MTV Programming Sends Bad Signal to Youth, Group Says

A conservative advocacy group that focuses on media decency issues slammed the cable network MTV on Tuesday for what it called “incessant sleaze” in its programming.

MTV viewers, many of whom are teenagers, are exposed to far higher levels of sex, violence and other inappropriate behaviors than what is found during the final prime-time hour of broadcast television, according to a report by the Parents Television Council.

Following the uproar over the exposure of singer Janet Jackson’s breast at last year’s Super Bowl halftime show, which was produced by MTV, council researchers watched more than 170 hours of the channel’s spring break coverage over one week last March and logged every instance of sexual content, violence, and drug and alcohol use.

Their report, “MTV Smut Peddlers: Targeting Kids With Sex, Drugs and Alcohol,” found an average of nine sexual scenes per hour, and noted that such programming could be seen throughout the day. By comparison, the group’s study of sex on broadcast television found 5.8 sexual instances during the last hour of prime time (10 to 11 p.m. on the East and West coasts), when broadcast standards are loosened slightly because children are presumed to be asleep.

“Watching MTV changes the attitudes and perceptions of young viewers,” L. Brent Bozell, the council’s president, said Tuesday at a news conference.

One study has found that 73% of boys and 78% of girls 12 to 19 tune into MTV, the report says.

An MTV spokeswoman called the report unfair and inaccurate, noting that the network had received Peabody and Emmy awards for its programming, such as “Fight for Your Rights,” which focused on issues such as tolerance, discrimination and sexual health, and “Choose or Lose,” which encouraged young people to vote.

“These are program initiatives that this report ignores,” Jeannie Kedas said.

“A lot was taken out of context.” she said, pointing out that the council focused on programming during one time of the year. “Mr. Bozell has yet again unfairly and inaccurately painted MTV with the brush of irresponsibility around sex and violent content. We reflect young people’s culture in responsible ways.”

The Parents Television Council has filed frequent complaints with the Federal Communications Commission against MTV and other networks for programming it considers inappropriate.

On Tuesday, the council again urged that the cable industry allow parents to choose the stations they received, contending that “the incessant sleaze on MTV presents the most compelling case yet for consumer cable choice.”

The council has long advocated this option, known as “a la carte programming,” which it says will allow parents to better control their children’s viewing choices and avoid paying for unwanted content.

The cable industry largely opposes that option, either by government mandate or on a voluntary basis, saying it would mean higher costs for fewer channels.

“It blows up the economic model that has led to the creation of the very channels that appeal to children, families and religious audiences,” said Brian Dietz, a spokesman for the National Cable and Telecommunications Assn., the industry’s main trade group.

The system of packaging channels into “basic” and “expanded basic” groupings allows smaller niche networks to reach more people and appeal to advertisers to keep their channels solvent, Dietz said. If consumers were allowed to pick their channels, he said, smaller networks would lose advertising because their potential market would be limited to fewer subscribers.

MTV is included in many basic cable packages.

The industry offers free set-top boxes that can be programmed to block stations, Dietz said. But Bozell said this option left parents to pay for content they might not want.