Media Regulation
Media regulation calls for the ‘protection’ of the masses from the haphazard media
companies. This breeds two main issues of media regulation:
- Issues of Public Concern - For the ‘greater good’ or society in general
- Issues of Private Concern - For individual character.
Issues of public concern
- Involve the protection of public order and the security of the state.
- Maintaining respect for public in matters of taste and decency
- Preventing harm to society, especially by way of harm to children and young people
from undesirable content.
- Achieving benefits for the public sphere in terms of information flow, access, diversity
and public participation.
- Maintaining cultural standards and supporting national/regional culture and language.
- Respecting human rights of expression and protection from insult and prejudice.
- Meeting international obligations
- Protecting and advancing the national economic interest in media and
communication industries.
Contemporary media regulation
Ofcom
- Responsible for regulating TV, radio, telephone and some aspects of internet
- Granting licenses to TV or radio
- Before digital broadcasting technologies only possible for 4-5 TV stations- more
centralized
- Created for signals would interfere with another
Ofcom, created in 2003 to regulate programmes after the Watershed was proving to be
ineffective. Although useful to the extent of being able to regulate television programming,
they have no ability whatsoever to influence large companies such as Netflix, which streams
to 190 countries globally, a reach surpassing even certain news channels. This is because
Netflix makes the claim to operate in an ordinance with Dutch regulations, a loophole which
requires patching.
9 section codes
1. 18-
2. Harm and offense
3. Crime
4. Religion
5. Impartiality and under prominence of views and opinions
6. Elections and referendums
, 7. Fairness
8. Privacy
9. Commercial reference in TV program
Channel 4
- 2012 playing X men at 6;55 on sunday which contains 6 violence scene
- March 2014 channel four granted another 10 years license
- However Ofcom asked them to produce 6% more content in the Uk
ASA
- Tv advertising
BBFC - British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification oversees the regulation of the film industry in the UK
(BBFC). Films that are released on DVD and in theatres must be classified by the BBFC.
The BBFC uses published Classification Guidelines for specific age ranges to make sure
that the material of the movie is suitable for that age group and that kids and teenagers
aren't exposed to inappropriate movies. The BBFC Classification Guidelines are updated
every 4-5 years and are based on ongoing public research. More than 10,000 participants
from all throughout the UK—including teenagers—are involved in the study.
The classifications are:
U – Suitable for all
PG – Parental Guidance
12A – Only used for films shown in cinemas and suitable for 12 years and over. However,
people younger than 12 may see a 12A so long as they are accompanied by an adult
12 – Video release suitable for 12 years and over
15 – Suitable for only 15 years and over
18 – Suitable only for adults
As the film was mentioned to be a “parody”, he got away with a lot of the jokes that he had
mentioned which is why it is still able to be found and watched on the internet, however, he
has faced multiple controversies because of this. The film is rated PG15 as the film is not
serious and is a parody, however, it mentions a lot of offensive and sexual dialogue. It can be
educational in the sense that it shows how people should not act, but if someone is likely to
mimic an action that “Borat” has displayed then it is better for them to not be exposed to the
film. Some people may think that it should be higher because of the number of regulations
that the film crosses and they don’t have the tolerance to watch such “absurd humour”. On
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