**SEPARATE STATEMENT OF**

**COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS**

Re: *In the Matter of Violent Television Programming and Its Impact on
Children,*

MB Docket No. 04-261

As I travel across the country talking with people about our nation\'s
media, I consistently hear from parents about what their children are
seeing on television. I hear many voices but one common refrain --
parents are afraid of many of the images television sends, upset at the
kinds of behavior certain programming seems to condone, and totally
turned off by the extraordinary and escalating violence being broadcast
into our living rooms.

Television is perhaps the most powerful force at work in the world
today. When used for good, it can enlighten minds, convey powerful
ideas, educate, and lay the foundation for human development. But when
it is used to mislead, misrepresent and distort, it can -- it does --
inflict lasting harm. Most of the evidence amassed over the past half
century indicates a relationship between gratuitous violence and harmful
effects -- personal, psychological and social. While research continues
on how children are affected by what they watch, it seems close to
indisputable that there are indeed unfortunate and negative outgrowths
from the spreading virus of broadcast violence.

Congress requested the FCC to report on the issue and to develop some
options for legislators to consider. This violence report is the
Commission\'s response to that request. It surveys the problem, presents
our considered \"take\" on the issue and develops several options for
Congress to consider should it decide to develop legislation on the
matter. It tees up such options as time channeling, viewer initiated
blocking and mandatory ratings, as well as a la carte or bundling
approaches in the cable and DBS context. Congress retains, of course,
the prerogative to act, just as the judiciary has the prerogative of
responding to legislation that is challenged in the courts. The instant
report marries no one approach but instead responds to the request for
analysis and options.

The facts are extraordinary and alarming. Children watch on average
between two and four hours of television every day; young children are
masters of the remote control; and they often watch television
unsupervised. The research taken as a whole strongly suggests that
children\'s constant exposure to violence on television can be
desensitizing, damaging and even devastating to them and to
society-at-large.

We all have important roles to play to protect our children from violent
programming -- parents, industry, the FCC, and Congress. Parents are of
course the first line of defense, and without their active involvement
it is difficult to envision a successful cure for the violence virus.
Yet significant evidence indicates that no tools thus far available have
been successful in containing the epidemic. This would include the
V-chip, other control technologies and the existing television program
ratings system. Industry\'s efforts have obviously not solved the
problem and the preoccupation of some

media -- especially large national conglomerates often more interested
in selling products to young people than in removing violence from the
airwaves -- does not provide much confidence that it will move to solve
the problem. Given the impact of gratuitous violence on children and the
pervasiveness of this kind of programming in our homes, it becomes
altogether appropriate for Congress and the Commission to address the
issue.

I am pleased that the Commission unanimously concludes in today\'s
report that it is appropriate for Congress to entertain action against
program violence. Congress has the opportunity, should it choose to do
so, to establish innovative, meaningful, and constitutional ways for
safeguarding our children from violent programming when they are most
likely to be in the viewing audience. As this issue continues to gather
momentum, I hope we can have a dialogue across the nation on the
challenges that will attend the various options we tee up today and
others that Congress and others will no doubt suggest. This is the
beginning, not the end, of the debate. I for one proceed acutely
sensitive to the need for a carefully crafted approach. I want to see a
solution that solves the problem without creating others. I recognize
that it is not an easy challenge to develop rules that pass
constitutional muster, but given what amounts to a public health crisis
at hand, I believe it is a challenge that must be met. Serious and
festering problems require solutions, so that the question here is not
***whether*** we should address the issue,

but ***how*** we should address it. Working together -- citizens,
industry and government -- there is simply no reason why we should not
be able to find workable solutions.

Finally, I commend the Chairman and all my colleagues for supporting
this report and for their helpful suggestions to make it better. I hope
our action today will be an important first step in safeguarding our
children from excessively violent television programming.