Rating System

The Fox network -- in what appeared to be a pre-emptive strike against ABC, CBS and NBC -- became the first major television network to embrace a ratings system for violence and sex.In a statement Thursday, Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch (above) said, "We have decided to implement the MPAA-like [Motion Picture Association of America] rating system for the TV programs on Fox."The three other major networks also indicated that they will consider adopting a rating system for the so-called V-chip that will alert viewers to whether TV shows contain explicit violence or sex.Until this week, the networks had vowed to fight any imposed ratings system, arguing that it violates their First Amendment rights.

NEW YORK -- After years of resisting as censorship any attempt to regulate the content of television programs, the four broadcast networks are seeking to establish their own ratings system, similar to the Motion Picture Association of America's code for movies.In meetings this week in New York and Los Angeles, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox have been discussing a system that would allow them to assuage growing public objections to the violence and sexual content of some television programs and hold onto advertisers without jeopardizing the networks' long-standing argument that ratings constitute censorship.

Most people probably wouldn't pay almost $9,000 more for a product than they had to. But that is, in effect, what 138 patients did last year when they went to Prince George's Hospital Center for an angioplasty.2Hospital ... ... ... Cases ... ... Avg. billUM ... ... ... .. ... ... 248 .. .. ... $14,197Adventist ... ... ... ... 186 ... .. .. 11,502Bayview ... ... .. .. ... 203 ... .. .. 10,502P.G. ... ... ... .. .. .. 218 ... .. .. 10,197Md. General ... ... .. .. 134 ... .. .. 9,708Bon Secours ... ... .. .. 191 ... .. .. 9,641Liberty ... ... ... .. .. 162 ... .. .. 9,452Hopkins ... ... ... .. .. 213 ... .. .. 9,315Harbor ... ... ... ... .. 181 ... .. .. 9,097Mercy ... ... ... ... ... 164 ... .. .. 8,891Holy Cross .. ... ... ... 320 ... .. .. 8,874N.

The SAT score of the average U.S. high school student will soon be going up 100 points. But that doesn't mean that anyone is getting smarter.Beginning in April 1995, the College Board, based in Manhattan, will be recalibrating its scoring of the SAT. The bottom score will still be 200 and the top 800, but it will be easier for everyone to get higher scores.A 430 score on the verbal section of the SAT will suddenly become a 510 under the new scoring method. A 730 verbal score will become an 800.lTCCollege Board officials know they are opening themselves up to criticism.

In an effort to head off a movie-like rating system for television shows, the four broadcast networks today will announce an agreement to run parental advisories before violent programs go on the air.The decision comes after years of mounting criticism over too many killings and car crashes on television and is aimed at preventing even stiffer regulation from Congress. The agreement is scheduled to take effect with the fall season's new shows.Details of the accord will be disclosed at a Washington news conference held by Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill.

WASHINGTON -- Hoping to stave off a federally imposed system of ratings for violence on television, the nation's four broadcast networks have agreed to provide a warning to parents just before shows laden with mayhem are shown.The warning would also be made available to newspapers and magazines that publish television listings, allowing them to establish what would amount to a special coding for violent shows.The agreement, which will be announced by top officials of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in Washington today and could take effect during the next programming season, comes amid a growing outcry in Congress about the depiction of violence in entertainment programming and its possible harmful effects on some viewers.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- An inner-city gang, rampaging through the streets, comes upon some unsuspecting bystanders and proceeds to crush some heads.The scene isn't from urban America. It's from "Streets of Rage," a video game made by Sega of America, the Japanese company's U.S. unit.Amid concern about this type of video-game violence, Sega said yesterday it would initiate a rating system for its video games similar to the one used by Hollywood."We are particularly concerned that parents buy games appropriate for their children's age," said Tom Kalinske, Sega of America's chief executive.

For years, parents at older schools in poorer areas hav complained that the Harford school system ignores their pleas for long-overdue repairs and renovations.Now, stung by intense criticism, the school system has made public a 30-point rating system used to decide which schools are renovated when.The rating system evaluates older schools, using a point system to measure the need for repairs of everything from plumbing to the school's parking lot. Necessary repairs to some major parts of a school, like the heating and cooling system, receive more points than others, such as windows or floor tiles.

Mutual funds were supposed to make life so easy. They were a refuge for the woman without enough money to limit risk by diversifying investments, or for the man without enough time to research a universe of stocks.But now that the number of mutual funds is fast approaching the number of stocks, investors face a daunting array of rating systems, newspaper articles and "Annual Mutual Fund Top Picks!" magazine editions that purport to spotlight the best funds.There's just one problem: The criteria used for such ratings differ widely that almost any grade can be attributed to any fund at any time.

Insurance bias: city driving at suburban ratesI must take issue with the letters submitted by Messrs. Bishop and Kelly ("It depends on where you live", Forum, Dec. 27) defending the territorial-rating system for setting auto insurance rates, which in its current form discriminates against those of us who live in cities such as Baltimore.This rating system, based solely on the location of the owner's residence, fails to take into account the primary use of almost all privately owned cars, which is commuting to work.