Ratings Have Some Obvious Inconsistences, Such As Jay and Ratin S System'! Leno's Talk Show Belng a TV-14 and David Letterman's a TV-PG
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CHICACO TRIBUNE CHICRGO. IL UEDNESDRY 664.584 MAR 18 1398 V-chip may mean?:! victory for parents; The TV ratings have some obvious inconsistences, such as Jay and ratin s system'! Leno's talk show belng a TV-14 and David Letterman's a TV-PG. 203L$v sted~~~tinge ratings Content ratings : TV-Y: Ail children S: Sexual content TV-Y7: Age 7 and older eports of the demise of the V: Violence TV-G: General audience television ratings system ought:, L: Offensive ianguage R to carry an "F" label, for fan:. TV-PG: Parental guidance sug- tasy. gested D: Sexually suggestive dialogue Yes, the hodgepodge of letters and, TV-14: Age 14 and older FV: Fantasy violence (for chii- numbers, instituted by the television, TV-MA: Mature audience only dren's programming only) industry under pressure from Con-, . gress and parent-advocacy groups. Meanwhile, the flip side of that ~ostexperts agree that decades The irony is that, after all 1 has been both ignored and derided vaunted AP study is that saying 7 of academic research are clear: furor that resulted in the V-chip since its debut in January 1997 and. of 10 adults don't pay attention to Television violence does have a will soon enough be bypassed refinement last fall. the ratings is like trying to make harmful effect on children. And the better technology. One recent study, conducted by big news out of the fact that 7 of 10 amount of violence in prime time the Associated Press, found that I adults don't buy Pampers, in the and in children's programming has of la adults were paying it little or analogy of Markey. been on the decline, according to a no mind. Many major newspapers, When the questioners asked par- including this one, have not been ents if they were using the ratings major ongoing UCLA study funded publishing the ratings in their to make viewing decisions, 40 per. by the networks. television programming guides. cent said -just about and Even Gerbner allows that it has Parents at a congressional hearing another 22 percent said -some. at least leveled off, although. he in Peoria last suring ripped into the times." says it is not time to rejoice and there is still too much violence of SEERATINGS. PAGE 3 This does not jibe withanecdotal the type he labels "happy vio- reports from TV siations and net. lence," depicted without a serious works, who say they have heard I context or consequences. Ratings almost nothing from the public,/ Meanwhile, the law that went about the ratings. But the lack of into effect last fail mandating a CONTINUEDFROM PAOE1 feedback may .iust.me~that view-, \certain number of hours of educa. original ratings, which only labeled ers have not been strongly. dissatis-, ,tional programming seems to be shows movie.style, based on recom- fied with the ratings, despite such having a positive impact. mended ages for viewers. When the obvious inconsistencies as Jay. here are 30 new shows on TV rest of the industry agreed after Leno's talk show being a TV-14 and since September that would not be Peoria to add content indicators to David Letterman's a TV-PG. there otherwise, says Jeff Chester, the age-based ratings, the most "I think by and large they are executive director of the Center for popular network, NBC, refused to applied carefully and with the Media Education, which lobbied do so. thought they deserve," says David for the law. But all of that has a chance to Kleeman, executive director of the The expanding TV universe has change with the news last week Des Plaines-based American Center made it easier for broadcasters to that the FCC has given the ratings for Children's Television, an advo. prodnce shows that a more the agency's necessary ofFicial seal cacy group. narrow audience. The hurdle for of approval and given television To many observers, all of this is success is not as high as it once manufacturers the technical stan- secondary to the question of the was, which reduces the impulse to dards they need to include in their overall television environment. produce lowest.common.denomina. new sets the V-chips that can make Noted academic critic George tor, mass.market schlock, the ratings effective. Gerbner the V-chiP Counteracting this, though, say Advocates compare ratings with- mostly a "cop out" that protects critics, is the increasing globaliza. out thr V.chip to a car without gas: the industry as it keeps doing what tion of entertainment. ~h~ shows You can't say the.car is a lemon