Senate Holds Hearing on Violence in Media

Sept. 13, 2000 -- Some unusual political bedfellows joined forces in Washington today to take shots at the entertainment industry.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, and Lynne Cheney, former chairwoman of the National Endowment of the Humanities and the wife of Republican vice-presidential candidate Dick Cheney, were among those participating in a Senate Commerce Committee hearing about media violence.

The committee’s chairman, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona — who made a spirited presidential bid himself earlier this year — led off the hearings by blasting the film industry for failing to send the heads of any movie studios to testify at the hearings.

McCain said he could only conclude that the executives were “too ashamed or unable to defend their products” to appear.

The senator added that industry claims to be shielding adult content from minors through the ratings system were “nothingbut a smoke screen to provide cover for immoral and unconscionablebusiness practices.”

Lieberman said the movie, music and video-game industries had provided a “toxic mix” that had affected children and young adults and “turned some of them into killers” in the process.

“We are saying to Hollywood, work with with us and America’s parents,” Lieberman said. “Help us meet our shared obligation to protect our children and our country.”

And Cheney attacked the film and music industries, singling out the rapper Eminem for criticism and urging all lyrics to be included in compact discs.

But Danny Goldberg, the president of Artemis Records, claimed in his testimony that much of the criticism was misguided, saying government intervention in to the entertainment industry “makes about as much sense as asking Hollywood to restructure health care.”

Report and Politics Mix

The hearings come on the heels of a harsh Federal Trade Commission report claiming the entertainment industry has been peddling adult material to underageaudiences.

The FTC report, commissioned by President Clinton after the 1999 Columbine killings in Colorado, decried the entertainment industry’s “pervasiveand aggressive marketing” of adult material — such as R-ratedmovies or video games intended for mature audiences — to children.

Lieberman and McCain both backed a measure last year requesting the report.

In the meantime, the two major presidential campaigns have latched onto the issue.

On Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore said he was prepared to give the entertainment industry a six-month deadline to stop marketing R-rated products to underage youths.

Gore indicated he would pursue legislation on the matter if the industry did not begin self-policing.

Today, Lieberman reiterated that both he and Gore would prefer to see “real self-enforced sanctions” on the part of Hollywood, saying they agreed it was the “best solution to the problem.”

FTC chairman Robert Pitofsky also told the committee the industry should be given the chance to regulate itself before facing sanctions.

“If it turns out self-regulation doesn’t solve the problem, and current law is inadequate, legislation, respectful of the first amendment, should be considered,” said Pitofsky.

But Gore’s Republican opponent, George W. Bush, said Monday the solution should rest strictly with parents and political persuasion, not new federal regulations.

Bush also questioned Gore’s credibility on the issue, emphasizing that Gore has received substantial campaign contributions from the entertainment industry.

Mrs. Cheney alluded to the Hollywood’s extensive support of Democrats in her testimony today, pointing out that Gore and Lieberman are scheduled to hold a star-studded fund-raiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York Thursday.

Valenti: Report Was Subjective

The fallout from the study was felt Tuesday in Hollywood, as theWalt Disney Co. announced changes in its marketing practices,including a prohibition against theater owners showing trailers forR-rated films before movies released under the Walt Disney label.The Disney-owned ABC network also will not accept advertisementsfor R-rated films during prime time before 9 p.m. (Walt Disney is a parent company of ABCNEWS and ABCNEWS.com) Disney said it would not show R-rated films — released under itsTouchstone, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax Films labels — to focusgroups under age 17 and would urge theater owners to more strictlyenforce the age restriction. The company does not release R-ratedfilms under the Walt Disney label.

Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America,acknowledged it was not suitable to target R-rated films to veryyoung children, but asserted that the FTC’s report was based onsubjective judgments.

For example, the commission determined that R-rated movies wereadvertised on TV programs most popular with the under-17 group.But, Valenti said, for many of these shows, the majority of theaudience is 18 and over.

He also argued that those who worked for the industry were mostly parents who loved their country and cared deeply about their children. “They try harder to be more attentive to the needs ofparents than any other enterprise in the 50 states,” he said.

Still, Valenti promised that the industry would examine how it advertises and conducts research sothat it does not deliberately target underage viewers.

Hearings Scheduled for October

That didn’t stop calls by South Carolina Attorney GeneralCharlie Condon for state prosecutors to band together in a lawsuitagainst Hollywood, akin to the action states took against thetobacco industry.

The Federal Communications Commission extended the sphere ofscrutiny to the airwaves by announcing Tuesday it would examinewhether broadcasters were promoting inappropriate programming whenchildren were likely to be watching.

“We believe that broadcasters’ obligation is not only toprotect children from objectionable programming but also to offerpositive and educational programming for children,” FCC ChairmanWilliam Kennard said in a letter to lawmakers.

Kennard scheduled FCC hearings on the content of broadcast TVfor October after a group of senators, including Lieberman andMcCain, complained about sexual vulgarity and violence on TVseveral months ago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.