Senator Sam Brownback, Sex Losing Some Sizzle on Television, The Wichita Eagle, August 20, 2003.

A recent study released by the Parents Television Council indicates that parents, educators, child advocates and public-interest groups may be gradually turning the tide in the war against too much sex on television.

In its 2003 "State of the Industry Report on Sex," the PTC discovered that while sex on broadcast television has grown profoundly more graphic, the instances of such depictions have dramatically declined since 1998. Amazingly, there is less sexual content on every major broadcast network -- except the WB -- during the "family hour," as well as significant reductions during the second hour of prime time.

Why is this so important? Children today are being fed a steady diet of vulgar and obscene television programming that is systematically robbing them of their innocence. Why then should we be surprised when we learn about children becoming sexually active in junior high school and even younger?

So this shift is critically important to our children's health -- but why has it happened? The answer is simple: the people have spoken.

They don't want the sex, violence and vulgarity on their TVs. Also, groups like the PTC launched a major national newspaper ad campaign against harmful television in 1998. This represented the first major push by any citizen organization to link companies to the content they support through their advertisements.

Before 1998, many advertisers did not consider themselves responsible for the content of the television shows that bracketed their TV ads. At the same time, corporate executives did not care much about the quality of programming they sponsored during the family hour.

But with this campaign, citizens who previously felt powerless to fight televised indecency suddenly discovered that, together, they had a voice and the potential to make a difference.

Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsi, Pfizer, Hallmark and other corporations now show great corporate and civic leadership in demanding, and financially supporting, more family-friendly programs.

In order to continue to promote more family-friendly television, parents, citizens, teachers and corporations should join in the effort to protect kids by demanding that advertisers and the entertainment executives set aside a time each night for decent, wholesome programming that the family can watch together. This would be a wonderful achievement that would have lasting repercussions for our children and their mental and physical health.

Sam Brownback is a U.S. senator representing Kansas. He serves on the Parents Television Council's advisory board.