NLC Summit on the Impact of Media Violence on Children

On April 17, 2007, Bart Peterson, former mayor of Indianapolis and 2007 president of the National League of Cities, convened in his hometown a Summit on Media Violence and Interactive Roundtable Discussion on the Role of Cities.

The Summit brought together more than 100 city officials from across the country, along with representatives from the entertainment industry, nationally-recognized public health and media experts, and other key stakeholders.

The purpose of the Summit was to discuss the effect that exposure to media violence has on children and youth, to get diverse perspectives from industry representatives, law enforcement officials, city leaders, and youth, and to focus on roles that municipal officials can play in raising public awareness and educating parents on protecting children and youth from graphic violence in television, movies, video games, music and the Internet.

Resources from the Indianapolis Summit

• Summit Webcast »
• Full Summit Agenda »
• Summit Speaker Bios »
• Nation's Cities Weekly - April 2007: Officials Gather for Media Violence Summit »
• Press Release - April 17, 2007: Media Violence Violence Summit Held in Shadow of Virginia Tech Tragedy »
• 4-minute Video on What We're Concerned About (Warning: This Video Contains Some Graphic Violent Content) »

More Summit Packet Materials

• The Influence of Media Violence on Youth (Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Dec. 2003) »
• Presentation by Dr. Ellen Wartella on Impact of Media Violence »
• Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children (by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and American Psychiatric Association) - July 26, 2000 »
• Navigating Your Way through the TV Parental Guidelines and V-Chip (form the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board) »
• Children and Media: Emerging Issues and New Agendas (from the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media) - Dec. 2006 »
• Helping Parents Get Set: A Family Guide to Games (from Microsoft, Best Buy, and Boys and Girls Club of America) »
• Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry (from the Entertainment Software Association) »
• ESRB and National PTA Brochure on Video Game Ratings »

Additional Resources on Media Violence

• Sample City Council Resolution/Mayoral Proclamation on Protecting Children from Media Violence »
• Letter from NLC to Sen. Rockefeller Praising Efforts to Protect Children from Impact of Media Violence »
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Report on Violent Television Programming and Its Impact on Children »
• NLC Statement on FCC Report »
• Nation's Cities Weekly - April 30, 2007: FCC Report on Target With NLC's Call for Increased Parental Control »
• Federal Trade Commission Report on Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children »
• Washington Post Editorial - May 6, 2007 »
• Media Violence and Kids (from Common Sense Media) »
• Additional Common Sense Media Resources on Media Violence »
• Entertainment Software Rating Board »
• Pause Parent Play »

| YEF Institute Home | About Us | Events and Audioconferences | Publications and Resources |
| Peer Networks | Technical Assistance | Summit on Your City's Families | YEF Council |

| Early Childhood Success | Education and Afterschool | Youth Development |
| Family Economic Success | Safety of Children and Youth |