Regulatory and professional bodies:
British Video Association is a video home entertainment organisation established in 1980 and it provides people with information about all things TV and film based. Things such as what films are coming out in the near future, what DVD's are being released, TV programmes being aired and reviews and ratings on their films/programmes. They also allow you to rent DVD's off their website.
Film Distributors Association is a website which gives a guide to uk film distribution, marketing and cinema releases.
Video Standards Council (VSC) is a non-profit making body set up to develop and oversee a code of practice designed to promote high standards within the video industry.
Trading Standards Institute is the professional association which represents trading standards professionals in the UK and overseas.
Press Complaints Commission (PCC) is a website which deals with complaints, framed within the terms of the Editors' Code of Practice, about the content of newspapers and magazines (and their websites, including editorial audio-visual material) and the conduct of journalists.
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK's independent regulator of advertising across all media.
The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) is the global community for mobile content and commerce. It is the leading trade organisation for companies wishing to monetize their goods, services and digital products via the mobile connected device.
The Independent Games Developers Association (IGDA) is the trade association representing the UK's games industry
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is an independent charity supporting, developing and promoting the art forms of the moving image in the UK.
Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) is the trade body for commercial radio companies in the United Kingdom. (Now known as the Radio Academy).
The International Visual Communication Association (IVCA) is a professional body which represents its members to Government and other stakeholding bodies and to promote effective business and public service communications of the highest ethical and professional standards.
Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community where member organizations, full-time staff, and the public work together to develop web standards.
British Web Design and Marketing Association is a website/company who design websites for their customers.
British Interactive Multimedia Association (BIMA) is an industry body representing the digital industry in the United Kingdom, BIMA is a membership organisation primarily made up of digital agencies.
Regulatory issues:
Ownership - Regulatory bodies have rules that stop the "big companies" from owning everything in the media and becoming too big. I think this is good because it stops the large media companies from owning everything and becoming too powerful and spreading their influence through every area of the media, corruption in the media could be a result of some companies being too big and this prevents that from happening
Monopoly - Because unregulated monopolies seek to maximize profits, output is restricted so that price is set higher than what everyone can afford
Consumer Choice - Ofcom say that BBC (which is payed for by the British community) have to have channels and radio stations that cater for everyone's needs within the UK, e.g. sports channels/stations have to be there for sports fans, also the UK has to have stations/channels for the foreign residents of the UK who pay the license fee. I think this is fair because we have to pay the license fee just to watch TV and it's not fair if you pay the license fee but there's nothing on the BBC channels/stations that interests you.
Freedom of Information - Freedom of information legislation comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions
Censorship - Censorship says what can't be seen on the internet and other types of media and is used to prevent secret and maybe harmful information from being released to the public. Censorship is different in all countries.
Taste and Decency - The Code states that marketing communications should not cause serious or widespread offence and identifies particular areas as requiring special sensitivity. It also states that marketing communications will be judged on where and when they appeared, who they were likely to be seen by, the product being advertised and the prevailing standards of decency. The Code acknowledges that marcoms might be distasteful without necessarily causing serious or widespread offence.
Wednesday 16 November 2011
Thursday 3 November 2011
Ryan Giggs Sex Scandal: An example of breaking the privacy law
Last year there was news that Manchester United star Ryan Giggs had an affair with former Big Brother housemate Imogen Thomas. Giggs took out a super injunction in court which means that it would be against the law to mention him as the man who had the affair. However Ryan Giggs was being mentioned all over Twitter as the man who had the affair and there was nothing the court could do and eventually the name had been broadcast and everyone across the country knew. This was breaking the privacy law because personal facts about an individual had been published by broadcasters. No one had been punished for the breaking of the privacy law in the end because the name had been revealed by over 75,000 people on Twitter and it would be impossible to punish them all so it was left unpunished, however Ryan Giggs did demand that his lawyers sue the people on Twitter who revealed his name. Also, you could argue that the story is in the public interest because Ryan Giggs is a celebrity and has been for years, and as a result is sacrificing his privacy; this would mean that the privacy law is not broken by this. Also it could be breaking the human rights act and the right to personal privacy because his private life has been exposed, but once again because he is a celebrity, it is expected that he may not have much privacy.
