Kids Need Prime-Time Safe Haven

The Kaiser Family Foundation/Children Now study announced last week (“Sex on TV’s ‘Family Hour’ Has Increased, Study Finds,” Dec. 12) concluded that there is too much sex on TV during the first hour of prime time. A study released jointly by the Parents Television Council and the Media Research Center last February, “A Vanishing Haven: The Decline of the Family Hour,” reached that same conclusion. What’s more, we found it is not just the amount of sex but the context under which it is presented that is equally alarming.

A recent book, “Sex in America,” indicated that half of all Americans will have three or fewer partners over their lifetimes. Yet our survey revealed that TV characters are far more sexually active. During our one-month study period of the “family hour,” which is from 8 to9 p.m., we found 40 portrayals about premarital sex; these outnumbered portrayals of sex within marriage by an 8-to-1 ratio.

Far more important for parents to know: The vast majority of premarital sex portrayals condoned the behavior by presenting it as a simple matter of fact, completely without consequences.

In addition to portrayals of sex, the Parents Television Council-Media Research Center study found an alarming amount of sexual innuendo and double-entendres during the family hour. Among the leaders in that category is “The Nanny,” a show whose name would imply it is child-friendly but whose track record includes jokes about oral sex.

As we discovered from our results, though, sex is not the only thing parents should be concerned about during the first hour of prime time. Five years ago, there was an uproar when a young character on CBS’ “Uncle Buck” yelled, “You suck!” Today, that retort would hardly raise an eyebrow. During our survey period, we found that vulgar language, usually unheard even late in prime time a few years back, is now constant in the 8 to 9 p.m. hour. In 117 hours of programming, 72 curse words were used, with “ass” (29 uses), “bitch” (13) and “bastard” (10) being the most popular. Not exactly the kind of language you would want to hear around family dinner tables across America.

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Based on these findings, we have waged a yearlong campaign to get the networks to voluntarily restore the family hour, and these efforts have borne results. Our calling on Hollywood to air more wholesome programming during the first hour of prime time led to a groundswell of bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, spearheaded by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), for a resolution calling for a voluntary return to the spirit of the family hour. And if people want further proof that family television sells, they need look no further than the success of “Touched by an Angel” and “Home Improvement,” both of which are among the Top 10 rated shows of the season.

Now that Children Now and the Kaiser Family Foundation have officially entered the debate on the family hour, I call on them to join the effort we have been undertaking on behalf of American families for the past year: to help us lobby for the voluntary restoration of the family hour. We want that first hour of prime time to once again be a safe haven for viewers of all ages.