Looking to resolve the lingering dispute that has pitted the television networks and Hollywood against parents' groups, the White House is aiming to convene a meeting this week to finalize a new rating system for TV programs, administration officials said Saturday.
Officials hope the prospect of a White House meeting will encourage the two sides to reach a final agreement on revising the networks' voluntary rating system, which many parents' groups have condemned as too vague since it was introduced in January.One senior White House official said the administration hoped to convene the meeting sometime toward the end of the week, though it could slip into next week.
"Like any deal, it's never over until it is over," the official said. The White House's plan to organize the meeting was first reported in the entertainment publication, Daily Variety.
The networks agreed to rate their programs at an earlier White House meeting with President Clinton. But the age-based ratings immediately came under fire from parents' groups and many in Congress, who insisted that the system should also provide detailed information about violence and sexual content in programming - as several cable networks already do.