[Upd-discuss] CAMPAIGN: BBC links- influence of media on children & clinton-ordered FTC report

[Mashilamani Sambasivam]

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Hello,
  The following BBC links deal with the huge negative influence
of media on children. I think you will find it
very useful. If you found the links useful, please forward this email
to as many parents / adults as you can. Remember your contribution
by forwarding to few people may seem small by itself, but considered
on the whole, it makes a huge difference.

Thanks much,
Mashi
(Mashilamani Sambasivam)


hollywood sells violence to children-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/920594.stm

Clinton-ordered Federal Trade Commission Report-
Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children:
A review of self-regulation and industry practices
in the motion picture, music recording, and electronic
game industries - 
http://www.ftc.gov/reports/violence/vioreport.pdf


The executive summary of the FTC report is a must-read:
Quotes from the summary:
On June 1, 1999, President Clinton asked the Federal Trade Commission
and the Department of Justice to undertake a study of whether the
movie, music recording, and computer and video game industries market
and advertise products with violent content to youngsters. 

The President raised two specific questions: 

Do the industries promote products they themselves acknowledge warrant
parental caution in venues where children make up a substantial
percentage of the audience?

And are these advertisements intended to attract children and
teenagers?

For all three segments of the entertainment industry, the answers are
plainly 'yes'.

Although the motion picture, music recording and electronic game
industries have taken steps to identify content that may not be 
appropriate for children, companies in those industries routinely
target children under 17 as the audience for movies, music and games 
that their own rating or labeling systems say are inappropriate for
children or warrant parental caution due to their violent content.
Moreover, children under 17 frequently are able to buy tickets to R-
rated movies without being accompanied by an adult and can easily
purchase music recordings and electronic games that have a parental
advisory label or are restricted to an older audience. The practice of
pervasive and aggressive marketing of violent movies, 
music and electronic games to children undermines the credibility of
the industries ratings and labels. 

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