Wednesday 2 November 2011
Ethical and Legal Constraints within the Media Sector
Legal:
Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of British parliament which tells broadcasters what they can and can't broadcast in the UK, on television and on the radio. For example, if BBC showed a program with lots of swearing before 9PM, that would be a breach of the broadcasting act 1990. I think this is a good law because it stops some broadcasters from broadcasting things that are innapropriate and could be seen by the wrong audience.
Official Secrets Act 1989 is a law that states that it is illegal to disclose information regarding national security. For example, if a journalist released information about the location of Prince William, this would be a breach of the Official Secrets Act. I think this is a good law because it prevents journalists releasing information about some very important which could maybe be seen by someone who could track them down.
Obscene Publications Act 1959 is a bunch of laws relating to obscene material being published on TV. For example, if BBC showed a pornographic movie, this would be a breach of the obscene publications act 1959. I think this is a good law because it stops things innapropriate material being scene on TV when anyone could see it including younger people.
Films Act 1985 is a law concering film finance and defining British films. It basically decide whether or not a film is "British" and has the right to be funded by the British government. I think it is a good law because it stops foreign films being made and funded by British government and gives us more British films.
Video Recordings Act 1984 are laws stating that all videos that are sold or available for rental must be classified by the BBFC. For example if a DVD was sold that had no age rating on it, this would be breaking the video recordings act. This is a good law because it stops people from buying un rated DVD's and seeing content they didn't expect to see within the film.
Race Relations Act 1976 is a law to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race. Items that are covered include discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and natural origins in the fields of employment, the provision of good and services, education and public functions. For example if a company wanted to hire somebody for a certain job but would only hire a certain race, this would be a breach of the race relations act. I think this is good because it makes companies more diverse and prevents some managers from being racist. The only problem is that it could cause some people to be racist because someone not from England took a job they may have applied for.
Human Rights Act 1998 are rights that are to believed to belong justifiably to every person. For example, if soembody told a group of 5 or 6 people that they could only stand in groups of 3, this would be a breach of the human rights act. This is a good law because it lets people know what they do and don't have rights to do and these rights can be used if someone is trying to tell you to do something you don't have to do.
Licensing Act 2003 is an act that states that pub owners need a specific license in order to broadcast football, play music and other forms of entertainment. For example, if a pub owner showed a football match streamed from a website that was or wasn't being shown on Sky Sports/ITV/BBC then that would be a breach of the Licensing Act. This is a good law because it stops Sky Sports/BBC etc from losing money. I do think it should be legal to stream football in pubs though if the game is not being broadcast on TV.
Privacy law prevents journalists from publicising private facts about individuals, unless it can be proved that knowing the fact is in the public interest. For example, a journalist publishing a story about something private that's happened in somebody's life would be a breach of the privacy law. This is good because it stops people's private lives from being invaded and stops people all across the country discussing something that may or may not be true about a person when they didn't want people to know.
Copyright protects written, theatrical, musical and artistic works as well as film, book layouts, sound recordings and broadcasts. Copyright is an automatic right that you don't have to apply for. For example, if someone wrote a song and showed it somebody, then the person they showed it to released the song and claimed it as their own, this would be a breach of copyright. This is a good law because it stops other people from stealing things you've created and claiming it as their own and getting credit for something you did. This is probably the most effective law of them all.
Intellectual property law refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic work and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. IP results from the expression of an idea. So IP might be a brand, an invention, a design, a song or another intellectual creation. IP can be owned, bought and sold. For example, if a person thought of an invention in their head and shared their idea with someone else, if that someone else created that invention and sold it with the permission of the other person, that would be breaching the intellectual property law. This is a good law because if you come up with a brilliant idea and someone steals it and makes the idea a reality, they would get in trouble for breaking the intellectual property law and it stops your credit from being stolen.
Libel law is writing or recording something false and damaging about someone and is a form of defamation. For example, if a journalist published a false story about how somebody had child pornography on their computer, this would be a breach of the libel law. This is a good law because it stops false and negative information about people being spread around the country and stops people from having a negative opinion on a person for it.
BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is an organisation which classifies all films, TV programmes, video games and adverts in the UK, it gives it an age rating, the main age ratings given are U (suitable for anyone), 12A (can only be seen if the viewer is 12 or over or accompanied by an adult), 12 (can only be seen if viewer is 12 or over), 15 (can only be seen if viewer is 15 or over), 18 (can only be seen if viewer is 18 or over) and restricted 18 (can only be seen in licensed cinemas and sold at licensed retailers at sex shops, only if viewer is 18 or over). If something is released and has not been classified by the BBFC, it is a breach of the video recordings act. I think this is good because it stops anyone from being able to see any film they want when they're may be content unsuitable for them in that film. The only problem is that usually people who are too young for a certain film are sometimes allowed in and the DVD can still be watched if bought by someone old enough to buy it.
Ofcom (Office of Communications) is a television based corporation, their main responsibilities are to take complaints from the public about harmful/offensive material on TV and launch investigations into it and then take action if found guilty. For example, if there is swearing on a program on BBC1 before 9PM (Watershed) then viewers have a right to complain to Ofcom and if they find that there was swearing, they can take action. Ofcom are good because they keep it so broadcasters only broadcast what they're allowed to and there is no innapropriate content on TV, and if there is, Ofcom deal with it effectively.
Code of Practice is a set of rules explaining how people should behave in their profession. For example, someone working in a shop would have a certain dress code and a certain way to deal with costumers, e.g. they would not be allowed to shout at customers.This is good because it gives people a code to follow in order to make that industry look professional and keeps people from doing things the company wouldn't approve of.
Press Code of Practice: All members of the press have a duty to maintain the highest professional standards. The Code, which includes this preamble and the public interest exceptions below, sets the benchmark for those ethical standards, protecting both the rights of the individual and the public's right to know.
Media Representation is how certain types of people are represented in different TV shows/films. E.g. Black people, gay people, chinese people etc. For example, black people are usually represented in films as being very athletic and fast runners, even though not all are, however muslims are represented as being terrorists, even though not all muslims are terrorists, the media makes people think that. It can also mean they way places are represented e.g. Liverpool is represented as a place with lots of crime and robberies, even though maybe it's not as bad as the media make it out to be.
Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of British parliament which tells broadcasters what they can and can't broadcast in the UK, on television and on the radio. For example, if BBC showed a program with lots of swearing before 9PM, that would be a breach of the broadcasting act 1990. I think this is a good law because it stops some broadcasters from broadcasting things that are innapropriate and could be seen by the wrong audience.
Official Secrets Act 1989 is a law that states that it is illegal to disclose information regarding national security. For example, if a journalist released information about the location of Prince William, this would be a breach of the Official Secrets Act. I think this is a good law because it prevents journalists releasing information about some very important which could maybe be seen by someone who could track them down.
Obscene Publications Act 1959 is a bunch of laws relating to obscene material being published on TV. For example, if BBC showed a pornographic movie, this would be a breach of the obscene publications act 1959. I think this is a good law because it stops things innapropriate material being scene on TV when anyone could see it including younger people.
Films Act 1985 is a law concering film finance and defining British films. It basically decide whether or not a film is "British" and has the right to be funded by the British government. I think it is a good law because it stops foreign films being made and funded by British government and gives us more British films.
Video Recordings Act 1984 are laws stating that all videos that are sold or available for rental must be classified by the BBFC. For example if a DVD was sold that had no age rating on it, this would be breaking the video recordings act. This is a good law because it stops people from buying un rated DVD's and seeing content they didn't expect to see within the film.
Race Relations Act 1976 is a law to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race. Items that are covered include discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and natural origins in the fields of employment, the provision of good and services, education and public functions. For example if a company wanted to hire somebody for a certain job but would only hire a certain race, this would be a breach of the race relations act. I think this is good because it makes companies more diverse and prevents some managers from being racist. The only problem is that it could cause some people to be racist because someone not from England took a job they may have applied for.
Human Rights Act 1998 are rights that are to believed to belong justifiably to every person. For example, if soembody told a group of 5 or 6 people that they could only stand in groups of 3, this would be a breach of the human rights act. This is a good law because it lets people know what they do and don't have rights to do and these rights can be used if someone is trying to tell you to do something you don't have to do.
