Steven Spielberg says networks need to be more responsible

A few years ago I sent an email complaining about the ABC version of "The Shining".... tons of promos during the Sunday morning round of the British Open...

Scott K, I don't think asking that inappropriate material just popping up in commercials is an agenda. Those of us here who support the idea of some restraint and responsibility in the decisions about what commercials to air when aren't arguing for censorship of television itself, just some common sense when placing ads.

I think if you had children of your own you'd know that parents usually prefer the ability to decide what their children see, which is something we can't do with commercials, only scheduled programming. You'd also know that every child is different and not all of them will "...be perfectly fine even if they do see this mature content!" Most will, but that's not the point at all and an actual parent realizes that.

"The irresponsibility of networks today will be paid for over and over again in the damage being done to these children." Hah. That's both outlandish and ignorant.

"They have no regard for your children." YOU have no regard for your children. Regardless of what the networks show, the point is that a child with a good foundation and good environment with parents that guide and educate them throughout their childhood will be perfectly fine even if they do see this mature content! It fact. Take some time to learn something before giving in to goofy assumptions that some parents' group came up with in order to scare you in to promoting their agenda. Kids aren't stupid or doomed to a troubled life by default, someone has to make them that way, and that someone is a bad parent, regardless of what commercials show up on television.

I like a lot of the shows out there that are certainly not family friendly, and feature all those disgusting and violent shots and all that, but I don't think I would DISLIKE the shows if they toned things down a bit. I think shows reveal their lack of creativity and intelligence when they resort to these tactics more often than not.

Of course, what do I know... despite my parents strictly forbidding me from watching "The Simpsons", "Married... with Children", and pro wrestling when I was 11 or 12, I still snuck the TV on when they thought I was sleeping or went over to a friend's house whose parents weren't so strict.

Usually I find myself surprised by how much time has passed and how old I'm becoming, but Steven Spielberg... how many friggin' underage CHILDREN does he have, and how come it seems like to me they NEVER age as the years tick by??

Han Solo said: Man, do the broadcasters even give a shit about people anymore?

The answer is, of course, NO. The fact that there may once have been broadcasters who did care -- who were that out-of-fashion thing called "responsible" -- is just a lucky accident, I believe. In any case, those people are dead now, or fired, or kicked upstairs where they can't do any more good (or "harm" from today's perspective).

TV is all about money, about selling products. If the TV execs could get away with having 24/7 commercials, they would do it. Unfortunately for them, they have to throw in something to keep our attention. That 'something' is the programming. They'll give us just enough to keep us there for the next batch of commercials.

They have no regard for your children. None. Only you can look out for them. God help the children who have parents who use the TV as a babysitter, the children who are home alone, or the children whose parents are too busy to watch every minute of TV with them to give them some guidance and click off the TV if something offensive, troubling, or scary comes along.

The promos are terrible. My parents encouraged us to watch the evening news, but I wouldn't let a child watch it today for fear they'd see the network promos shown between news segments.

For those of you who rally behind the idea that the airways are free, let me just tell you a basic fact:
ain't nothin' free. The irresponsibility of networks today will be paid for over and over again in the damage being done to these children.

>We have to change the channel or blank the screen if our >kids are watching with us.

DITTO!

DITTO!

DITTO!


Its getting REALLY BAD...they have no class. I can't even sit down to watch sports with my young boys for all the violence, naked shots of people rolling around in couches etc that are in the COMMERCIALS during otherwise family rated programs.

Its almost always the commercials for upcoming PRIMETIME(adult hours) episodes of their own shows too.


Maybe its time to require the commercials to adhear to the same standards as the currently running program.

We have these v-chip ratings stuff, but I have seen adult content in commercials while the banner at the top of the screen still says TV-Y7!!


Man, do the broadcasters even give a shit about people anymore?

Adam,
Anyone who went to see The Temple of Doom knew what they were going to see. If they didn't want their children to see it, they didn't take them. We're talking about gore that pops up unannounced and uninvited during family time.

Black out the screen, change the channel, or just explain that its just a tv show and is fiction. Kids aren't complete morons, and you'd be surprised how far a simple explanation can go to help your kids understand what they are seeing. How they interpret what they see is far more important that what they are seeing. An 11 year old with a good understanding of what he/she is seeing, and more importantly a good overall environment could watch any show thats on network tv with no negative effect. Those adults (and even kids) who can handle the shows should have to watch stripped down versions of programs.

The airwaves are for the public. ALL of the public. Not just those who want to see Rob and Laura Petrie sleeping in separate twin beds.



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dwacon
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