Hillary Clinton’s Media Guide

Senator and former First Lady Hilary Clinton has not been a friend to the videogame industry. Hopping on the now-concluded Hot Coffee bandwagon last summer, Clinton pushed the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, not to mention putting her weight behind legislation designed to fine retailers selling violent and sexually explicit videogames to minors.She’s calmed on the legislation front for now, but part of her summer campaigning comes in the form of a “media guide for parents,” with guidelines on examining the content featured on the Internet, videogames and television.Somewhat surprisingly, though, it’s fairly levelheaded and logical, if a bit pushy with the violence angle by citing a Hardvard University study that most teen-rated games are violence-oriented, whereas there are no studies on content mentioned for the other featured mediums.

The guide provides a brief summary of the different ratings, while also recommending parents investigate further on their own by checking out independent rating sources like Common Sense Media, a non-profit organization who says it believes in “media sanity, not censorship” and “teaching our kids to be savvy media interpreters — we can’t cover their eyes but we can teach them to see.”

At the same time, Common Sense Media also endorses legislation related to the media, designed for the “right time, right place, and right manner.” Hmm.

National Institute of the Media and Family is also pushed in the guide, another organization that claims they “do not advocate censorship of any kind” and encourages parents to take a more active rule under the motto of “watch what your kids watch,” a theory the videogame industry has advocated since its ratings system came under fire.

Like Common Sense Media, though, National Institute of the Media and Family doesn’t ignore the political side, also noting it “encourage practices and policies that promote positive change in the production and use of mass media.”

No one may be publicly advocating “censorship” of the videogames industry, but with Clinton’s support and own push for fines associated with the sales of games to minors (where do you draw the line on censorship, then?), these organizations could certainly have a hand in future legislation decisions leading down that road.
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