Senate report: Media violence affects kids

The Associated Press

08.06.99

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WASHINGTON — Congress is finalizing juvenile-justice legislation to address the problem of media violence, but a new Senate report says parents also must share the burden of shielding children from such images.

"The effect of media violence on our children is no longer open to debate," said yesterday's report from the Senate Judiciary Committee's Republican staff.

The 30-page document concluded that the media dominate children's lives, are "exceedingly violent" and that such violent images lead to real world violence.

"I hope that this report ... will further the discussion about the flood of media violence in this country and what should be done about it," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the panel's chairman. Hatch requested the report after the fatal shooting at Colorado's Columbine High School that left 15 people dead in April.

He said more than 1,000 studies over the past 40 years examining the effects of violence on children have not changed the predominant finding.

"Exposure to media portrayals of violence increases aggressive behavior in children," he said. "As one expert put it, arguing against the link between media violence and the violent actions of our youth is 'like arguing against gravity.'"

The report highlights provisions in a Senate-passed juvenile-justice bill that addresses the issue, and makes additional recommendations to Congress. It also includes suggestions for parents and the entertainment industry.

The 30-page report recommends that:

Congress begin a national media campaign to educate parents and create a national clearinghouse on children and entertainment violence.

The television, motion picture, music and video game industries be encouraged to rate their products using a universal system; they now use separate systems.

The Federal Trade Commission report twice a year on media violence and the entertainment industry's efforts to reduce it.

Federal property, when used in programming for children, be offered at reduced rates.

Congress ban advertising for adult programming broadcast at times when children are most likely to be watching television or listening to the radio. The ban also would apply to publications designed for children.

The Senate juvenile-justice bill would toughen penalties for juvenile offenders while providing states with $1 billion a year to fight juvenile crime and prevent delinquency. A House-Senate committee began yesterday to iron out differences between that bill and a different version passed by the House.

The Senate bill also has provisions aimed at limiting youth exposure to violence, including a proposal to grant a limited antitrust exemption to the entertainment industries so they can develop voluntary guidelines.

The legislation also calls for a national media campaign against youth violence, would ban use of federal property in violent movies or TV shows and require Internet service providers to offer filtering technology to block access to explicit material.

The report, "Children, Violence, and the Media," is available from the Judiciary Committee's Web site.