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FCC Looking to block violent childrens programming... (1 Viewer)

DeathStar1

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I'm not sure where to post this, but I'm listening to a backlog of radio shows, and one of the news reports on Thursday was the following...

'Apparently the VChip has done nothing to prevent Children from viewing violent programs...so FCC is looking to regulate what can be aired during times children would be watching. TV networks are concerned as to what the FCC would consider violent and how this would effect the news broadcasts'...

Personally, I'm all for more happy and interesting news broadcasts. I haven't watched the news in at least 3 years now because it's all so depressing.

We don't need to see the same old death and tragedy in the 6-9AM news broadcasts. And then again at the 5-6:30 news hours. Devote one half hour in the morning, one half hour at the end, and the rest to 'Good Day America' type shows....with how too stuff and technology reports, etc..
 

TravisR

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Phew, this should solve all of society's problems. :)

I definitely get what you mean about how bad the news is but I doubt the FCC will do anything about it since it's the news and prohibiting things in the news walks a very fine Constitutional line.
 

Jean D

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one of the arguments made was that even if parents monitor their children's television watching, commercials can all of a sudden become violent like movie previews rendering the V-chip useless because the broadcast time slot was listed as TV-G or whatever. Although, News is just that. its fact. the reporting of violence is not like glorification of it. Violent programs could eventually be defined as sporting events also. (Care to open this can of worms?)

If riots started happening for whatever reason. I'd want to news to show me it, I wouldn't want the news to be restricted due to the hourly constraints placed upon it and have them give me a song and dance and pretend everything is fine and dandy. This would be one of the reasons why even the FCC said it didnt have an idea how to keep everyone happy.
 

Jean D

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I think what Jeremy was getting at is that most people don't watch that much news. some people tune in for a brief time to catch the weather or top headlines. The news tries to lure you in to watch longer so they play to peoples guilty pleaures and tease you with subjective headlines.
 

DeathStar1

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Already did. I never did watch all the news broadcasts..I just caught the 12PM news after The Price is Right,and maybe tune in for a bit after Judge Judy when I used to watch it. Never would I tune in for more than 15 minutes.

But Each channel has the same news, and all is nothing but death and tragedy. Agreed, it won't solve societies problems, but it couldn't hurt :).
 

DeathStar1

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Good point :). But I didn't write the news report, so who knows ? :).

edit - regarding the posted news article. Keep in mind I'm not advocating the news broadcasters be forced to have 'pre-approved' content on the air. Bad for everyone concerned. But I WOULD like to see more informative stuff on the air. You watch one 30 minute news segment on one station, you've seen it on all the stations. Why have it repeated 3 or four times in an hour block?

I'd love to see a few technology spot shows take place of the afternoon news.....for instance. A 30 minute segment dedicated to reporting on interesting technology, or how too's on how to operate stuff. Or maybe even a 'Ask Asa' type show, where people call or write in for a series on how to solve simple household problems, or business 'getting away with murder' by screwing the customer, or how to get the town to repair a pot hole that has been sitting outside for months on end. Granted, they should obviously interrupt any of these things with breaking news coverage as they do now..but If people had stuff like that too watch in between all the gloom and doom, maybe more folks would tune in to the news broadcasts than they do now.

And of course, if this thing went through, god forbid the Batman or any future super hero show get cancelled for the 'All Barney Hour' :).
 

JeremyErwin

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The title of this thread is a bit misleading-- what the FCC wants to do is to regulate violence on television in the same manner as they regulate "indecency" on television, on the pretext that children might be watching. Additionally, they want to expand their regulatory authority over basic cable TV.

Personally, I quite enjoy television that happens to be both indecent and violent.
 

Malcolm R

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The V-chip hasn't worked because most parents can't be bothered to use it.

If parents would wake up and figure out that good parenting takes some active participation on their part, rather than just passively sitting back and hoping society and the entertainment industry will do the parenting for them, we'd all be better off.
 

Gabriel.H

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I grew up on violent movies, tv and games and even as a child I knew that re-enacting any of what I saw is wrong. Yes some kids do get influenced by violence in the media, but those who go out and perform violent acts inspired by what they see on tv obviously have a slightly distorted view on what's right and wrong and it's up to parents to make sure their children know the difference between the two and that there are consequences for being violent. Regulating violence on tv isn't going to make any difference because violence is everywhere....in everyday life, books, music, games...parents need to stop using these mediums as scapegoats and realize they need to do something different in the way they raise their kids.
 

Ken Chan

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Absolutely. But if we got into how our media have utterly failed us, it would probably degenerate into a pointless political "debate". The internet may ultimately be where you can get your a la carte info. And as the old media become less relevant, they ironically try more tabloid tactics to hold on.
 

NeilO

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If they go for this they'll try to do the same thing as for "indecency" looking to block things until 10 PM "when children are most likely watching." Of course, they will also again conveniently forget that in the Central time zone, the shows shown at 10 PM on the East Coast are shown at 9 PM. There is an interesting article about the FCC report over at Reason. http://www.reason.com/blog/show/119889.html

Neil
 

JeremyErwin

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Just what I was thinking. Arghh!

I guess something had to finally kill off the CSI and L&O franchises, though.
 

Sam Favate

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On the one hand, I always thought it was hypocritical that sexual material was strictly regulated (since much of it falls under the umbrella of "indecent" as far as many people are concerned) but violence, which - to me - is far more upsetting, was essentially allowed free reign.

That said, I am opposed to the FCC doing anything to regulate content. People should be able to turn off the TV if there is something they don't like or don't think is appropriate for kids. Restricting communication to the level that is acceptable for all children is unconstitutional and would leave us with a barren landscape of content.
 

ChristopherDAC

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I have always wondered why sex — which is something, I think, most people want to be involved in — is less acceptable in this country than violence — which is something, I think, most people would not want to have happen to them! Fact is, though, I would be more interested if the FCC were to bring back some of the regulations killed in the 1980s, which tried to actually enforce "public service" on broadcasters. Without that, whatever the content restrictions, broadcast TV will continue to degenerate into unwatchable mush.
 

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