Licensing Act 2003 is an act that states that pub owners need a specific license in order to broadcast football, play music and other forms of entertainment. For example, if a pub owner showed a football match streamed from a website that was or wasn't being shown on Sky Sports/ITV/BBC then that would be a breach of the Licensing Act. This is a good law because it stops Sky Sports/BBC etc from losing money. I do think it should be legal to stream football in pubs though if the game is not being broadcast on TV.
Privacy law prevents journalists from publicising private facts about individuals, unless it can be proved that knowing the fact is in the public interest. For example, a journalist publishing a story about something private that's happened in somebody's life would be a breach of the privacy law. This is good because it stops people's private lives from being invaded and stops people all across the country discussing something that may or may not be true about a person when they didn't want people to know.
Copyright protects written, theatrical, musical and artistic works as well as film, book layouts, sound recordings and broadcasts. Copyright is an automatic right that you don't have to apply for. For example, if someone wrote a song and showed it somebody, then the person they showed it to released the song and claimed it as their own, this would be a breach of copyright. This is a good law because it stops other people from stealing things you've created and claiming it as their own and getting credit for something you did. This is probably the most effective law of them all.
Intellectual property law refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic work and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. IP results from the expression of an idea. So IP might be a brand, an invention, a design, a song or another intellectual creation. IP can be owned, bought and sold. For example, if a person thought of an invention in their head and shared their idea with someone else, if that someone else created that invention and sold it with the permission of the other person, that would be breaching the intellectual property law. This is a good law because if you come up with a brilliant idea and someone steals it and makes the idea a reality, they would get in trouble for breaking the intellectual property law and it stops your credit from being stolen.
Libel law is writing or recording something false and damaging about someone and is a form of defamation. For example, if a journalist published a false story about how somebody had child pornography on their computer, this would be a breach of the libel law. This is a good law because it stops false and negative information about people being spread around the country and stops people from having a negative opinion on a person for it.
BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is an organisation which classifies all films, TV programmes, video games and adverts in the UK, it gives it an age rating, the main age ratings given are U (suitable for anyone), 12A (can only be seen if the viewer is 12 or over or accompanied by an adult), 12 (can only be seen if viewer is 12 or over), 15 (can only be seen if viewer is 15 or over), 18 (can only be seen if viewer is 18 or over) and restricted 18 (can only be seen in licensed cinemas and sold at licensed retailers at sex shops, only if viewer is 18 or over). If something is released and has not been classified by the BBFC, it is a breach of the video recordings act. I think this is good because it stops anyone from being able to see any film they want when they're may be content unsuitable for them in that film. The only problem is that usually people who are too young for a certain film are sometimes allowed in and the DVD can still be watched if bought by someone old enough to buy it.
Ofcom (Office of Communications) is a television based corporation, their main responsibilities are to take complaints from the public about harmful/offensive material on TV and launch investigations into it and then take action if found guilty. For example, if there is swearing on a program on BBC1 before 9PM (Watershed) then viewers have a right to complain to Ofcom and if they find that there was swearing, they can take action. Ofcom are good because they keep it so broadcasters only broadcast what they're allowed to and there is no innapropriate content on TV, and if there is, Ofcom deal with it effectively.
Code of Practice is a set of rules explaining how people should behave in their profession. For example, someone working in a shop would have a certain dress code and a certain way to deal with costumers, e.g. they would not be allowed to shout at customers.This is good because it gives people a code to follow in order to make that industry look professional and keeps people from doing things the company wouldn't approve of.
Press Code of Practice: All members of the press have a duty to maintain the highest professional standards. The Code, which includes this preamble and the public interest exceptions below, sets the benchmark for those ethical standards, protecting both the rights of the individual and the public's right to know.
Media Representation is how certain types of people are represented in different TV shows/films. E.g. Black people, gay people, chinese people etc. For example, black people are usually represented in films as being very athletic and fast runners, even though not all are, however muslims are represented as being terrorists, even though not all muslims are terrorists, the media makes people think that. It can also mean they way places are represented e.g. Liverpool is represented as a place with lots of crime and robberies, even though maybe it's not as bad as the media make it out to be.
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