In the wake of the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook, quite a few national personalities and organizations like the NRA tried to place blame on the nebulous “media”, which supposedly encourages such horrific acts through its glorification of a “culture of violence” in movies, TV shows and video games.

Now representatives and lobbying groups representing major media companies have vowed to take initiative, creating a “nationwide educational campaign” designed to reassure skeptical parents and fulfill a promise made to VP Joe Biden that they would “be part of the solution to curb gun violence.”

Details of the campaign are scarce at the moment, but it will include TV PSA spots, social media initiatives and a relaunch of the sites TVBoss and FilmRatings. The larger point is to remind parents that ratings systems are there to give them a choice regarding their children’s media exposure and that they can use tools provided by the industry to assert greater control over what their kids watch. Participants include the Motion Picture Association of America, the National Association of Broadcasters, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the National Association of Theatre Owners, the American Cable Association (ACA) and member companies.

Will this campaign affect the public debate? Will it make use of related research? We don’t know–but it should be interesting. We’ll follow closely.

Across the U.S., movie theaters are preparing to make some unwanted concessions.

For weeks, theater owners have lobbied the Food and Drug Administration and congressional staff members for exemption from proposed rules requiring their snack stands to post the calories in popcorn, nachos, hot pretzels and other prepared foods. Today, the FDA is expected to announce its decision. (Update: As of March 30, it looks like a decision still hasn’t been made.)

Movie-concession disclosure rules fall under the same healthcare law provision that seeks to educate consumers by requiring chain restaurants to post the nutritional content of menu items. But the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) fought for exclusion, contending that Congress didn’t specifically mention movie theaters when deliberating the measure last year.

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