ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 28, 1997 TAG: 9702280004
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: SHERYL STOLBERG LOS ANGELES TIMES
The first analysis of the television industry's new self-imposed ratings code has declared the system a failure after just five weeks, calling it ``hopelessly confusing, inconsistent, contradictory and meaningless.''
Some programs given the wholesome G rating contained words such as ``ass'' and sexual jokes about breasts, the conservative Media Research Center found in its review of 150 hours of prime-time programming during the first two weeks of January.
There were no shows rated M, for adults only, suggesting that the industry believed everything it aired was appropriate for children under 17. ``The Tonight Show'' on NBC received a rating of TV-14 (parents strongly cautioned), for instance, while David Letterman's show on CBS was given the less restrictive PG rating.
The group's research drew criticism from the industry, as well as the White House, for not giving the system a chance. White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the system could not be fairly evaluated in five weeks, and one academic noted that it could take years of empirical research to accurately determine the system's strengths and weaknesses.
Nonetheless, Tuesday's report is likely to fuel a growing movement to press television executives into revamping their code into one that would give parents information about the sex, violence and language content of individual programs, rather than designating them appropriate for certain ages.
``We've all been saying from the start that we hoped the ratings system would not be age-based but would be content-based,'' said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. ``That is less subjective and clearer, and ultimately leaves it up to the parents to decide.''
Lieberman said Congress might be persuaded to legislate a content-based ratings code if the industry does not implement one on its own.
Industry leaders, however, vowed to stick with their current system. Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America and a chief architect of the ratings system, said he is confident that the Senate committee, as well as the public, ``will see what we are doing is right.''
Said Martin Franks, senior vice president at CBS Inc: ``The television industry's parental guidelines system is barely 42 days old. Before its critics attempt to kill it in the cradle, it should be given a fair chance to establish itself.''
Franks argued that a system that rated violence, language and sex might be even more confusing, and more arbitrary. ``Do you want to be the person who decides if something is a V1-L2-S3 as opposed to a V1-L2-S4?'' he asked.
He added that a recent poll by the Pew Research Center reported that 69 percent of parents found the new ratings helpful. But Lieberman said his constituents seem puzzled by the code, which he described as a ``missed opportunity by the networks to do what Congress wanted them to.''
The television industry agreed to the self-imposed ratings system last summer under pressure from President Clinton and Congress. The telecommunications law enacted last year required the Federal Communications Commission to impose a code if the industry did not establish one voluntarily.
The code went into effect Jan. 1; the Media Research Center reviewed programs that aired between Jan. 3 and 16. It found that among programs rated PG, 52 percent contained vulgarities and 55 percent contained sex scenes; the percentages were 68 percent and 60 percent for shows carrying the TV-14 rating.
Brent Bozell, the center's chairman, said he thought the system ``should be junked at the earliest possible opportunity.''
Bozell was particularly troubled that the ``F-word'' had begun to show up on prime time, albeit in bleeped-out fashion. He suggested that the ratings system, rather than curbing inappropriate content, was facilitating it. ``You didn't have the F-word on television last year,'' he said.
And he said he found it revealing that the movie ``Schindler's List,'' which aired on NBC, was the first program to receive the TV-M rating. ``This whole thing is designed to help parents,'' he complained, ``and everything is rated PG.''
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB