| NEW YORK
- July 2 - The Creative Coalition today
called on President George Bush to oppose the Media Marketing
Accountability Act of 2001 (S.790; H.R. 2246) sponsored by Sens.
Lieberman, Kohl, Byrd and Clinton, and Reps. Israel and Osborne. The
bill grants the government, for the first time, the power to monitor
and police the marketing of creative material. In addition, the
legislation would grant the government the power to punish those
producers who do not comply.
"We believe that entertainers, parents and lawmakers should work
in concert to curb the marketing of entertainment to our country's
young people," William Baldwin, president of The Creative Coalition
said. "However, the approach that Sens. Lieberman and Clinton have
taken is the wrong one and sets a dangerous precedent."
Despite the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) report which said
that the marketing practices of the entertainment industry had
improved, and the FTC's recommendation that vigilant self-regulation
is the best approach, Sen. Lieberman and his colleagues introduced
the sweeping Media Marketing Accountability Act which the industry
sees as a threat to First Amendment protection.
On June 18, The Creative Coalition sent a letter to Sens.
Lieberman, Kohl, Byrd and Clinton signed by more than 50 arts
and entertainment professionals and supporters from across the
country.
Over the last 10 months, the entertainment industry has taken
proactive and strong steps to stop the marketing of violence to
children and ensure accountability within the industry. Those steps
include a set of 12-point initiatives adopted by the Motion Picture
Association of America.
Those initiatives include:
-- Requiring member theater owners not show movie trailers rated R
for violence before G-rated films;
-- Not knowingly include persons under the age of 17 in focus
groups;
-- Appoint senior executives to regularly review marketing
practices; and
-- Seek ways to include the rationale behind a particular rating
in print advertising and web sites for the films in order to better
inform parents.
The Creative Coalition is the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan
organization dedicated to educating arts and entertainment industry
leaders on policy issues. The Creative Coalition does not endorse or
raise funds for political parties or candidates.
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