Cable Vows to Tackle Issue of Violence on TV

The cable television industry, responding to concerns in Congress about violence on TV, acknowledged Wednesday that its programming is as violent as network fare and it promised to address the problem.

The acknowledgment by the National Cable Television Assn., which came in the form of a study released by the industry, followed an agreement last month by the three major television networks to issue guidelines for the depiction of violence on the air.

In a letter to members of Congress, who have urged that television violence be toned down, the cable association said the study found that “the level of violence on cable-originated programming is about the same as the violence on broadcast network programming.”

It said that it would meet with the broadcast networks in Los Angeles later this year to discuss the issue. Cable executives also released a statement condemning what they called “gratuitous” violence.

“We believe that the gratuitous use of violence depicted as an easy and convenient solution to human problems is harmful to our industry and society,” the statement said in part. “We therefore discourage and will strive to reduce the frequency of such exploitative uses of violence while preserving our right to show programs that convey the real meaning and consequences of violent behavior.”

Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.), a chief critic of violence on television, applauded the cable industry’s move as “the most comprehensive steps it has yet taken to address this problem.” Simon sponsored the 1990 Television Improvement Act, which suspends the nation’s antitrust laws for three years to allow television network executives to develop guidelines for violent programming.

He said that he hopes this spring’s conference in Los Angeles will lead to solutions before the law expires at the end of this year.

The cable industry’s study and its statement did not address violence in movies, which account for much of its programming.