Issued by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Broadcasters
PREFACE
The following Statement of Principles of Radio and Television Broadcasting is being adopted by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Broadcasters on behalf of the Association and commercial radio and television stations it represents.
America's free over-the-air radio and television broadcasters have a long and proud tradition of universal, local broadcast service to the American people. These broadcasters, large and small, representing diverse localities and perspectives, have strived to present programming of the highest quality to their local communities pursuant to standards of excellence and responsibility. They have done so and continue to do so out of respect for their status as daily guests in the homes and lives of a majority of Americans and with a sense of pride in their profession, in their product and in their public service.
The Board issues this statement of principles to record and reflect what it believes to be the generally-accepted standards of America's radio and television broadcasters. The Board feels that such a statement will be particularly useful at this time, given public concern about certain serious societal problems, notably violence and drug abuse.
The Board believes that broadcasters will continue to earn public trust and confidence by following the same principles that have served them well for so long. Many broadcasters now have written standards of their own. All have their own programming policies. NAB would hope that all broadcasters would set down in writing their general programming principles and policies, as the Board hereby sets down the following principles.
PRINCIPLES CONCERNING PROGRAM CONTENT
Responsibly Exercised Artistic Freedom
The challenge to the broadcaster often is to determine how suitably to present the complexities of human behavior without compromising or reducing the range of subject matter, artistic expression or dramatic presentation desired by the broadcaster and its audiences. For television and for radio, this requires exceptional awareness of considerations peculiar to each medium and of the composition and preferences of particular communities and audiences.
Each broadcaster should exercise responsible and careful judgement in the selection of material for broadcast. At the same time each broadcast licensee must be vigilant in exercising and defending its rights to program according to its own judgements and to the programming choices of its audiences. This often may include the presentation of sensitive or controversial material.
In selecting program subjects and themes of particular sensitivity, great care should be paid to treatment and presentation, so as to avoid presentations purely for the purpose of sensationalism or to appeal to prurient interest or morbid curiosity.
In scheduling programs of particular sensitivity, broadcasters should take account of the composition and the listening or viewing habits or their specific audiences. Scheduling generally should consider audience expectations and composition in various time periods.
Responsibility In Children's Programming
Programs designed primarily for children should take into account the range of interests and needs of children from informational material to wide variety of entertainment material. Children's programs should attempt to contribute to the sound, balanced development of children and to help them achieve a sense of the world at large.
SPECIAL PROGRAM PRINCIPLES
1. Violence.
Violence, physical or psychological, should only be portrayed in a responsible manner and should not be used exploitatively. Where consistent with the creative intent, programs involving violence should present the consequences of violence to its victims and perpetrators.
Presentation of the details of violence should avoid the excessive, the gratuitous and the instructional.
The use of violence for its own sake and the detailed dwelling upon brutality or physical agony, by sight or by sound, should be avoided.
Particular care should be exercised where children are involved in the depiction of violent behavior.
2. Drugs and Substance Abuse.
The use of illegal drugs or other substance abuse should not be encouraged or shown as socially desirable.
Portrayal of drug or substance abuse should be reasonably related to plot, theme or character development. Where consistent with the creative intent, the adverse consequences of drug or substance abuse should be depicted.
Glamorization of drug and substance abuse should be avoided.
3. Sexually Oriented Material.
In evaluating programming dealing with human sexuality, broadcasters should consider the composition and expectations of the audience likely to be viewing or listening to their stations and/or to a particular program, the context in which sensitive material is presented and its scheduling.
Creativity and diversity in programming that deals with human sexuality should be encouraged. Programming that purely panders to prurient or morbid interests should be avoided.
Where significant child audience can be expected, particular care should be exercised when addressing sexual themes.
Obscenity is not constitutionally-protected speech and is at all times unacceptable for broadcast.
All programming decisions should take into account current federal requirements limiting the broadcast of indecent matter.
ENDNOTE
This statement of principles is of necessity general and advisory rather than specific and restrictive. There will be no interpretation or enforcement of these principles by NAB or others. They are not intended to establish new criteria for programming decisions, but rather to reflect generally-accepted practices of America's radio and television programmers. They similarly are not in any way intended to inhibit creativity in or programming of controversial, diverse or sensitive subjects.
Specific standards and their applications and interpretations remain within the sole discretion of the individual television or radio licensee. Both NAB and the stations it represents respect and defend the individual broadcast's First Amendment rights to select and present programming according to its individual assessment of the desires and expectations of its audiences and of the public interests.
(Adopted October 1990; reaffirmed 1992).
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