Action Alert

FCC’s Notice of Inquiry into the Violent TV Programming and its Impact on Children.

By Jay R. Rush

Your opinion on television violence is now requested by the FCC.  .

Researchers say that more than half of all television programming, including children’s cartoon fare, contains violent content. And, scholars have done studies on the impact of media violence on children.  “A majority of the investigations into the impact of media violence on children find that there is a high correlation between exposure to media violence and aggressive and at times violent behavior.”  Federal Trade Commission, Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children (2000), Appendix A.

Given a clear cause and effect relationship between television programming that is violent and its impact on children, you wonder whether there is any question that such programming needs to be curtailed.  But, there are social, ethical, legal and regulatory issues presented by any attempt by governments to limit, control or censor otherwise legally permissible “speech.”

Nevertheless, a sufficient concern exists for parents and policy-makers that questions about controlling or curtailing violent video programming regularly come up.  The aim of this article is to alert concerned adults to the issues, the debate and to urge parents and policy-makers to share their ideas on this problem.

In response to Congressional pressure upon the Federal Communication Commission, in July of 2004 the FCC initiated a Notice of Inquiry seeking comments on the “presentation of violent programming on television and its impact on children.”  [FCC 04-175, In the Matter of Violent Television Programming and its Impact on Children, MB Docket No. 04-261, adopted 07/15/04, released 07/28/04.]  Now, parents, media representatives, media scholars and policy-makers, indeed any interested persons, are being encouraged to respond specifically to the questions raised by the FCC in its Inquiry.  Comments are due to the agency by September 15, 2004.  They can be submitted via the FCC’s electronic system.

Anyone who wants to can read through the specific questions and concerns upon which the FCC is asking for public comment.  At the following Internet URL one can find the actual text of the NOI:

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-175A1.doc.  The home page for the FCC is found at http://www.fcc.gov.

Here is a brief listing of the basic issues being raised for comment by the NOI:

            --How much violent programming is there, and what are the trends? 

--What are the effects of viewing violent programming on children and other segments of the population? 

--If particular portrayals of violence are more likely to cause deleterious effects than others, what specific kinds of programming should be the focus of any further public policymaking in this area? 

--Should any further public policymaking address all violence or just excessive or gratuitous violence, and how should that be defined?

--Are the ratings system and the V-chip accomplishing their intended purpose, or are there additional mechanisms that might be developed to control exposure to media violence? 

--Finally, are there legal constraints on either Congress or the Commission to regulate violent programming? 

Two of the major points of the inquiry are – 1) how to define violence as to amount and effect, and 2) whether existing or potential programming controls are adequate to address the problems of violence in video programming.  Each of these present particular challenges and need to be the focus of any intelligent comments.

As to defining violence and screening out that which found to be most deleterious in effects on children and others, is all violent content necessarily “bad”?  Is it sufficient to define violence as “the overt expression of force intended to hurt or kill” as taken from early studies.   FCC 04-175, at p. 6.  Should unrealistic cartoon violence, slapstick or sport humor be included in the definition?  Id, at p. 7.  Is there an acceptable context for violence when it teaches worthy lessons and helps identify inappropriate instances of violence?

In the interest of providing parental controls on video programming, the 1996 Telecommunications Act included the “Communications Decency Act” which in turn required the inclusion of a “v-chip” in newly manufactured television sets.  The intent of the v-chip was to allow programming television programming with an MPAA-like rating for certain content and themes, and to allow adults to block objectionable programming.  The Violence NOI asks for comment on whether the v-chip is adequate.  It cites details on the v-chip’s use, noting that many parents are either unaware of the utility of the chip or do not use the features it provides.  This state of affairs might lead some to observe that parents are either ill-informed about existing means for controlling violence on TV or simply do not care.  Thus, parental comment on the versatility and effectiveness of the v-chip and TV program ratings might be very helpful to the FCC as a result of the NOI.

How to submit comments on the subjects of the NOI?  Interested persons can use either traditional paper means to lodge comments on the NOI, or they may use the FCC’s electronic system to do so.  Neither is easy to do, but is worthwhile considering.  In paragraphs 30 to 33 of the official NOI, the agency gives directions on what to do for either paper or electronic filing.  And, there is an e-mail address for obtaining instructions about how to file e-mail comments – ecfs@fcc.gov.

Since the FCC and Congress are interested in legislative and/or administrative suggestions on how to understand and treat the problem of violent content in television and video programming, and its potential for adverse impacts on children, it seems especially appropriate for concerned parents to voice their concerns in this context.  The NOI is couched in legalistic, bureaucratic jargon.  But, most any adult who takes the time will fathom the issues and will certainly have the qualifications to offer experiential comments on the impact of violence on children.

The upshot of the FCC’s NOI may be to do nothing, given the nominal controls already in place.  Or, it may be that the Commission would adopt new rules aimed at curtailing the amount and nature of violence being programmed by its licensees over the public’s airwaves.  In either instance, the views of the public need to be heard.