A yearlong Federal Trade Commission investigation reportedly will finger the entertainment industry for continuing to aggressively market violence to children.

The FTC — which enforces consumer protection laws and contributes to legislative policy deliberations at various levels of the government — is expected to conclude that the entertainment industry uses violent material to lure young people to buy movie tickets, CDs and video games, according to the Washington Post.

While the report remains confidential (the FTC is not commenting on its findings), battle lines already are being drawn between Washington and Hollywood. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., is expected to hold a hearing on the FTC's findings Sept. 13, and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joseph Lieberman hopes to testify.

"We are eagerly awaiting the report," Lieberman spokesman Dan Gerstein said. "He will appear before the committee if his schedule allows." The Connecticut senator has been a longtime critic of sex and violence in the media.

Lieberman is expected to be joined at the hearings by top entertainment industry executives, although in the past they have been reluctant to defend their product on Capitol Hill. The Post reports that the Commerce Committee might issue subpoenas to guarantee their presence. A call to McCain's office for comment was not returned by press time.

However, one record company president said getting participation from the industry would not be difficult.

"From what I've heard, they'll find cooperation," said Howie Klein of Reprise Records, who added he would testify if asked. He said he's hoping entertainment executives will form a united front because they're likely to face the same kind of critical barrage that greeted

tobacco makers at a Senate probe three years ago. Those hearings followed an FTC report accusing cigarette companies of marketing their product to minors.

"I will be mortified if I see record companies being apologetic for the way artists express themselves," said Klein, one of the few industry leaders to publicly criticize Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore's selection of the self-described "culture warrior" Lieberman as

his running mate. "If I get a chance [to testify], I'm going to remind the committee of the importance of freedom of speech."

The FTC report was commissioned by President Clinton in the wake of the Columbine (Colo.) High School shootings, in which 13 students were killed by two of their classmates, who then took their own lives.

"The right-wing fanatics have to come up with reasons for Columbine because it can't be about guns," Klein said. "They want to find a scapegoat, but it can't be the gun industry because they pay their bills."

FTC investigators also found that the voluntary enforcement codes administered by the music, film and video game industries are poorly enforced, the Post report says.

"This is scary because you have the government threatening to interfere," Klein said.

Longtime rap publicist Phyllis Pollack of Def Press said she thought the FTC report was timed to coincide with the upcoming presidential election.

"It does not take these people a whole year to come up with a statement bashing the culture," said Pollack, who has represented artists such as N.W.A and the Geto Boys. "I believe this report was intentionally designed to be released at this time so the Democrats could use it as a platform for their hypocritical self-righteousness. They're trying to show the religious right they can be just as theocratic as they are."