Statement by The Creative Coalition President William Baldwin on the Federal Trade Commission Report

Statement by The Creative Coalition President William Baldwin on the Federal Trade Commission Report

December 7, 2001 – In response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) follow-up report on the marketing practices of the entertainment industry, William Baldwin, President of The Creative Coalition, issued the following statement:

The FTC report shows that the motion picture, recording and video game industries have all made important strides to prevent the inappropriate marketing of their products to children under 17.

We should continue to make rating systems stronger and more informative, but improvements must come from within the industry and not from legislators. As this report demonstrates, the entertainment industry is capable of responsible self-regulation, and legislation in this area is inappropriate, unnecessary and potentially unconstitutional.

In addition, I believe that not only must we give parents the tools they need to help guide their children, but we also must give children tools to interpret the words, images and music they consume. Our leaders and educators should focus on instituting media literacy programs in the public schools to help children understand and process with a more critical eye the vast amount of information they receive.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE COALITION
The Creative Coalition is the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating its members on issues of public importance, primarily the First Amendment, arts advocacy, campaign finance reform and public education. Headquartered in New York City, The Creative Coalition also has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Creative Coalition does not endorse or raise funds for political parties or candidates.