Entertainment Groups Target TV Indecency with Education Effort

ENTERTAINMENT GROUPS TARGET TV INDECENCY WITH EDUCATION EFFORT
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Gary Gentile]
A coalition of entertainment groups will launch a $300 million educational campaign next month to urge parents to control what their children watch on television, the groups said Monday. The effort by TV networks, cable and satellite television companies, local broadcasters and Hollywood studios is an attempt to forestall government control of content by demonstrating that a voluntary program can work. Jack Valenti, former head of the Motion Picture Association of America, announced the effort Monday during his keynote speech to the National Association of Broadcasters. "We want to tell American parents that they, and they alone, have total power to control every hour of television programming," Valenti said. He said the groups would enlist the not-for-profit Ad Council to develop advertising that cable systems, networks and local stations have agreed to air in what Valenti termed an "avalanche of messages." The material will also be distributed to churches and advocacy groups. The group will also work with the Consumer Electronics Association to raise awareness about the presence of V-chips in TV sets that allow the blocking of some programming.
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