Lieberman condemns 'culture of carnage' at Senate hearing on media violence
By The Associated Press
09.13.00
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| Sen. Joe Lieberman |
WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Lieberman decried a "culture of carnage"
surrounding America's young people and told a Senate committee today that the
government should stop the marketing of violent movies, music and video games
to children if the industry fails to police itself.
Parents feel "locked in a losing competition with the culture to raise
our children," said Lieberman, a longtime opponent of violence and sex in the
media who helped bring the issue into the presidential campaign as Democratic
nominee Al Gore's running mate.
The hearing followed a scathing
Federal Trade Commission report
this week asserting that the entertainment industry is peddling adult material
to underage audiences. Federal regulators have also announced they'll take a
closer look at the amount of sex and violence on the major TV networks.
The FTC, however, isn't pressing for more legislation, walking a
careful line not to trigger First Amendment concerns. But the FTC wants the
industry to expand voluntary codes prohibiting the marketing of violence to
youths and to sanction companies that run afoul of these guidelines.
Senators used today's hearing to accuse entertainment executives and
to criticize them for failing to show up to defend themselves.
"Their hubris is stunning," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., head of
the Commerce Committee, who
convened the hearing. "I have never seen such a thing before."
He called another hearing in two weeks specifically to hear from the
heads of Time Warner, Walt Disney Co., News Corp., Viacom, Miramax and others.
The Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday that it
would examine whether broadcasters were promoting inappropriate programming
when children were likely to be watching.
Meanwhile, both presidential campaigns were represented at today's
hearing, seizing on an issue that resonates strongly with Americans concerned
about the exposure of children to sex and violence.
"This practice is outrageous, it is deceptive and it has got to stop,"
said Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. He reiterated a
pledge by the Gore campaign to crack down on the industry if it doesn't shape
up in six months.
His Republican opponent, George W. Bush, questioned Gore's credibility
on the issue and said the solution should rest with parents and political
persuasion, not new federal regulation.
Lynne Cheney, wife of Republican vice presidential nominee Dick Cheney
and former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities, espoused many of
the same views as Lieberman.
But she took a swipe at the Democratic presidential duo, asking them
to deliver her message of accountability when they attend a fund-raiser
tomorrow with Harvey Weinstein, chairman of Miramax Films.
She also launched a full assault on rap star Eminem, whose album, "The
Marshall Mathers LP," is one of the hottest — and most awarded — in
the country.
"They could not be more despicable. They could not be more hateful,"
she said of the lyrics to Eminem's song "Kill You," which describes the artist
raping and killing his mother.
The FTC report decried the entertainment industry's "pervasive and
aggressive marketing" of adult material — such as R-rated movies or video
games intended for mature audiences — to children.
Music distributors and video game makers said they have worked hard to
implement voluntary ratings to inform parents of content.
"There is nothing wrong with considering and perhaps adopting a more
robust system" for rating music, said Strauss Zelnick, president and chief
executive officer of BMG Entertainment. But, he added, "I don't think you can
analyze a work of art like you can analyze a breakfast cereal."
Added Peter Moore, chief operating officer of video game giant Sega of
America: "We are open to suggestions, but suggestions based on reality, not
speculation."
The fallout from the study was felt yesterday in Hollywood, as the
Walt Disney Co. announced a prohibition against theater owners showing trailers
for R-rated films before movies released under the Walt Disney label. The
Disney-owned ABC network also will not accept advertisements for R-rated films
before 9 p.m.
Disney said it would not show R-rated films — released under its
Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax Films labels—to focus groups
under age 17 and would urge theater owners to more strictly enforce the age
restriction.
Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America,
acknowledged it was not suitable to target R-rated films to very young
children, but asserted that the FTC's report was based on subjective judgments.
For example, the commission determined that R-rated movies were
advertised on TV programs most popular with the under-17 group. But, Valenti
said, for many of these shows, the majority of the audience is 18 and over.
"We are not dealing with Euclid's geometry where the equations are
pristine and explicit," he said in remarks prepared for delivery at today's
hearing. Still, he promised that the industry would examine how it advertises
and conducts research so that it does not deliberately target underage
viewers.
Related
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Democratic presidential nominee blasts violent movies, video games marketed to children in appearance on Winfrey's talk show.
09.11.00
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Free-speech advocates find Lieberman's record a mixed bag
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08.10.00
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08.21.00
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Meanwhile, free-speech advocates debunk theories that causal link exists between entertainment, real violence.
08.29.00
FTC probes entertainment industry's sale of violence to kids
'We're examining the self-regulation put in place by the entertainment industry to see if it works and how it works,' says agency official.
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Ombudsman Someone should be keeping track of all the proposals coming out of Congress to regulate what the rest of us can see, hear and say. It is a long and scary list.
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