ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 14, 1996 TAG: 9607150138
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
MAKING TV Land safe for children is a perilous endeavor, the mere mention of which can make grown civil libertarians cry. But given the reach of television's influence on America's youngsters - and a bad influence it can be - a TV-ratings system to help parents choose appropriate fare is needed.
Rather than presenting a threat of government- or industry-imposed censorship, a good ratings system would provide families with enough information to make intelligent choices for themselves without forcing their standards or tastes on everyone else. This is a far more sensible approach than, say, consumer-boycott efforts to hound into oblivion certain programs deemed offensive by an individual or group.
Children Now, a California-based advocacy group, has offered an excellent proposal to the entertainment-industry board that is charged with implementing a federal mandate for TV ratings, included in this year's massive overhaul of the telecommunications law.
Underpinning Children Now's recommendations is the recognition that children are not little adults: A 4-year-old's understanding of what she is seeing is not the same as her 10-year-old brother's, which is not the same as their 35-year-old mother's.
As one communications professor explained, "To the young child, everything on television is 'real.''' Including cartoons.
Among the advocacy group's ideas worth considering in any ratings system are proposals to:
* Include four types of information about every program: age appropriateness, adult language, sexual activity and violence.
* Narrowly target age appropriateness. The group suggests four or five categories for children under 17. Toy makers put this helpful information on their boxes. So can TV producers.
* Give a rating to everything on television except sports and news.
Ratings will not purge television of sex and violence, nor should they. Adults should not be limited in their viewing choices to what the kids can watch.
Ratings can be designed, though, so that parents can get the information they need to set the limits their children need.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 linesby CNB