THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290030
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 138 lines
TODAY IS THE DAY President Clinton and television executives are scheduled to sit down and talk about a voluntary ratings system for TV.
Meanwhile, it's a typical Thursday on the tube. And on last week's typical Thursday, during the times kids were most likely to be watching, you could have tuned into:
a mother who had an affair with the father of her daughter's son,
a discussion of S&M relationships vs. sex slavery,
Christopher Reeve talking about the sexual functioning of his penis,
a child watching his father beat up his mother,
an adulterous soap-opera couple in bed,
multiple uses of curse words,
boys confronting the pedophile who molested them. . . .
Shall we go on?
No wonder so many parents, teachers and others are cheering today's meeting. The big four networks, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, are talking about basing a system on the familiar movie ratings of G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17.
The ratings would be used to code shows so computer chips, called V-chips, which the law requires in many new TV sets by 1998, could be activated to block objectionable programs. If the networks don't come up with such a system within a year, the feds will do it for them, so there's incentive for the networks to act. Fox has already announced it will rate its own shows even if the other networks don't go along.
Rah.
A ratings system sounds great on the surface. But how it would actually work, and what good it would actually do, is debatable.
A panel of Virginian-Pilot reporters and editors, all of them parents, viewed a week's worth of kiddie prime-time shows on the four networks's local affiliates last week, and rated them using the standards applied to the motion-picture industry. Among the findings were:
Many of the most ``adult''-oriented shows are syndicated, meaning the network ratings might not apply. While distributors and independent stations might rate some syndicated fare, it's unclear whether ratings would be required on salacious afternoon talk shows or tabloid-news programs.
Only 18 shows were rated PG-13, but they accounted for more viewing hours than G or PG shows because they aired up to six times a week. There were nearly as many PG-13 airings as G and PG together last week in kiddie prime time.
A single ratings system would be difficult to apply to a TV series, because episodes vary in content. For example, various episodes of ``Seinfeld'' ranged from G to PG-13.
A ratings system would have to differentiate between the cartoon violence of ``Spider-Man'' and the real violence of ``Cops.''
Critics contend the PG-13 rating might actually encourage curious kids to tune in to see what all the fuss is about.
And ratings would not be stamps of approval. Some of the shows the newspaper panel rated G were mindless, even they did not violate the movie-industry standards for general audiences on sex, violence, language or drug use.
``I don't see how it would work,'' said Dorothy Swanson, president of the Northern Virginia group Viewers for Quality Television.
``I happen to think it isn't necessary for network television. I just really think that if people are this bothered by television that parents can put the TV set in their room. They don't have to allow children to watch it.
``They also don't have to buy a TV set. There are so many alternatives to the government mandating.''
Of the local network affiliates, WAVY aired the most PG-13 shows last week, as rated by the newspaper panel.
WAVY makes a conscious decision not to market to kids after school, said General Manager Ed Munson Jr. Instead, children's programming is routed to WVBT (Channel 43), which has a local marketing agreement with WAVY.
Playing in the after-school time slot on WAVY were syndicated talk-show hosts Jenny Jones, who interviewed 11-year-olds about their sexual trysts, and Montel Williams, who probed the difference between S&M relationships and sexual slavery.
In the 7-to-8 p.m. time slot were the syndicated shows ``Entertainment Tonight,'' which focused on bare breasts at Mardi Gras, Howard Stern in drag and Reeve's penis; and ``Real Stories of the Highway Patrol,'' which zeroed in on drug dealers, domestic violence, drive-by shootings and other violent cop fare.
``We've clearly decided that (an audience of children) is not the market we want. We market primarily to adults,'' Munson said.
Munson also pointed to Saturday-morning programming on WAVY, which includes ``Not Just News,'' ``Bill Nye, the Science Guy'' and the locally produced ``Kid Talk,'' all of which earned G ratings from the newspaper panel.
WAVY's mother network, NBC, was named this month as the most vulgar network on evening prime time by the conservative Media Research Center, which puts out a guide to family viewing.
``We watch everything that happens on prime time and we find that there is increasingly less for children to be watching on network TV,'' said Sandra Crawford, director of the center's entertainment division.
``Once there used to be a safe haven between 8 and 9 o'clock where parents could relax and let their children watch television. Now we're finding much more sex, much more vulgar language and general behavior that parents don't want their children to be imitating.''
The local ABC affiliate, WVEC, had the mildest afternoon and early evening shows, with ``General Hospital,'' ``The Oprah Winfrey Show,'' ``Wheel of Fortune'' and ``Jeopardy!''
WVEC General Manager Rick Keilty said the station considers suitability for viewing audience when choosing syndicated programming.
``It's been a part of our criteria for a long time,'' he said. ``We feel the programming we're currently operating with plays very well to that order.
``That's a large tribute to the most high-profile program, `Oprah.' She has really led the way in that talk-show genre and has always operated with a high degree of sensitivity for who might be viewing.''
Saturday morning found WTKR (Channel 3, CBS) with the most G-rated shows, six. Two CBS shows were rated PG. WTVZ (Channel 33, Fox) was at the opposite end of the spectrum, with three rated G and five rated PG.
Saturday night, the four network affiliates aired six G-rated shows, although two of those were sports specials. Six shows were rated PG by the newspaper's panel. Fox had the sole PG-13 on Saturday night.
Sunday had five PG shows between 7 and 9 p.m. on all four networks, one G-rated and three rated PG-13.
The question remains: Just how useful will these ratings be? What is their implication? Expect the debate to continue.
``A ratings system will help inform parents about the content of some of these television shows, but it doesn't take care of the problem,'' said Crawford, of the Media Research Center. ``What's happening now is you're talking about rating offensive subject matter. Why not address the subject matter directly and get rid of it?''
But Dorothy Swanson disagreed. ``I certainly wouldn't want to see all of television G-rated,'' she said. ``I don't think there's anything wrong with PG. Parental Guidance. Children should be guided in everything that they do. It's unfortunate that government says networks have to be the parent.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo photos
Melrose Place
Cops
Might Morphin Power Ranger
KEYWORDS: TELEVISION RATING SURVEY by CNB