Survey: Trash surges on children's TV

Trash TV describes most of what appears on the small screen, according to a new report that found a 150% surge in violence and a 62% explosion in profanity during "sweeps" time programs in just 10 years.

The report by the Parents Television Council compared its 2017-18 review of TV programs to its results from a 2007-08 survey.

The changes aren't reflected in the ratings for the programs, leaving children more exposed, the report finds.

"Hollywood tells parents that the content ratings are the best line of defense between children and inappropriate content. But our new research completely upends that reasoning," PTC said.

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"Within the last decade, TV content rated as appropriate for children has become much more violent, and much more profane. Scenes with decapitation and dismemberment, and dialogue with words like a------, b----, b------, d---, p--- and p----, receive the same content moniker – PG – as 'Shrek,' 'Finding Dory' and the 'Lego Movie.' Simply put, parents cannot possibly rely on a TV content rating system that labels increasingly graphic content as appropriate for children," said PTC President Tim Winter in the organization's report on its findings.

"How can there be such a dramatic increase in violence and profanity, and yet it is still rated as appropriate for kids? Because the TV content ratings are administered by the same networks that produce the content, and they are financially incentivized to rate the content as appropriate for children. But the sham doesn't end there. The TV Parental Guidelines Oversight Monitoring Board is tasked with overseeing the ratings system, yet its membership is comprised of the same network executives who inaccurately rate the content to begin with."

Winter said the Federal Communications Commission released a congressionally mandated report in May that affirmed "the numerous, intrinsic failings of the existing ratings system and its ostensible oversight."

"Five months have now passed since the FCC delivered that report to Congress, and since that time the industry has done absolutely nothing. And left to the industry’s own devices, nothing will ever be done," he said.

"With the release of this report, we are urgently calling on Congress to ensure that the TV content ratings system, and the TV Parental Guidelines Oversight Monitoring Board, is overhauled to improve the accuracy, consistence, transparency and public accountability of the TV ratings. It is time for the TV content ratings system to reflect the realities of today’s entertainment media technologies and cultural landscape. Bold, positive and comprehensive improvements to a 22-year-old system are needed to bring it into the 21st century."

PTC found that programs rated TV-PG had 28% percent more violence and 43.5% more profanity in 2017-18 than in 2007-08. And for those already rated TV-14, "there was over 150% more violence, and 62% more profanity, total."

The full report is linked here:

The report, the 10th from PTC, came about after PTC analysts recorded and documented every instance of violence, sexual dialogue, sexual actions and foul language, and the assigned ratings during the November, February and May "sweeps" periods in the two years.

It surveyed 1,319 episodes and 1,231.5 hours of programming.

Its findings included: "Violence on PG-rated shows included use of guns and bladed weapons, depictions of fighting, blood and death and scenes of decapitation or dismemberment; The only form of violence unique to TV-14 rated programming was depictions of torture."

Also, the number of TV-PG rated programs plunged from 346 to 273 over the time period.

"There were no G-rated programs on Fox, CW, or ABC (even though ABC is owned by Disney) in any of the 'sweeps' periods, in either 2007-2008 or 2017-2018," the report found.

The report, called "A Decade of Deceit," said: "Since their inception, the ratings given to television programs have been – and still are – grossly inaccurate. Programming inappropriate for younger teens has been rated TV-PG, instead of TV-14; programs with content inappropriate even for older teenagers has been rated TV-14 instead of TV-MA (mature audiences only). The rating descriptors (D, L, S, and V), supposedly implemented to designate sexual Dialogue, profane Language, Sexual depictions and Violence, are frequently misapplied, or are simply not used at all."

It said, for example, "New Girl" executive producer Brett Baier said just a few years ago, "We've given broadcast standards a run for their money. We got away with murder."

The report concluded that networks "are packing substantially more profanity and violence into youth-rated shows than they did a decade ago; but that increase in adult-themed content has not affected the age-based ratings the networks apply."

The report also gives examples of the material in kids' shows, including a discussion about having "Teen Sex!" as the theme for a parade float, with actors throwing condoms to the crowd; the visual image of a couple having sex; and the bodies of two "vampires" hanging from a tree.