Date: 29th August 2000

Lieberman Said To Be Planning Renewed Attack On Hollywood


Vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman is expected to give strong backing to a soon-to-be-released FTC report claiming that the entertainment industry is hypocritically targeting kids with sexually explicit and violent material while claiming that it is not, the online magazine Salon reported today, citing an unnamed senior advisor to the Gore campaign.

While several commentators have observed that Lieberman has appeared to retreat from his earlier swipes at the industry, Dan Gerstein, Lieberman's Senate communications director, told Salon, "One way to clear up any doubts about Lieberman's position is to take a stand on this FTC report, which he's been closely involved with." Lieberman is expected to endorse the report during testimony before a Senate Commerce Committee hearing set for Sept. 13.

Among other things, Salon reported, the report claims that theaters enforce the ratings systems only half the time and that the ratings for records and video games are essentially not enforced at all.

Today's Hollywood Reporter reported that Commerce Committee chairman John McCain wants entertainment industry chiefs to explain their marketing strategies at the hearing.

Source: Studio Briefing