    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [October 15, 1996]
    [Pages 1833-1835]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Second Annual Report on Television Violence and an
    Exchange With Reporters in Albuquerque
    October 15, 1996

        The President. Good afternoon. I want to thank Dr. Cole for being
    here today and for the extensive study that he has conducted. I want to
    thank Senator Paul Simon and the executives of the four major networks
    who agreed that this study should be done and then saw to it that it was
    done.
        Nothing is more important than strengthening our families and
    helping our parents to teach their children good values. We know that
    television can be a positive force or a destructive force in the lives
    of our children. Every parent knows that exposure to TV violence can be
    numbing and send the wrong message to their kids. And parents whose
    children grew up watching programs like ``Sesame Street,'' as our
    daughter did, know that television can teach as well as entertain.
        Parents need our help to protect their children from harmful or
    inappropriate forces from outside the home and help them pass on their
    values to their children. This is something our administration cares
    deeply about. Tipper Gore sounded the first alarm almost a decade ago in
    her book ``Raising PG Kids In An X-Rated Society.'' And Hillary wrote
    eloquently about this in her book. Today's comprehensive report shows
    that where broadcast television is concerned we are moving measurably in
    the right direction, away from violence and toward more programming for
    children. We have a long way to go, but we are making progress for our
    children.
        The study notes several positive trends over the past year,
    including a decrease in the number of TV series and made-for-TV movies
    with frequent violence; fewer broadcasts of violent films originally
    released in theaters; fewer children's series with sinister combat
    violence; an increase in the use of advisories about violence. The
    picture is not all bright. Theatrical movies are still the most violent
    programs when they're broadcast on television. Even promotional ads for
    these films are violent. Some primetime specials have begun to feature
    real and staged animal attacks. Emerging broadcast networks are showing
    a higher percentage of violent shows.
        So there is work still to be done. But this work has been begun, and
    it is bearing fruit. Everyone has a responsibility in bringing this kind
    of change: parents, the entertainment industry, government, each of us
    as individuals. Step by step, working together, our administration,
    especially the Vice President and I, have worked to make television
    better for our families, since my first year in office when I commended
    the leaders of broadcast television for their decision to include
    parental advisories on violence. We have challenged the entertainment
    industry to find their way back to family pro-

    [[Page 1834]]

    gramming, and challenged parents to do their part as well.
        We insisted that the Telecommunications Act require new TV sets to
    include a violence chip, a V-chip, that will give parents the ability to
    screen out violent or inappropriate programming for their young
    children. In my State of the Union Address, I challenged broadcasters to
    develop voluntary rating systems that would enable the V-chip to work.
    And earlier this year in a conference at the White House, the
    entertainment industry showed very good citizenship in agreeing to set
    up a voluntary rating system.
        Over a year ago I asked the FCC to broadcast air at least 3 hours of
    educational children's programming each week. Last July, I invited the
    leaders of the entertainment industry and children's television and
    others to meet me in the White House to discuss how to improve the
    quality of children's television. As a result, I reached agreement with
    the broadcasters on a proposal under which each broadcaster now will air
    3 hours a week of educational children's programming. The FCC adopted
    the proposal, and the market for educational television for children is
    now booming.
        I want to commend the entertainment industry for stepping up to this
    issue. And of course, I want to thank the thousands of parents across
    our country who served as a conscience and a prod for so long. The
    progress we're making shows how we can best meet our challenges: working
    together, employing common sense, and finding common ground.
        It accomplishes nothing simply to rail against violence. That's like
    yelling at the TV or the movie screen alone in a room. We will continue
    to sit down, to work with entertainment leaders, to fight for the public
    interest. I'm confident we will continue to make progress for our
    families, and again, I want to thank Dr. Jeff Cole for the fine work
    that he has been doing. I'd like to ask him to come up now and make a
    few remarks about the report.
        Dr. Cole?

    [At this point, Dr. Jeffrey I. Cole, director, UCLA Center for
    Communication Policy, gave a brief update on the study.]

    1996 Election

        Q. Mr. President, Bob Dole says that you are willing to take
    responsibility for doing things like this or even the drop in the crime
    rate but not for problems, especially ethical ones, within your
    administration, things like firing the Travel Office figures or even
    towards acceptances of questionable campaign donations by the Democrats
    and by the campaign. I wonder what your response to that is?
        The President. Well, we're going to have a debate tomorrow night.
    But I have not only tried to take responsibility for the things that I
    have some responsibility for, good and bad, but also to share
    responsibility for the good news with the American people who are
    responsible for helping to create the 10\1/2\ million more jobs and
    bringing the crime rate down, and in the case of where we're going to be
    tomorrow night, in San Diego County, reducing the problem of illegal
    immigration. So I tried to follow a balanced report.
        Senator Dole takes the position if it's good, I didn't have anything
    to do with it, and if it's bad, I must have stayed up all night planning
    it. So that's just politics, and we'll see some more of that, I'm sure.
    But we'll have time to discuss that in the debate.
        Q. Will your campaign contributions be returned?
        Q. Mr. President, I'm wondering if you're worried about TV violence
    tomorrow night. Specifically, what goes through your mind when Senator
    Dole, as he is in a speech right now, questions your personal integrity
    and that of the administration itself?
        The President. Well, he's been doing quite a lot of that, and I'll
    have a chance to answer that at the appropriate time.
        Q. Nothing----
        The President. No, what I--again I will say, you know, my view is
    this country is better off than it was 4 years ago. And we have worked
    hard to make it so. And we've worked hard by concentrating on ideas and
    issues, not insults. We've spent very little time worrying about our
    opponents. And we spent a lot more time being concerned about the
    American people. I expect to do that tomorrow: issues, ideas, not
    insults. And the American people can simply make up their own mind.
    They'll have a lot of time to evaluate it; they can make up their own
    mind.
        Q. He just finished his toughest attack so far on your integrity. He
    called your administration self-righteous, self-serving, arrogant,
    swaggering. It says you personally do not keep your word. Are you
    worried about this new tactic they're using?

    [[Page 1835]]

        The President. No.

    Television Violence

        Q. Does Senator Dole get some credit for speaking out against
    Hollywood violence? Would he be entitled to some of the credit for this
    plan?
        The President. Well, this project in particular was underway well
    before Senator Dole ever said anything. I think that anybody who speaks
    out in a constructive way is doing a responsible thing.
        You know, I went to California in December of '93 and challenged the
    entertainment industry to work with me to reduce violence and to improve
    the quality of programming. We had people from all the networks meeting
    with me in early '94, and then they reached this agreement to work with
    Senator Simon and Dr. Cole in doing something which I think is quite
    important.
        So I would hope that all Americans would be continually coming to
    grips with this, because we want to have total first amendment freedom
    of speech, but we also want to have a society in which the culture
    supports families in raising their children. There is no more important
    job; there is no more important agenda. So I think anyone who speaks out
    in an affirmative way can make a positive contribution.
        And again, I want to say that, Dr. Cole, it's rather remarkable to
    me that this unusual partnership with all of the networks and Senator
    Simon and UCLA has worked out well, because you can tell by what he said
    today that nobody's attempted to censor him. He's been given full
    freedom to evaluate these programs, to report on them, and to say what
    he thinks.
        Do you want to say anything about that?
        Dr. Cole. No, I appreciate that, and it has been an absolutely
    independent project. We also extended an invitation to Senator Dole to
    be fully briefed on this if he would like, and we're waiting to hear if
    he's interested. But he has every opportunity to be briefed in the same
    way the President has been.
        The President. Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:55 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Pyramid Hotel.