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PTC President spoke at a U.S. Senate forum

The PTC (self proclaimed Parent Television Council) should open a dictionary and lookup the word, "accountability". PTC President, L. Brent Bozell, attended a U.S. Senate forum concerning the regulation of "indecent content" on TV.

The PTC's position is the following, which is posted on their website:

"The levels of graphic sexual content on television have become coarser and more explicit. In the past month alone, popular prime-time broadcast series have included plotlines about bestiality (Boston Legal), [This show is on after 10 o'clock on Tuesdays, and if any child is awake watching TV at that time of night, then the parent should hold themselves accountable if they have a problem, not the TV network.] a sexual relationship between a teenaged girl and her adopted brother (Close to Home), [This show is rated "TV-PG", the PG stands for "Parental Guidance". Once again accountability should be held against the parents and not the network.] and a pedophile (Without a Trace)." [This TV show is on at 10 o'clock, and is rated "TV-PG". Do I have to say it again? Parents are accountable for the actions of their children. Did the PTC forget that TV sets now have "Parental Controls".]

"The television networks have proven to be poor stewards of the broadcast airwaves. [Matter of opinion.] They clearly cannot be trusted to be responsible with the content and messages they are communicating to young viewers.[If that is the case, then control your TVs in your house, not the networks.] Instead, they hide behind a faulty ratings system and the empty rhetoric of 'artistic freedom.' Until the networks take proactive steps to significantly reduce the amount of inappropriate sexual content on television - particularly during hours when children are in the viewing audience - we need to continue to put pressure on the FCC to do a better job of enforcing broadcast decency laws, and on Congress to increase the FCC's enforcement authority." [The only faulty thing about the rating system is that there are people who do not care to learn about it, nor do they care to enforce it at home. Instead they try to force others to control what is on their television, when they have "Parental Controls" on TVs and satellite receivers, a ratings system that is just fine in my opinion, warnings before some television shows, and the power to change the channel or even turn off the TV. This group would rather change what the rest of us care to watch because they can not control what their children are watching. If they feel so strongly about this, then maybe they should sell their TVs and leave the rest of us alone.]

"In the wake of the Janet Jackson incident, all of the broadcast networks trumpeted new policies to prevent the airing of indecent content. [I was watching that Super Bowl game and even I did not notice.] In February 2004, senior executives of many of the same networks slated to be present at this hearing testified before the House of Representatives about their personal and corporate commitments to protect the public's airwaves. However, it appears that little has really changed: Viacom (CBS' parent company) has since appealed the fine levied against it by the FCC for the 2004 Super Bowl. Ironically, Viacom entered into a Consent Decree with the FCC to have all other pending indecency complaints dismissed, but then turned around and announced it was going to fight having the Janet Jackson incident which now they claim wasn't even indecent. [Since I missed the "incident", I found out later on that she had on a "pastie" which prevents the showing of nipple.]The net result is that Viacom has yet to pay a single penny in fines for that infraction. Furthermore, even after the acceptance of the terms of that Consent Decree, CBS re-aired one show that was part of that very consent decree, an episode of Without a Trace that included a teen orgy. [Once again, that show is at 10 o'clock and is rated "TV-PG".]That alone should tell us all we need to know about Viacom's real commitment to standards. [The re-airing of that episode does not break any laws, but I believe that providing a link to the video clip which is on their webserver is breaking a copyright law or two.]

"Simply put, the networks have no credibility when they talk about their commitment toward keeping the airwaves safe for families. They have failed, and failed miserably. [Matter of opinion.] It is clear that the present fine structure does not impose a strong enough deterrent to those who would take advantage of their use of the public's airwaves. It's a laughing stock. Unfortunately, the joke is on the American family." [Currently the law imposes a top fine of $25,000 per violation of "47 USC Sec. 503(b)(2)" and not to exceed $250,000 for a continuing violation (i.e. the same "incident"). Maybe the PTC does not know the value of a dollar. $25,000 is tuition for college or a new car, and $250,000 can buy a house; in some markets."]

"The House has taken seriously its obligation to protect the public's airwaves from those who would pollute them, and has passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act by a huge bipartisan majority. It is time for the Senate to take its responsibility equally seriously, pass this common sense legislation, and demonstrate to the American people that it cares about them and their children. [The PTC keeps hiding behind their children. The responsibilty is the parent and their inability to control what their children are watching. I have a niece that knows what she should not be watching. She will even close and cover her eyes when something comes on the screen that she feels in inapproriate, and she is always right. My niece has been doing this since she was 6 years old, because my sister taught her what is right and what is wrong. If she gets it why doesn't the PTC understand that the responsibilty is up to the individuals.]

"In addition, the incessant sleaze on MTV presents the most compelling case yet for consumer cable choice. A recent PTC review of 136 MTV shows representing more than 70 hours of original programming, revealed expletive-laden programming-both partially-bleeped and non-bleeped profanity-that occurred approximately once every three minutes with no language warnings to parents. If parents wanted to supervise, they would not be helped by the V-chip because the MTV programming monitored in the study did not contain the content indicator for L - language. The V-chip is completely dependent upon the ratings system's content descriptors to work accurately. [The PTC does not mention when these programs aired, but I will find out and I will update this article with that information. I do know that anything that is rated above "TV-G" is either "TV-PG", "TV-14", or "TV-MA". According to the rating system "TV-G", does not contain strong language.]

"MTV is a subsidized network. As it now stands, parents have no choice but to take - and pay for - MTV if they want basic cable in their homes. Given a choice, how many parents now being forced to take and pay for MTV as part of a basic cable package, would continue to do so? It's time for Congress to give families cable choice, the ability to take and pay for only what they want." [Congress should not have to step in to get the cable industry to do that. This is a choice made by the industry. If people feel strongly about that, then they should write to their cable providers, not congressmen and congresswomen. I do however favor an "a-la-carte" method for cable, but only if it will lower my cable bill. Until that happens, the PTC supporters should just not watch the channels they don't want, like the rest of us.]

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Source: "PTC President Bozell's Statements on Indecency Regulation"
Source Date: November 29, 2005

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