The new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Monday he is concerned about sex and violence in the entertainment media, but is inclined to rely on technology rather than regulation to help parents monitor what their children watch.
In an exclusive interview with TheWrap just four weeks after taking his post, Julius Genachowski called himself “an optimist on the role that technology can play in helping parents to choose, and to tackle the confusion people feel.”
Genachowski, 46, who has clerked for two Supreme Court justices but also worked as a right hand to media mogul Barry Diller at InterActive Corp., is known as a strong proponent of the First Amendment -- even as he faces pressure from citizens' groups to crack down on Hollywood excess.
“Parents are concerned and confused,” he said, noting that he has three children.
But, he added, “The First Amendment is incredibly important. We need a landscape that respects and honors the First Amendment. These are issues people have been fighting over for a while. It would be ideal to harness technology for goals that are widely shared.”
That point of view is likely to find a welcome reception in Hollywood, where media companies and members of the creative community alike have long been wary of any government action that smacked of censorship.
Genachowski’s predecessor, Kevin Martin, had been a strong advocate for those who protested against sexualized content like the infamous Janet Jackson breast-flash at a Super Bowl halftime show. (That remains mired in a lower court, which must decide on the constitutionality of the challenge to CBS.)
Genachowski also said the rise of a digital media alternative would create new business models to support more diverse, educational programming for children.
“The barriers to entry are lower; there is dramatically more shelf space” on the Internet, he said.
This might prove better in theory than in practice, however.
Thus far the government’s attempt to create at an empowering, technology-enabled response -- the V-chip -- has been widely regarded as a failure.
Genachowski acknowledged that market research shows many parents still don’t know the V-chip exists, much less how to turn it on to filter out undesirable programming.
And he observed that "the business models haven't yet gelled" on the Internet.
Independent producers, including the Independent Film and Television Alliance, and leaders of the directors and producers guilds, are likely to press the FCC to shore up the amount of independently produced programs on television.
But Genachowski said the FCC was studying the changes in content and delivery systems as he looks to revamp and upgrade the agency for the 21st century.
He testified before Congress last week that he was undertaking an inquiry that would specifically focus on protecting children from objectionable content.
