Bring Back TV ‘Family Hour,’ Gingrich Says

In an escalation of the campaign to clean up prime-time television and bolster the TV ratings system, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and 100 other members of Congress called on the major networks Friday to return to the “family hour” of wholesome programming from 8 to 9 p.m.

In an open letter to the heads of the entertainment divisions of six broadcast networks, the bipartisan group of lawmakers said that the first hour of prime time, which has the heaviest concentration of child viewers, has “disintegrated” to the point where it now features “sitcoms and dramas promoting promiscuity and obscene language.”

The plea, published in the show business trade paper Daily Variety, comes as the networks are in the final stages of setting their prime-time schedules for the fall and are fending off attacks on the 4-month-old ratings system that is meant to alert parents to programs that may be unsuitable for children. The ratings will be the subject of a House subcommittee hearing on May 19 and a Federal Communications Commission hearing on June 4.

*

Members of Congress, a coalition of children’s advocacy groups and the Washington-based Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group that sponsored Friday’s ad, have blasted the industry’s guidelines, saying they provide parents with too little information about how much sex, violence and foul language each program contains. The opponents have asked the FCC to withhold approval of the system.

The networks said they have no plans to change either the ratings or their programming, contending that they are already providing sufficient family fare.

“I would understand the complaint better if viewers didn’t have a choice,” said Martin Franks, senior vice president of CBS. “If the only shows that were on were Generation X shows, then I could understand. It seems that what they’re saying is that everything on at 8 p.m. ought to be family-friendly. That does not strike me as giving viewers a choice.”

The networks once did designate the first hour of prime time as a haven for family programming, but in recent years, as competition for viewers has increased with the arrival of Fox and a horde of cable outlets, they have abandoned that policy. Where once they programmed shows such as “Happy Days,” “Little House on the Prairie” and “The Cosby Show”--all cited in the letter--they now feature “Melrose Place,” “Friends” and “Roseanne.”

While the Media Research Center has lined up congressional support in the past for its efforts to reinstitute the family hour, the entrance of Gingrich increases the pressure on the networks, particularly with the ratings hearings approaching.

L. Brent Bozell III, chairman of the Media Research Center, said he felt that the letter would have a huge impact on persuading the networks to change the ratings system and, ultimately, to get rid of shows that he says promote “filth and pollution in our living rooms.”

“Having the speaker of the House on board makes this effort pack a wallop,” Bozell said. “But even more telling is the tremendous cross section of members represented in this petition, Republican and Democrat. All of them agree this is not a political issue, and that this is a serious issue.”

But it wasn’t clear how active Gingrich will be on the ratings front, and some of the letter’s signatories said they would not try to impose legislative remedies if the networks did not comply.

“You are crossing a whole other line when you start talking about passing legislation to require it, said Charles Stevenson, legislative director for Rep. Ronald V. Dellums (D-Oakland), one of seven California congressmen who signed the letter. “On a voluntary basis, we support it. If we can work with the television networks to bring about more family programming, great.”

*

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), a vocal critic of the ratings system, said through a spokesperson Friday that the possibility of further congressional action was “not a closed door.” But Gingrich’s press secretary, Christina Martin, said the speaker is optimistic that the television industry will comply with the request voluntarily: “We have every reason to believe that the networks will want to cooperate in this endeavor.”

Meanwhile, a coalition of media, education and civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have filed formal comments with the FCC saying that they feel further government action on ratings would constitute censorship and threaten the 1st Amendment.

Martin said the letter was timed to coincide with the release of the new fall television schedules, which will begin on Monday with NBC’s announcement. “America is watching, and we are hoping for family-friendly programming,” Martin said.

The letter to executives at ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the fledgling WB and UPN networks called for them “to recognize the pernicious effects of this programming on our children and voluntarily return to the spirit of the family hour.” In doing so, the letter concluded, “the entertainment industry would not only endear itself to parents, but also immeasurably benefit American society.”

“The situation with the family hour is just a microcosm of the problem,” Bozell said. “When you have filth invading the family hour and the vast majority of shows are given meaningless and innocent PG ratings [recommending parental caution], it just renders the whole notion of parental guidelines meaningless. People have no idea what is on, and parents are powerless. The only solution is a content-based system. Even with that, is it such a radical notion for the networks to just go back to what they once did and put on good programs in that time slot?”

The networks disagreed.

Beth Comstock, a vice president at NBC, said in response to the letter, “When the speaker of the House comes out with something like this, obviously we will look into it and give it consideration. But we feel that much of the programming we already offer is suitable for the family. And we don’t presume to substitute our judgment for that of parents.”

ABC spokesperson Julie Hoover said, “When members of Congress speak, we are always interested. But it’s important to point out that ABC has several programs perfect for the family, such as ‘Home Improvement’ and our entire Friday night schedule.” (“Home Improvement” does not air in the first hour of prime time.)

Franks of CBS pointed out several family-oriented shows on his network that air between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., including “Touched By an Angel,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “Promised Land,” “The Nanny” and “Cosby.”

“With all due respect, we’re already there,” he said.

Braxton reported from Los Angeles and Fitzgerald from Washington.