APA's Board of Trustees pledged last month to work with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to help fashion a television rating system so that parents are better able to screen the programs their children watch.

Following a presentation to the Board in which MPAA President Jack Valenti described an age-based rating system for television shows (see box on page 36), Board members agreed to work with the entertainment organization to help improve the system.

In particular, APA and other groups_including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Pediatrics_want the ratings to provide more specific information about program content.

The rating system, developed by MPAA's TV Rating Implementation Group, is to go into effect this month, according to a spokesperson with the MPAA. It is expected to be used in conjunction with the "V chip," a device by which parents can "block out" programs they do not want their children to see.

Some programs, such as news shows, would be excluded from the rating system.

Valenti, the charismatic entertainment executive and former White House press secretary, told Trustees that the MPAA system represents an effort to develop rating symbols that will be concise enough for use in newspaper and TV Guide grids, and at the same time convey enough information for parents to make informed decisions about program content.

"We have to keep our terminology brief," he said. "If we don't keep it brief, it won't be usable."

Valenti also vowed to appoint an advisory panel, including representatives from APA, to assess the rating system after its implementation.

"We are dealing in subjectivity," Valenti said. "I know how blurred the lines are, even how smudged the lines can be. I know how ill lit are the corridors we are walking.

"We don't pretend that our guidelines are flawless or writ in stone," he added. "We are willing to change them."

Valenti's appearance before the Board of Trustees came one day after the Clinton Administration announced tentative support for the MPAA rating system.

President Clinton had challenged the entertainment industry earlier in the year to come up with its own voluntary rating system, and last month the President agreed that the MPAA ratings should be given a 10-month trial period.

The MPAA system has been harshly criticized, however_"virtually trashed," in the words of Valenti at last month's Board meeting_by a number of groups, including the American Psychological Association.

Those groups have said that the MPAA has ignored requests to include more information about program content in the ratings. Moreover, they have lobbied for a system_currently in use by a small number of cable channels_that explicitly flags television shows for sex, violence, and language.

A December 12 letter to Valenti signed by the American Psychological Association and 26 other organizations stated that the MPAA's TV Ratings Implementation Group "appears unwilling to incorporate into the ratings system any labels that identify content such as violence, sex, or language."

The letter continues: "Parents are in the best position to judge whether a show is appropriate for their children, as long as the labels describe what is in the show. We urge you to respect this simple premise by adding to your ratings system labels that describe content similar to the 'V' for violence, 'L' for language, and 'S' for sex symbols already in use."

Jeff McIntyre, senior legislative analyst at the American Psychological Association, expressed the group's frustration with the MPAA ratings.

"We are very happy that the television industry has taken action," he told Psychiatric News. "But they haven't done what we want. . . . We have been screaming 'content,' and they have ignored us."

Other groups, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have declined to endorse the MPAA rating system, but have pledged to continue working with Valenti and his organization to improve it.

In a letter to Valenti last month, AACP President Lawrence Stone, M.D., wrote:

"We stand ready and eager to continue to be part of an ongoing partnership that will finalize and refine the Television Parental Guidelines. However, we cannot endorse the guidelines as they have been initially drafted."

Stone called for "easily understandable, user-friendly information depicting the degree of sex, violence, or adult language in a program."

Stone wrote, ". . .[E]arly mental, behavioral, and emotional development does not always progress in accordance with a child's chronological age. An age-based system, such as the one being proposed [by Valenti's organization], carries the risk of missing significant developmental variations in young people."

What Do the Ratings Mean?

TV-Y: This program is appropriate for all children. The themes and elements of the program, whether animated or live action, were specifically designed for a very young audience, including those ages 2 to 6.

TV-7: This program is designed for children ages 7 and above. It may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental skills to distinguish between make-believe and reality. Themes and elements in this program may include mild physical or comedic violence or may be scary to children under 7.

TV-G: Most parents would find this program suitable for all ages. Although this rating does not signify a program designed specifically for children, most parents can let younger children watch this program unattended.

TV-PG: This program may contain some material that some parents would find unsuitable for younger children. The theme itself may call for parental guidance. The program may contain infrequent coarse language, limited violence, some suggestive sexual dialogue and situations.

TV-14: This program may contain some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age. Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under age 14 watch unattended. This program may contain sophisticated themes, strong language, more intense violence and sexual content.

TV-M: This program is designed to be viewed by adults specifically and is therefore unsuitable for children.

(Psychiatric News, January 3, 1997)