MORE MTV NEWS: The bands aren’t the...

MORE MTV NEWS: The bands aren’t the only ones on MTV who are taking stands.

The channel’s aggressive 1992 “Choose or Lose” voter awareness campaign was so successful that MTV was credited with helping boost Bill Clinton into the White House.

Now, MTV is going to focus its considerable influence on another topic: violence in America.

MTV President Judy McGrath promises to explore the issue in a variety of ways, incorporating views from everyone from gun control advocates to the NRA.

The question is whether the campaign also affects the channel’s music programming.

MTV has a long track record of rejecting videos that contain gratuitous violence, but what about videos by artists who have exhibited violent behavior? Would MTV ban rappers Snoop Doggy Dogg or 2Pac if they are convicted of current charges ranging from murder to sexual assault?

“We would have a serious discussion here about what to do if and when Snoop Doggy Dogg or 2Pac is convicted,” McGrath says. “We can say a video is important and people want to see it, but if things change and there are new factors that need to be looked at it will be a factor in how we program MTV.”