The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board and the Parents Television
and Media Council have contrasting goals.
The Monitoring Board works for the entertainment industry and allegedly responds
to complaints regarding erroneous or inadequate ratings that networks assigned
to their TV programs. The Council allegedly
is a watch dog over the Board and points out to the Board TV shows and movies
that appear to not have been rated properly based on the content of the TV
program.
What they have in common is this. They are both private organizations not
accountable to the public. The same
public who watches TV shows and TV movies.
Neither organization will speak to you over the phone. Neither organization will respond to you in
writing in request for information you requested.
The Monitoring Board is not under the jurisdiction of the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Nor is the Board accountable to the Federal, State or local
governments. Even though the product
they control/”monitor” impacts taxpayers, they are immune from public
scrutiny. Something is wrong with that
scenario. Every week, hundreds of TV
shows, TV movies and other programs are cascaded and thrust out at us, the
public for absorption under the definition of “entertainment”.
Over the past few years, I became aware that the current
rating system was making decisions for parents on what content of TV programs
was appropriate. That content involved
scenes of homosexual/same sex relationship being depicted in TV shows. Time and time again, TV shows and movies did
not have a parental warning that the program featured scenes of homosexual
activity. This resulted in viewers being
surprised when a scene of homosexual behavior suddenly appeared on the screen.
I proposed to the Board that a descriptor of SSR (same sex
relationship) be added to forewarn parents, grandparents and other guardians about
content that includes homosexual scenes.
The Board countered that the current system and descriptors were
adequate. No current rating or
descriptor covers homosexual activity. So,
families continue to be surprised by the content of TV shows and movies under
the current rating system. How many
times have you been surprised?
I brought this matter to the attention of the Council. The Council appears to have no interest in
the issue of homosexual scenes in TV shows and TV movies. Their focus seems to be on content related to
teen agers and youth. The Council does
not want to acknowledge that teens and youth are influenced and impacted by these
homosexual content scenes.
The members of the Board, in addition to the chairman, includes
18 industry representatives from the broadcast, cable and creative communities
appointed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), NCTA – The
Internet and Television Association, and the Motion Picture Association (MPA),
and five public interest members, appointed by the Board chairman. Disney, Fox network, Discovery and Hulu are among
the entertainment organizations serving on the Board. My request for the names and contact info for
each Board member was refused. My phone
calls to the Board chairman, Charles Rivkin, were not returned. My request for names and contact info for the
five interest group members was also not responded to.
I wonder, “Why are they afraid to have a dialogue?” “Why can’t the names and contact info of the
Board members be released?” Why? Because they do not want to be accountable to
you, the public, the same public who are impacted by their decisions on
complaints received from the public. It
appears as if the Board is established to maintain the authority of the
entertainment industry on what content reaches you in your home. The content that influences the behavior of
your children.
I am asking you as a parent, grandparent, teacher, or
guardian to complain to your Congressperson and Senator regarding the lack of
accountability of the Board. Write and
telephone the Board and let them know you want more input on what you want to
be warned about in regards to the content of TV shows and TV movies. They can be reached at the following:
TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board
PO BOX 771
Washington, DC 20044
TVOMB@tvguidelines.org
(202) 570-7776
Mr. Arnell Hill
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