Report Urges FCC to Limit TV Violence

In this undated publicity photo released by Fox TV, Kiefer Sutherland appears in a scene from the network's hit thriller series "24." (AP Photo/ Fox Broadcasting Co., Michael Becker, File) (Michael Becker - AP)

"We can't just deal with the three or four broadcast channels _ we have to be looking at what's on cable as well" Martin said.

Creating a regulatory regime to deal with television violence would present a host of challenges for the agency, say critics. First, the FCC or Congress would have to define excessive violence. The agency is mulling several possibilities, including one devised by Morality in Media Inc., a group whose motto is "promoting decent society through law."

Even if a definition can be devised, more problematic is the issue of how to determine what is worthy of sanction and what is not.

"Will it count on the news?" asked Jonathan Rintels, executive director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media. "Will it count on news magazines like 60 Minutes and Dateline? What about hockey games when the gloves come off and people start punching each other?"

Rintels said such rules would create "huge gray areas of censored content."

Meanwhile, the agency is fighting challenges in two federal appeals courts regarding how it is enforcing its rules on broadcast indecency.

"The fact that it's difficult should not take this issue off the table," Copps said.

Broadcasters are expected to object strenuously to any anti-violence regulatory regime, but have been skittish in going on the record. The National Association of Broadcasters declined a request for comment, as did CBS Inc. Scott Grogin, senior vice president for corporate communications at Fox Broadcasting, also declined comment because the report has not yet been released.

Generally, broadcasters and cable companies say parents should take responsibility for what their children watch and take advantage of blocking technology, like the V-chip, and are sponsoring a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign to teach them how to use it.

As for a la carte, Brian Dietz, spokesman for the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said it is an "unnecessary government intrusion in a vibrant marketplace that would result in higher prices, fewer choices and less diversity in programming."

Broadcasters also claim their shows are becoming edgier to keep up with increasingly violent fare on cable networks.

Dan Isett, director of corporate and government affairs for the Parents Television Council, finds these arguments unconvincing.