tools they need to lessen media’s potentially harmful side- effects,” said Common Sense CEO Jim Steyer: “And the NAB should immediately address the question of their obligations under the Children’s TV Act, which they have ignored for years.”
Meanwhile, the Senate has begun negotiating time agreements on a number of amendments to indecency legislation (S-2056) and hopes issues will be hashed out next week, Brownback said. But the bill will likely not hit the floor before the Senate breaks April 9, he said. Companion bill HR-3717 already passed the House (CD March 12 p1). Decency legislation could be enacted this year, several industry executives said. “Personally, I believe that the chances of a bill going through, getting signed this year is probably better than 50-50,” Stupak said.