Congressmen Lining Up to Oppose TV Ratings System

The TV industry will face a barrage of criticism from opponents of the new TV ratings system when the Senate Commerce Committee holds hearings about ratings on Feb. 27 in Washington.

Six members of Congress, three Republicans and three Democrats, have asked to testify at the hearing, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate committee, said in an interview with The Times. Only one of them supports the industry’s system.

“There are many people in Congress who are concerned that the present system doesn’t give parents enough information about TV programming,” McCain said of the system, which is modeled on the age-based movie-rating system now in use. He said of the hearing: “It will be fair and balanced. But there will be some tough questions for the industry--like why they didn’t consult more with organizations such as the National PTA in creating their ratings system.

“I know that many Hollywood executives live ordinary lifestyles,” McCain continued. “But you would’ve thought that they would’ve been more responsive to those who are directly involved with this issue: parents and teachers.”

McCain, the new chairman of the committee overseeing telecommunications, said that he had convened the public hearing after complaints from constituents as well as parent groups that the new TV ratings system is inadequate.

Opponents of the TV industry’s system hope that the Senate hearing will influence both the public and the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC must approve the system, and some congressmen are already raising the possibility of introducing legislation that would require the TV industry to adopt a content-based ratings system instead of the age-based one it has come up with.

“Congress has the power to act” legislatively against the industry, McCain said. “Whether they will do so remains to be seen.”

The major networks have vowed to go to court to fight any such legislation.

Among the legislators who plan to testify at the Feb. 27 hearing are two of the most vocal critics of the network ratings, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Others who are expected to testify against the networks are Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.).

Rep. Sonny Bono (R-Calif.) so far is the only member of Congress who has asked to testify on behalf of the industry’s plan, McCain said, while several other congressmen are waiting in the wings to testify against the system.

Broadcasters presumably have other allies in Congress for their age-based system, which establishes TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14 and other age-based categories. But they may be scarce at the hearing, which will include testimony from the heads of the National PTA and the Children’s Defense Fund, two groups that advocate a content-based ratings system that would provide labels for the sex, language and violence content of TV programming.

“We’re going to be outnumbered,” Jack Valenti, the chief architect of the industry’s plan, acknowledged in an interview.

Valenti, who is president of the MPAA as well as chairman of the TV-industry committee that created the guidelines, said that he believed criticism of the system was premature.

“I’m a little puzzled by all this criticism for a system that has been in place for only 45 days,” Valenti said of the labels, which have been appearing on some TV shows since the system began to be implemented on Jan. 2. “Some advocacy groups may be against us, but we believe that parents will find our system helpful. All we’re saying is, give our system a chance to work in the marketplace.”

Valenti will be joined at the hearing by Eddie Fritts, president of the National Assn. of Broadcasters, and Decker Anstrom, president of the National Cable Television Assn. According to committee sources, the CEOs of the four major broadcast networks have also been invited to testify. But so far they’ve decided to let Valenti and the heads of the industry’s trade associations argue the networks’ case at the hearing, which likely will be carried live on C-SPAN.

“This is going to be a PR hit for our opponents,” said one broadcasting source who requested anonymity, explaining the network chiefs’ reluctance to testify.

But McCain and other members of the committee said that the networks’ views would be well represented. The committee will hold three panels during the day, one with members of Congress, one with network representatives and the National PTA and Children’s Defense Fund, and the final with medical and scientific experts.

“I’m not real sure that the [industry’s] system does enough to help parents,” said Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on telecommunications. “But I haven’t made up my mind about it.”

Critics of the networks say that they have miscalculated the level of opposition to the ratings plan from parents and children’s groups as well as in Congress.

“Parents I’ve talked to tell me they’re confused by the networks’ system, and they find the categories so broad that they can’t tell what’s in a show,” said Sen. Lieberman. “I hope there can be some compromise on this issue before there are calls for legislation.”