Senators Scold Hollywood

At the meeting, held under the aegis of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator and Vice Presidential contender Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), a longtime foe of violence and sex in mainstream media, said parents feel "locked in a losing competition with the culture to raise our children."

"Rather than helping to shoulder the growing burden on parents, the entertainment industry too often has chosen to go behind their backs targeting the sale of violent, adult-rated products directly to children," he added.

Of course, Hollywood suits did their best to avoid the scolding, failing to appear before the panel and earning even more scorn from the politicos leading the charge. Said Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) of the MIA studio bosses: "Their hubris is stunning."

Industry mucky-muck and Motion Picture Association of America honcho Jack Valenti, Hollywood's chief Washington lobbyist, did show up to defend his studio boss cohorts. Explaining their conspicuous absence, he said they were not "ducking and running," but "they literally have other things on their schedule that they could not erase." (McCain, in turn, invited the heads of several studios back to a follow-up hearing.)

Valenti said he would personally go to Hollywood to discuss the report with studio heads, and he also announced the industry would refrain from marketing R-rated films to young children.

"We are going to examine how we advertise and conduct research so that we do not deliberately seek out the very young in the promotion of R-rated films," Valenti said, responding to accusations in the FTC report that says movie studios do just that.

"The movie industry is more attentive to the needs of parents than any other industry," Valenti insisted, pointing out that the ratings system and the monitoring of that system as proof.

But Valenti did remind the Senators that R-rated films aren't intended for adults alone. "The R-rating is an advanced cautionary warning," he said, explaining children under 18 are allowed into an R-rated film if accompanied by an adult. "The decision making is with the parents."

Valenti didn't address issues of violence directly, except to admit that the motion picture industry can make mistakes. "We are not perfect--nor is anyone else--in public or private life. The person who declares himself to be innocent does so with reference to a witness and not his own conscience."

Representatives for both the video game and music industries were also on hand to defend themselves. Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Association, said his constituents have "a proven commitment to effective self-regulation." Meanwhile, his associates in the recording industry said that, while they self-regulate, the notion of what is objectionable is not always so clear cut.

"I don't think you can analyze a work of art like you can analyze a breakfast cereal," said Strauss Zelnick, president of BMG Entertainment. Added Recording Industry Association of America CEO Hilary Rosen, "Some artists like being on the edge. That's how they experience their emotions."

Meanwhile, the television networks said they would work harder to ensure ads for adult-oriented fare don't wind up on shows geared to kids.

Family-friendly Disney announced it wouldn't accept advertising for R-rated movies on any programs on its ABC television network broadcast before 9 p.m. (Actually, ABC's policy was already in place but not always enforced. As a spokesperson tells The New York Times, "From now on there will be no exceptions.") The company also said it would prohibit theater owners from showing trailers for R-rated films before movies released under its label.

Fox already bans such commercials on any show considered "family" programming and NBC says it won't accept commercials for R-rated films in any show whose audience is more than 30 percent children.

As for CBS? The network, known for its geezer-attracting shows, says it doesn't really have programs children care about.