Sources: NAB, NCTA, MPAA Heads Will Meet With VP Biden on Violence

Trade groups have all said they would be part of the conversation on violence

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/9/2013 1:26:55 PM

According to sources, the heads of the major media trade associations will be meeting with Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday to talk about violence in media and society.

This week, Biden is holding a series of meetings with various groups, from gun owners and sportsmen's groups to victims' rights groups -- those meetings kicked off Wednesday -- to various entertainment companies as the White House has "the conversation" about how to stem the kind of violence that resulted in mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora and elsewhere.

According to a source familiar with the planned meeting, Motion Picture Association of America chairman Chris Dodd, National Cable and Telecommunications Association president Michael Powell, National Association of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith, as well as representatives of the National Association of Theater Owners and the Directors Guild, are among those slated for a Thursday meeting with Biden.

A White House official speaking on background confirmed that Thursday's meeting would include "representatives of the entertainment and video game industries," but was not naming names.

The source said that following his meetings, as well as ones among cabinet officials, senior White House officials and various stakeholders, "the Vice President will present his recommendations to the President, who then will announce a concrete package of proposals he intends to push without delay."

Pressure has been mounting in Washington for discussions about the role of mental health, access to firearms and cultural influences on gun violence.

Studios, cable operators and broadcasters through those respective trade groups have all signaled they would be willing to be part of a conversation about real-world violence.

NAB arguably went the furthest, citing the legislation introduced by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which would mandate a government study of the impact of media violence on real violence, and saying it was willing to cooperate with Congress on that study.

But NCTA said it was willing to participate in a "collective discussion," and the MPAA said it was ready to talk as well.

David Cohen from Comcast/NBCU will also be at the meeting, the company confirms.