New Objections to TV Ratings Changes

WASHINGTON —  Representatives of the Hollywood creative community intend to express their concerns about the pending TV-ratings settlement in a conference call today to Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America and the chief negotiator for the Hollywood movie studios on TV ratings.

“We believe that the current ratings system has not been given enough of a chance to work, and we are concerned that the more restrictions we add in terms of ratings, the closer we come to impinging on creative freedom,” Jack Shea, president of the Directors Guild of America, said in an interview over the weekend. “If we add symbols for sex, language and violence, with no moratorium on future legislation, where does it end?”

Shea confirmed that the DGA asked for a briefing with Valenti. Richard Masur, president of the Screen Actors Guild of America, also will participate in the call. Shea declined to say what action, if any, the groups might take. But sources said that the DGA, along with SAG and possibly the Writers Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America, may issue a statement today taking a stance against the current movement toward adding symbols for sex, language and violence to augment the industry’s 5-month-old, age-based categories.

“The creative community in Hollywood has been left out of the latest negotiations,” said veteran director Arthur Seidelman, the DGA representative on the implementation committee that created the original TV ratings. “We are very concerned that the possible agreement that is on the table would jeopardize our 1st Amendment rights.”

Negotiators for the television industry will come back to the negotiating table here today in an attempt to finally make a deal on a new ratings system. Ironically, it is not the ratings themselves that are still at issue.

The TV industry, in what it views as a major concession, has agreed in principle to augment its existing age-based guidelines with symbols for sex, language, violence and suggestive dialogue (S, L, V and D), and even for fantasy violence (FV) in children’s cartoons.

Where the 3-week-old negotiations have deadlocked is over the industry’s desire for assurances that the children’s advocates will be satisfied with these additions.

Television executives want the National Parent-Teacher Assn., the American Medical Assn., Children Now and other groups that have complained about the ratings system implemented in January to sign a letter saying they will not support legislation dealing with TV ratings and TV content for three years. The industry also is seeking guarantees from Congress that no such legislation will be enacted.

“Without these assurances,” one television executive said, “there can be no deal on TV ratings.”

Children’s and parents’ advocates say the industry’s demand is high-handed and restrictive.

“They’re trying to tie the groups’ hands on speaking out about issues about TV that are unrelated to TV ratings,” a source close to them said Friday.

The issue mirrors the anger and mistrust that have characterized the negotiations for the past week.

“We have to have assurances--from the groups and from Congress--that they won’t simply reopen the deal or press for legislation, not just about TV ratings but about the content of TV programming,” one industry executive explained. “Some of these groups seem to have a hidden agenda of supporting future legislation about TV content. Otherwise, why won’t they accept our offer of S, L and V--which is what they’ve asked us to do all along?”

According to sources, the letter drafted by the industry lists several measures that it wants the children’s groups to say they won’t support if a compromise is reached on TV ratings. These include a bill from Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) that would restrict violent shows to late-night hours if the networks don’t provide content-based ratings; a bill from Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) that would link content ratings to the renewal of broadcast licenses; and a bill from Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) calling on the networks to reinstitute their old broadcasters’ code of conduct.

Industry sources said that the specific bills were listed at the request of the children’s groups.

The children’s groups plan to present a counteroffer to the industry today that will offer not to support ratings legislation during this session of Congress, which would mean until the end of 1998. But the guarantee would apply only to the ratings, not to other legislation related to TV content.

If negotiations break down, some TV sources said, splits within the industry could develop.

“There are people on both sides of the table who would be happy to see the negotiations blow up,” one negotiator said. “There’s always been an element on the industry side that believes we should say, ‘This is getting ridiculous--we’ll see you in court.’ ”

At the other extreme, sources said, are some members of the cable industry who might go ahead and implement the S, V and L ratings on their own. The cable industry has always been more open to the additional labels because, unlike broadcasters, it doesn’t derive its revenues solely from advertising.

Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Senate Commerce Committee chairman, who has been pressing for a compromise, was said to be frustrated with the impasse. He has held off on threats to move legislation for TV ratings in the hopes that the two sides would reach agreement.

McCain has been drafting a letter to circulate to fellow senators for their signature to assure TV executives that a compromise would get them off the ratings hook. The exact nature of the letter has not been determined.

On the other side of Congress, Ken Johnson, an aide to Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House subcommittee on telecommunications, said his boss has gained the assurance of House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) that the ratings issue “will be considered resolved” if an acceptable compromise is reached.