Cable, Networks Offer Different Violence Plans : Television: One proposal is for the installation in sets of a device that would allow parents to block out “V-rated” programs.

The two major segments of the television industry drew dramatically different responses Tuesday for their strategies to limit violent TV programming, with cable executives winning praise for their comprehensive plan and network broadcasters being criticized for not doing enough.

In separate news conferences on Capitol Hill designed to head off federal legislation that would force them to reduce violent programming, broadcast and cable TV companies agreed to form an independent monitoring board to assess and report on the amount of violence in entertainment programming.

But cable television went a step further, agreeing to begin rating its programs for violence and endorsing technology that would permit parents to block violent shows from their homes.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House telecommunications subcommittee, warned that legislation may still be enacted this year to bring broadcasters in line.

“I feel that just having a monitoring group that reports once a year is inadequate to the task,” said Markey, who will keep pushing his anti-violence bill to install an electronic chip in new TV sets to let parents block out programming with a violent “V” rating.

While critics say such moves could violate the First Amendment, there are already 10 or more pieces of anti-violence legislation being drafted. Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) said he still intends to press his bill requiring manufacturers to install a V-chip in TV sets. “There are other steps we need to take” to address TV violence,” he said.

“The networks and cable systems have long been aware of this problem and have resisted any effort to do anything about it,” said Carlton Carl, spokesman for Rep. John Bryant (D-Texas), who will continue to sponsor his bill calling for the Federal Communications Commission to set formal violence standards. “Promises now to monitor violence and report it to folks is a rather slight effort, given the obvious seriousness of the problem and the proliferation of violence on the air waves,” Carl said.

Apparently the only one who will back off his legislation for now is Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.). Simon has been the leading crusader for a reduction in television violence, but in recent months many others have joined in as public concern over the issue has reached a critical level.

Nearly four out of five Americans feel violence in television entertainment programs directly contributes to violence in society, and 54% say they would support government guidelines to limit the amount of mayhem on TV, according to a Los Angeles Times poll taken in December.

Terry Rakolta of Americans for Responsible TV, a national organization with 350,000 members who want to keep the public air waves free of violence when children are watching, said on Tuesday that the independent monitoring group proposed by the networks is just a delaying “tactic to have business as usual, to provide them another three to five years of uninterrupted, reckless, irresponsible programming.”

She added: “The networks think this will die down. They’re waiting for this issue to turn cold. But it won’t because the public opinion is too strong.”

The broadcast networks believe they have already controlled the situation, referring to a recent independent study that found network television is less violent today than it was a year ago, and much less so than five or 10 years earlier.

In addition, the broadcast networks implemented the Advance Parental Advisory Plan last year to alert parents with on-air labels to programs that might be inappropriate for children due to some violent content.

The purpose of the new monitoring board, according to a CBS statement, is “both to reassure those who are concerned that the networks’ progress on violence might only be temporary and to provide useful information for continuing industry-wide self-evaluation. An independent outside expert will be hired to perform the joint assessment.”

The cable industry also agreed to set up an independent panel to measure violence in TV programming and to issue annual reports to the public on their findings. Officials did not say from what groups panelists would be drawn nor how frequently reports might be issued. Networks do not support the V-chip or a ratings system because they fear advertisers might shy away from programming deemed too violent.

“It was probably easier for cable than the networks to accept the notion of a blocking system because they are narrowcasters and the networks are broadcasting,” said Joel Federman, director of research for Mediascope, a nonprofit organization working to lessen violence in the mass media. “In other words, the networks want the widest possible audience, so there are financial disincentives to lose any segment of your audience.”

Federman believes a ratings system is inevitable, however, because of public opinion.

Some Hollywood TV producers feel differently.

Carlton Cuse, co-creator and executive producer of the Fox drama series “Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.,” doesn’t expect the networks’ monitoring group to affect what he does on a weekly basis, even though his show has come under fire for excessive violence.

“As a producer and as a parent of two children, I take a great sense of responsibility as to what I put in my show already,” Cuse said. “I feel that any kind of moves in the direction of self regulation are steps in the right direction. But I really am kind of guided by my own internal moral principles.”

Cerone reported from Los Angeles and Shiver reported from Washington.