Armed with a poll saying Americans believe by an eight to one margin that parental control should trump government control when it comes to deciding what children see on TV, a consortium of big networks and watchdogs from all points on the political spectrum has formed TV Watch (televisionwatch.org) to try and keep the government out of content regulation.

TV Watch Executive Director Jim Dyke said, "The debate has been dominated by advocates of increased government control. TV Watch speaks for most Americans who today are not represented in the debate over rising government regulation of television programming and who want to protect their favorite shows from censorship. The only way to balance the public's competing interests and values is for concerned viewers to use the ratings and other parental controls, and our mission is to help them do it."

The poll, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and the Luntz Research Companies, found that respondents favored parental over government involvement 86%-11%; that 91% think an individual may "often" be able to gind objectionable material on the air, but that "the sensitivities of a few should not dictate choices for everyone else." 66% say recent events are keeping content they want off TV as the industry reacts to the uncertain indecency climate.

TV Watch includes three of the big four broadcast nets: NBC/GE, Fox/News Corp. and CBS/Viacom, along with organizations including American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform, Center for Creative Voices in Media, The Creative Coalition, Media Freedom Project, The Media Institute, SpeakSpeak and the US Chamber of Commerce, along with numerous individual members.

RBR received this invitation from the TV Watch website:

"Ever since the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident, special-interest groups have stepped up their efforts to purge popular shows that they consider indecent. Their pressure tactics kept "Saving Private Ryan" off the air in one-third of the country last Veteran's Day and pushed the FCC to investigate the Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies. While we may not always like what we see on TV, the opinions of a few should not dictate the choices for all of us.

We need parental responsibility, not government intervention, to control what is seen in our own homes.

I urge you to join TV Watch and let the government know that people should be able to choose for themselves what they watch in their own homes. More government regulation is not the solution.

Our government is not hearing from most Americans today. Instead it is hearing from a few well-organized censorship advocates.

Please join TV Watch and make your voice heard.