TV Industry Has Done Little to Curb Violence, Simon Says

Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) says the television industry largely has failed to act on his warning of last August to move decisively within 60 days to curb on-screen violence or risk mandatory restrictions imposed by Congress.

“The industry has not acted quickly and decisively, as I had urged them to,” Simon said in an interview Wednesday, as this weekend’s deadline for action approached. “I’m disappointed but not startled.”

Simon made the warnings Aug. 2 during a Beverly Hills conference on violence attended by network executives, program producers, writers and anti-violence advocates. He has long contended that violence on TV is directly linked to the rise of violence in society.

Despite the industry’s failure to respond significantly, Simon said that he was encouraged by discussions that he has scheduled within the next few weeks with several key television executives, and that he would stick to his original plan to hold off on taking further government action against the industry until next year.

“There can’t be endless talk about this,” Simon said. “If by the first of the year we don’t have some concrete public action taken, then we have to look at alternatives with the federal government that are sensitive to the First Amendment but that apply some pressure to avoid gratuitous violence.”

He added that other legislators are eager to push for laws regulating television violence: “Every day I run into senators who say, ‘I want to do something.’ I think they will hold off for a while if I ask them to, but I can’t guarantee it.”

Simon is the author of the 1990 Television Violence Act, which relaxed antitrust regulations to give the networks, cable channels and syndicators the legal footing to develop industry regulations on televised mayhem. The legislation expires at the end of December.

A pivotal step being required by Simon is for the industry to form a citizens advisory committee that would make annual public reports on the amount of violence on each broadcast and cable station. The committee would play an advisory role to programmers if asked, he said.

“That committee really is the key,” Simon said. “Without it, there is unlikely to be a dip in television violence. Next year or the year after, we’ll be back in the same soup.”

But he acknowledged that network officials have not been enthusiastic about forming such a committee since he proposed it in August.

“Initially the industry rejected the idea,” he said. “Now it seems to be picking up a little support. How much support I can’t tell you.”

ABC spokeswoman Julie Hoover said: “We’re willing to talk about self-assessment, and we’re open for discussion. But we’re not looking for bureaucratic overlay or a systematic review by an outside organization. We are responsible for our programming.”

Spokesmen for Fox, CBS and NBC either declined or could not be reached for comment.

The networks say they already have cut back on violence this season and, in response to congressional pressure, have adopted a policy of alerting viewers to programs containing strong depictions of violence.