Parents support TV censorship
A study released yesterday says most parents would support a federal crackdown on TV sex and violence. Pressure's building for Congress to act, but TV companies say censorship should be left to individuals and the marketplace. Jill Barshay reports.
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Scott Jagow: It's not often you hear Americans demanding government censorship, but in a new survey, parents say they want help protecting their kids from sex and violence on TV. More now from Jill Barshay.
Jill Barshay: Two-thirds of parents surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation say they would support new federal controls on television content.
But cable and TV companies say parents already have the tools to curb sex and violence on TV.
Brian Dietz is spokesman for the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. He says parents can program their cable set-top boxes to block certain shows.
Brian Dietz: Households do differ in their tastes and what they view as appropriate material for their children. So instead of the government stepping in and making decisions, which essentially are impossible to make on household-by-household basis, parents are the best ones to do that.
The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau says advertisers may end up solving the problem for parents. Businesses like Wal-Mart won't advertise on lewd or violent shows. If more companies follow suit, studios could start cleaning up their act on their own.
In New York, I'm Jill Barshay for Marketplace.
