
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 17, 1993                   TAG: 9309170078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

DESPITE NETWORK PLEDGES, NEW SERIES LACK VIOLENCE WARNINGS

In the premiere episode of "Missing Persons," a new dramatic series on ABC, a man abducts a young girl and fires a gun at police with one arm around the child.

"The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.," a new western on Fox, features bar fights, gun battles and a scene in which a woman defends herself from a would-be rapist by taking a bite out of his ear.

Violent television? Not according to the networks that air them.

In June, the four television broadcast networks pledged to start flashing warnings on violent prime-time shows to help parents protect their children from broadcast mayhem.

But with the fall season in full swing next week, not one series, old or new, will air the advisory that network chiefs unveiled at a Capitol Hill news conference: "Due to some violent content, parental discretion advised."

"The networks obviously did not do what they said they were going to do," Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders told a congressional subcommittee investigating television violence.

Network officials respond that they have aired violence warnings on a handful of television movies in recent months. Warning labels, they insist, aren't warranted for the regular season offerings.

"None of our series are violent," said ABC spokeswoman Janice Gretemeyer, echoing similar comments from CBS, NBC and Fox officials.

But Elders and other critics accuse the networks of reneging on their promise. They insist they are not trying to censor the industry but merely want information that will enable parents to shield young viewers.

"There can no longer be any doubt that heavy exposure to televised violence is one of the causes of aggressive behavior, crime and violence in society," said University of Michigan psychologist Leonard Eron, who has studied the impact of television violence on children.

A typical 2- to 5-year-old watches 27 hours of television a week, according to A.C. Nielsen Co.

"The networks made all this noise, but they've moved away from any serious effort to put warnings on programs that really should have them. I'm very disappointed," said William Abbott, a Boston lawyer who represents the Foundation To Improve Television.

He believes networks are reluctant to air warnings because they fear that advertisers would shy away and says the Federal Communications Commission needs to establish a violence rating system for television.

by CNB