Ratings revision rates an incomplete thanks to NBC's exemption

As expected, a compromise was reached this week on Capitol Hill
to revise the 6-month-old TV ratings system. And, as also expected,
NBC is being allowed to cop out.
Beginning this fall the current ratings system, which grades
programs strictly on their age-appropriateness ("TV-14," "TV-Y7")
will be augmented by content ratings - "V" for violence, "L" for
strong language, "S" for sexual content, and "D" for suggestive
dialogue.
That is, except on NBC. (BET and PBS will remain ratings-free;
those networks declined to get with the system in January.)
As it happens, NBC is the industry's most popular and successful
network, and it stands to lose the most from ratings that tell
parents exactly what their children's eyes and ears are taking in.
Unlike an age-based rating, a content rating is not some vague scold,
but an impartial summary of the adult material in a given TV show.
And that's what unnerves NBC. In a world where channel and
program choices are increasing by the week, the chances that an
advertiser will take its money elsewhere at the slightest suggestion
of what it deems inappropriate content are high.
That's what content ratings do - not only do they force parents
to think for themselves, they help sponsors think for themselves,
too.
Of course, in the public debate over ratings, money rarely comes
up, but you sure hear a lot about the First Amendment.
"There is no place for government involvement in what people
watch on television," NBC said in a recent statement.
The industry has a habit of belittling the groups lobbying for TV
ratings as an out-of-touch Washington clique.
"Who appointed the PTA to speak for all parents? " fumed a
broadcast executive during negotiations last month.
In talking with parents in the Kansas City area, however, I've
learned that their views are a lot closer to those of the PTA, the
Center for Media Education and other groups advocating broader TV
ratings than they are to the networks'.
A recurring theme in our conversations has been that parents
already have resources available to help them decide if a movie -
even one with an innocuous-looking "PG" tag on it - is suitable for
their kids.
A similar set of checks and balances doesn't exist for TV and
most of the parents I spoke to said it's past due.
The other thing parents kept telling me was how rarely they
actually glimpsed those TV ratings in the few seconds they appear on
the screen. The on-screen time will increase under terms of the new
compromise, but some parents told me they want more. They want to see
those ratings published in advance, preferably in The Kansas City
Star's TV schedules.
Jane Amari, managing editor of new media/features/production at
The Star, said that if this week's compromise creates a useful
ratings system, the paper will begin publishing TV ratings.
"We don't have an objection to the ratings, but we wanted to
publish ratings that actually meant something," Amari said. "Space
is not a concern. We'd live with that if we felt the ratings were
telling people anything useful."
In local news
Congratulations to Jack Nott, who stepped down after nine years
at American Cablevision and 40 years - almost to the day - in
television. Nott's career began at Channel 5 and led him to NBC, the
Baltimore Orioles network, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Channel 9 and
American Cablevision, where he was instrumental in launching Metro
Sports.
"As my father said, 'I wouldn't touch you with a 10-foot pole
because you're a job hopper! ' " said Nott. "I don't think he
understood the television business."
Nott will be working in Kansas City as part of a three-person
media consulting company with clients nationwide.
E-mail me at barnhart@kcstar.com or leave me a message on
StarTouch. Dial (816) 889-STAR and enter 8852.