Congress Unlikely to Pass TV Violence Regulation Law Soon
Congress won’t leap to regulate TV violence and instead will give industry a chance to show controls aren’t needed, officials on both sides of the a la carte issue told us. Besides, the last pass at indecency legislation took many years. The entertainment industry will try to show Congress that legislation and regulation aren’t the best weapons against objectionable programming, Creative Coalition Exec. Dir. Robin Bronk told a Hill panel. Industry may get that chance because even those who say there’s too much media violence prefer self-regulation to govt. intervention, Parents TV Council Senior Dir. of Programs Melissa Caldwell told us.
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TV violence again is in the limelight because the FCC told Congress (CD May 26 p1) it could authorize the Commission to fine broadcasters for airing violent content, much as the agency issues indecency penalties. Sen. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has said he will introduce a bill to let the agency regulate not only broadcast but pay TV violence. Last week, the Senate Commerce Committee postponed a hearing on the subject. When that hearing occurs, the broadcast and cable industries likely will be represented by First Amendment expert Laurence Tribe, industry officials said. Harvard U. professor Tribe hasn’t commented.
Members of Congress see a vote against a TV violence bill as politically unpalatable, said Henry Geller, the first NTIA head and FCC gen. counsel under Chmn. Newton Minow. Before passing a bill out of the House or Senate Commerce Committee, politicians may study First Amendment issues likely to be raised by attempting to regulate violence, he said: “If it’s knocked off, it will be knocked off in committee because people take a closer look… If it gets to the floor, nobody is going to vote against legislating violence.” Legislators and regulators have widened the definition of “indecency” far beyond what’s constitutional, Geller told the Fri. Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) event on Capitol Hill. Last year, Congress raised FCC indecency fines 10-fold to a maximum of $325,000 for each occurrence. The FCC hasn’t issued any $325,000 fines, likely because of 2 pending appeals of earlier, lesser sanctions.
Congress wrangled for years over the indecency bill, suggesting that any such effort on violence will take as long, said Caldwell: “It’s something that may take a few years, but that’s okay. This is a long-term fight and we're in it for the long haul… The ideal solution would be for the entertainment industry to be more responsible” with broadcast networks airing violent content late at night and cable and DBS providers selling channels individually. Cable operators aren’t likely move soon to offer a la carte programming, because that step won’t address the problem of TV violence and makes no financial sense, PFF panelists agreed. “It’s really unsuited to violence, because it’s a program-by-program issue, a scene-by-scene issue,” and it’s not limited to certain channels, said First Amendment lawyer Robert Corn-Revere. Geller criticized FCC Chmn. Martin’s a la carte quest: “I think it’s a red herring by the chairman entirely. It has nothing to do with violence.”
Some groups believe a la carte is a workable solution. Selling channels individually is the best way to deal with parental concerns because it doesn’t infringe free speech, said Caldwell: “A la carte… give[s] cable networks freedom to air whatever they want and also gives parents greater ability to exercise control over what’s coming into their homes.” Concerned Women for America’s Eva Arlia, an audience member, told the Hill gathering that a la carte is “really just a free-market solution.” PFF’s Adam Thierer disagreed, saying he can’t recall any cable network that favors a la carte.