A Look at Influences on Children

“How old are you?” says the rock star to the timid fan.

“Twelve,” the boy answers, pushing a shirt across the table for his idol to sign.

“Listen, if you’re ever going to commit a crime, you should do it now, because you’re only a minor. They’ll lock you up for a long time if you’re my age.”

The rocker, Violent J from the metal-rap band Insane Clown Posse, was decked out in full jester regalia in the film clip, but pugnacious pundit Bill O’Reilly was far from amused.

As host of Fox News Channel’s nightly political slugfest “The O’Reilly Factor,” he has sat across from plenty of clowns in his time, but it’s the threat, O’Reilly says, is posed by acts like ICP and the entertainment industry at large that is the focus of tonight’s disturbing special, “The Corruption of the American Child” (9 p.m., Fox).

“Never before have so many corrupting influences descended upon young people at one time,” says O’Reilly, who goes on to build a strong case with filmed segments and face-to-face confrontations with such notables as rap mogul Russell Simmons, Jack Valenti of the Motion Picture Assn. of America and Linda McMahon, chief executive of the World Wrestling Federation.

O’Reilly says up front that preteens should find something else to do for the next hour, but it’s a program their parents can’t afford to miss.