FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:             News Media contact:
April 4, 2000                           Maureen Peratino at (202) 418-0506

       FCC COMMISSIONER GLORIA TRISTANI URGES TV NETWORKS
            TO RECOMMIT TO V-CHIP EDUCATION EFFORTS

     Washington, DC   Commissioner Gloria Tristani, Chair of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) V-Chip Task Force, has sent letters to the major
broadcast networks asking them to recommit themselves to educating parents about
the V-Chip.  A recent survey found that 39% of parents have never even heard of the
V-Chip.

     The V-Chip is now standard equipment in all new television sets 13" and larger
and permits parents to block violent, sexual or other programming that they do not want
their children to see. 

     Commissioner Tristani said "I have been working on three goals.  One, make
sure the chips were installed in TV sets on schedule.  Two, make sure that
programmers were actually transmitting the ratings so that the V-Chip has something to
read.  And three, let parents know that the V-Chip has arrived and how they can use it
in their everyday lives."  

She said the first two goals have largely been reached but too many parents still
do not yet know the V-Chip exists. The television industry, she noted, pledged to work
to "educate the public and parents about the V-Chip and the TV Parental Guideline
System."  She noted that while all major networks have produced PSAs about the V-
Chip, CBS is the only network to make a real effort to run its PSAs at the network level.  
Of the 59 total PSAs shown at the network level since January, 54 (or 92%) were on
CBS.  ABC aired only one at the network level and Fox and NBC aired only two apiece.
Commissioner Tristani noted that, "If the goal is to educate parents, one or two airings
over a three-month period is plainly insufficient."  Commissioner Tristani did note that
many network affiliates are running PSAs at the station level, but that these can only be
seen within the station's viewing area and thus do not have the impact of network-level
airings.

She said, "I hope all of the networks will recommit themselves to this effort.  I
know some in Washington think the V-Chip is 'old news' . . . but the average parent
does not follow the debates here in Washington.  Again, 39% of them have never even
heard of the V-Chip.  To them, the V-Chip is brand new.  These are the people we need
to reach.  And we need to do it now."

                            - FCC -