PARENTS GET OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW TV INDUSTRY GUIDELINES : FCC TAKING PUBLIC COMMENT ON RATING SYSTEM.

Byline: Keith Marder Daily News Television Writer

The Federal Communications Commission started taking public comments Friday about TV Parental Guidelines, those new ratings icons that have been showing up on the corner of your TV screen since January.

It's one more step toward deciding whether those guidelines on explicit and violent content on TV shows satisfy the Television Communications Act of 1996, which called for the ratings.

The television industry came up with the plan to rate the content of its programs late last year and officially submitted it to the FCC on Jan. 17. The commission finally put the plan out for public comment Friday; members of the public have until April 8 to voice their opinions.

After the comments, reply comments and surreply comments (a reply to a reply, an additional step not often taken) are reviewed, the FCC can accept the plan as is or convene a new group to come up with a more acceptable ratings plan.

Before all is said and done, there will be one, and potentially two, public hearings on the issue as well. One will be run by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who is in charge of commerce, science and transportation. It is scheduled for Feb. 27.

FCC Chairman Reed Hundt said he plans to hold a hearing of his own after April 8, when the public comment period has closed.

``I believe this is a good idea and is fully consistent with Congress' direction that we decide `in consultation' with public interest groups and other interested parties whether the industry ratings proposal is acceptable and satisfies other statutory criteria,'' Hundt wrote in a statement attached to the public notice issued Friday.

However, Hundt can't unilaterally call for a hearing. At least two of the three FCC commissioners must agree. So far, Susan Ness is for the hearings. James Quello and Rachelle Chong want to wait until they hear public comment and see the results of McCain's hearing before committing to another one.

The reason for the three-week lag between the industry submission of its ratings plan and the call for public comment is believed to be in-house debate on whether the commission's public hearing should be prescribed in the document eventually released Friday.

A spokesperson for Quello said he would not discuss any internal negotiations.

The industry's plan - submitted by the National Association of Broadcasters, the National Cable Television Association and the Motion Picture Association of America - calls for six age-based guidelines, two of which are specifically designed for children's programming. The grades are TVY (all children), TVY7 (older children), TVG (general audience), TVPG (parental guidance suggested), TV14 (parents strongly cautioned) and TVM (mature audience only).

For more information on the specifics of the plan, call [phone] (English) or [phone] (Spanish), or punch up http://www.tvguidelines.org on the World Wide Web.

Critics - including many politicians, interest groups and parents - want the ratings to be more specific about what content led to the individual rating.

``The problem I see with this is people are turning to government,'' said Mark Honig, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Parents Television Council. ``I think they should turn to the industry and voice their complaints because they are the ones who will be implementing it.''

Views gathered via document, diskette 

If you want to go on record with your feelings about the TV parental guidelines, here's how to file a formal comment:

File an original, plus four copies, of all comments in CS Docket No. 97-55. If you want each commissioner to receive a copy, you must file an original, plus nine copies.

Comments are due by April 8; reply comments are due by May 8; and surreply comments (replies to the replies) are due May 23. All documents should be sent to: Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20554.

You also are asked to submit comments on a diskette, which would be in addition to, and not a substitute for, a formal filing. Submit diskettes to: Rick Chessen of the Cable Services Bureau, 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20554.

Such submissions should be on a 3.5-inch diskette, formatted in an IBM-compatible form using MS DOS 5.0 and WordPerfect 5.1 software, in read-only mode; clearly labeled with your name, the words ``Video Programming Ratings Proposal,'' the docket number of the commission, whether it's a comment, reply or surreply, the name of the file, and date of submission.

Submissions on computer disks will be posted on the Internet at http://www.fcc.gov/vchip.

Additionally, informal comments will be accepted at either the Office of the Secretary or via e-mail at vchipfcc.gov. The electronic submissions are also available through the commission's Internet site.

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Box: Views gathered via document, diskette (See Text)