ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 18, 1996 TAG: 9611180096
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PARIS
SOURCE: Associated Press
French TV channels are launching an on-screen rating system today to alert viewers to sex and violence in programs, a move the conservative government calls self-regulation rather than censorship.
Part of a wider government campaign against violence in the media, the rating system will use symbols at the lower-right corner of television screens to signal violent or sexual content.
The four national networks involved will rate each show themselves, but with the government keeping a watchful eye: broadcast licenses are renewed only with official blessing.
``It's better to have self-regulation,'' said Herve Bourges, president of the Superior Council for Audiovisual, France's broadcasting regulator. ``We're not the gendarme [policeman] and judge.''
Each network will assign programs to one of four categories. A green circle signifies that parental guidance is suggested; an orange triangle means the program is not recommended for children 12 and under; a red square indicates the program is intended for viewers 16 and above; and programs for all ages will show no sign.
French TV is an eclectic combination of high-brow literary talk shows, soap operas, game shows, American action-movie reruns and at least one erotic movie per week. Topless women are fairly common on TV, although racy shows have gradually disappeared from the airwaves.
Last month, network heads smiled at what Etienne Mougeotte, TV channel TF1 vice president, called ``responsibility on the side of the broadcasters.'' He said the objective ``is to protect the children.''
But, as the leftist daily Liberation reported, the networks had ``a knife to their throats'' to accept the ratings, which were to begin in January until Prime Minister Alain Juppe pushed Bourges to start sooner.
``I don't believe this will make a difference,'' said Jean Conquer, 63, a retired marine engineer in Nantes. ``Most of the time, children watch TV without their parents anyway. The signs will just incite their curiosity.''
Juppe has not blamed televised violence for violence on the streets, but he has not tackled France's record 12.6 percent unemployment, seen by many as a cause of crime. ``In periods of social tension, television ignites all the critics,'' Liberation said.
LENGTH: Short : 49 linesby CNB