it has been and puts the that translate easiest to other coun- until you've given it a chance to pressure On parents to program tries contain the Universal excitors get off the lot. "Parents with small the new sets. of sex and violence. children will soon have both work- "It's a step in the right direction, ~~l~~i~i~~ratingsis a compli. ing parts of a safety system that but the thing to do is make Pro- cated question, asked at the, inter- provides a little control for a grams more fair and .more sectionoffreespeech,artandcom- change," says U.S. Rep. Ed Markey diverse," says Gerbner,'Bell Atlan merce. ~utthe FCC move of last (D., Mass.), the leading congressio- tic Professor of Telecommunication week at least puts the ratings into nal proponent of the V-chip and at Temjle University and director forward motion again. ,. the man who coined the term. ofmii fiEEFZfiiZG€ofs Project, Now newspapers that we& wait- And the force of law plus mar- which has been monitormg prime- ing for the official sanction have to keting realities-TV makers now time network television program- decide if and how to start incopo- have to include the chips, 'and they ming for more tQan 30 Years. rating the labels. Now broadcast- want to sell people new sets-mean A recent Gerbner study of.50 ers-especially holdouts NBC and the chig-and-ratings pairing will hours of prime-time Programming cable's BET-will begin to see get a fair test in the marketplace. foundthat even in programs rated whether the V-chip and ratings Look for pre-Christmas ads to TV-G, for all audiences, there were have an economic impact on them. push V-chipequipped sets and set- an average of 2.4 violent acts Per And parents will be able to vote top boxes hard. hour, compared to 4.1 acts in TV- with their wallets on whether they The boxes, which resemble cable- PG and 3.6 in TV-14 shows. really want the kind of TV control' signal boxes, should be in stores More helpful, he found, were the that they tell pollsters they do. much, much sooner, certainly by content descriptors. Shows labeled And if they do prove to want the time the broadcasters start with a V for violence contained that control, if they do buy the new including the ratings not just as on- about three times the violence as V-chip devices, they will be able to screen labels but as part of the sig shows not bearing that label. punch a few buttons and feel they nal they send out. This develop- But still, despite the proliferation are doing something positive. ment, which will actually allow of randy dialog and formerly for- "Now in some sense it's sort of people to use the V-chip to block bidden words, d spite Jerry Spring- classic media economics," says shows bearing certain ratings, is er and the "Miglty Morphin Power Chester. "Let the viewer beware. expected to occur within 90 days. Rangers," there are signs that the The viewers have to exercise their TV environment for children is choice." improving where it counts most. MIAMI HERALD MIAMI, FL SUNDAY 523,735 APR 5 1998 TV, movies,- videos hc~aardkids; parents fret ..T,.e txt3.:.J L! IMAGES UNLEASHEel: Exam- By TERRY JACKSON - N SHOWS- - . KIDS - LIKE- - MOST... 16A Herald Televlslon Critic .??~:q- L?c VIDEO GAMES GETVIOLENT. IIA ples of violent viewing, clock- Concerned about the violence TIPS FOR FAMILY NVIEWING, 17A wise from top left, include the your children see on TV,in the mov- ies, on their computer screens, in the video game Resident Evil(the old are accused of setting a fatal trap 'uncut, more gore' version); video arcade? for classmates and a teacher. a Many parents are. And you may Though what set off thaf schqol- warrior in the film Starship worry that repeated exposure to vio- yard tragedy isn't known, 1s ralslng Troopers; creature in the lent entertainment could make your it a new questions about gun control, the video game Quake; a pistol- children more aggressive, or more challenges of parenting today - and prone to using violence to solve the impact of violence in all forms of packin' character in the video problems, or just plain fearful of life media. game Laura,Croft a scene from because of a warped perspective they "What happened in Jonesboro the could be getting from the media. TV's Brook@n South. Parents other day was two boys playing the have a variety of tools to control For many, such fears grow in the ultimate video game," said Florida face of horrific incidents like the their kids' media diet, but many shooting spree in Jonesboro, Ark., ~p aren't using them. -a where an I 1-year-old and a Ifyear- PLEASESEE VIOLENCE, l6A VIOLENCE, FROM 1A Researchers like Dr.