Gore Tweaks Tinseltown
Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore has called on the film, recording and video game industries to stop marketing adult-rated entertainment to children.
Gore urged the entertainment industry to accept the recommendations of a report issued in Washington by the Federal Trade Commission.
Seizing on an issue championed by running mate Sen Joe Lieberman, Gore said if the entertainment industry did not voluntarily clean up its act, he would support tougher measures to hold it accountable.
"It's hard enough to raise children today without the entertainment industry making it more difficult," he said in a statement. "We believe in giving parents better information and more tools to help them protect their children from inappropriate material."
Gore's Republican opponent, George W. Bush, agreed that the industry needs to do a better job policing itself. But he questioned Gore's commitment to the issue, asserting that the vice president had failed until now to take a strong stand on violence in the media.
"I think the man's short on credibility on the issue," Bush said, citing the millions of dollars Gore has received from Hollywood in political contributions.
Bush also said that parents and the industry need to do more "to reduce the violence that our children see on the screen."
The FTC concludes that despite a voluntary rating and labeling systems, the film, recording, and video game industries have enticed young consumers to buy products that are deemed inappropriate for children. The federal agency said that they do so largely by placing advertising for these products in publications and television broadcasts that appeal to children.
Appearing Monday on Oprah, Gore told host Oprah Winfrey he would ask the entertainment industry for a voluntary "cease-fire" in marketing inappropriate videos, games, and "albums" to children.
"They're called CDs now," Winfrey corrected him.
If the industry does not comply, Gore and Lieberman said in their statement they would support tougher measures to hold the industry accountable.
They said if the industry makes a promise not to market the material to children, but then does so, it could be found guilty of false advertising.
President Clinton, who commissioned the FTC investigation, challenged the entertainment industry to be responsive.
"The American people will give, I think, the entertainment industry a period now to fix this but something has to be done," Mr. Clinton said, during a campaign-style appearance in Scarsdale, N.Y., with his wife, Hillary, who is running for the U.S. Senate. "They say these rating systems mean something. They can't turn around and advertise to people that shouldn't see this stuff."
Industry leaders questioned what conclusions the government could draw from scrutinizing Hollywood.
"If we are causing moral decay in this country, we ought to have an explosioof crime," Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, said Sunday. "The exact opposite is happening."
He argued that any evaluation of the marketing practices of moviemakers can only be subjective and praised Hollywood's voluntary rating system.
"For almost 32 years, this industry has been the only segment of our national marketplace that voluntarily turns away revenues at the box office to redeem the pledge that we have made to parents," Valenti said.
The Senate Commerce Committee plans a hearing on the report Wednesday.