Bending to congressional and public pressure, the TV networks will begin warning viewers this fall when violence appears in televised movies, mini-series and specials, network executives said Wednesday.
Preceding any shows in which the level of violence could be disturbing to children, these words will appear: "Due to some violent content, parental discretion advised."If further clarification is needed for particular situations, the executives said, the advisory will be modified accordingly.
Agreeing to the joint statement were Thomas Murphy, chairman of Capital Cit-ies/ABC; Howard Stringer, president of CBS Broadcast Group; Warren Littlefield, president of NBC Entertainment; and George Vradenburg, executive vice president of Fox Television.
Each network will decide which shows to mark, following basic guidelines for using the advisory when:
- The overall level of violence in a program, the graphic nature of the violent content or the tone, message or mood of the program make it appropriate.
- The context of the violent depiction, the composition of the intended audience and the time period of the show make it fitting.
- Violence would not necessarily be expected in a particular show or when it is graphic or pervasive. Warnings would not necessarily be warranted when there is one isolated act in the program.
After two years, the networks will review the success of the warning system and make any necessary changes, the broadcast executives said. But they defended the use of violence as a dramatic technique and did not promise to eliminate it from programming.
"It is relevant and important to understand that we cannot allow broadcast television to become barren of dramatic excite-ment," they said.
"Somewhere between lackluster drama, and the insertion of gratuitous violence, lies the tone of the storytelling we seek"
It's the biggest step so far by the entertainment industry since Congress began exerting pressure earlier this year for action under the Television Violence Act.
The law, which expires in December, gives the TV networks an antitrust waiver to talk among themselves about jointly reducing televised violence.
Until Wednesday, the only tangible result of the anti-TV violence law was the scheduling of an industrywide meeting in Los Angeles on Aug. 2.