Media Regulation
Data protection
The way media gets regulated in the UK is through the data protection act which is a legal
obligation. This act protects individuals data and information that companies contain. This could be
for example; credit card information, home addresses, names, contact information etc.. The reason
we have this act is to ensure that your data is used fairly, the information is relevant and that its not
kept for longer than is necessary. Also every person has the right to find out what information the
government and other organisations store about you.
The broadcasting standards authority
The Broadcasting Standards Commission was the statutory body for both standards and fairness in
broadcasting. It was replaced by Ofcom in 2003.
Its main functions were to produce codes of conduct regarding broadcasting standards, to evaluate
and assess complaints made against TV and radio programmers and to conduct research into issues
of standards in TV and radio broadcasting.
Ofcom
Ofcom is responsible for the management, regulation, assignment and licensing of the
electromagnetic spectrum in the UK, and licenses portions of it for use in television and radio
broadcasts, mobile phone transmissions, private communications networks, wireless devices and so
on. They are independent, and funded by the fees paid to them by the companies they regulate.
Quote from Ofcom:
'We also help to make sure people across the UK are satisfied with what they see and hear on TV
and radio, and that programmes reflect the audiences they serve. We consider every complaint we
receive from viewers and listeners. Often, we investigate further and we sometimes find
broadcasters in breach of our rules.'
At this current moment in time the most complained about TV broadcast this year is Good Morning
Britain, ITV, 21 January 2020, with 1589 complaints.
Censorship
Censorship in the media is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information,
on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful or sensitive.
Libel
Libel is a method of defamation expressed by print, writing, pictures, signs, effigies, or any
communication embodied in physical form that is injurious to a person's reputation, exposes a
person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or injures a person in his/her business or profession.
, An example of this is when for example when Elon Musk called British diver in Thai cave rescue
'pedo’
How the media uses self-regulation
Some media companies use a representative which creates a self-regulation mechanism that
is independent from government control and are designed to uphold the quality of media.
Self-regulation helps maintain the media’s credibility with the public and it also protects the right
of journalists to be independent, and to be judged for professional mistakes not by those in
power but by their colleagues. Self-regulatory bodies use what's called 'the right of reply (which is
the right to defend oneself against public criticism) they say an opportunity to reply to criticisms
should be provided whenever an individual or organization has been singled out. However, there is
a danger that this can stifle the freedom of the press to scrutinize and be critical. Ethical guidelines
are also put into place, its Code of Practice contains a special anti discrimination clause: “The
press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual’s race, colour, religion, sex,
sexual orientation, or to any physical or mental illness or disability. The question of privacy has
become considerably more important in recent years, and codes’ requirements on privacy intrusions
have been made more severe. Self-regulation protects both freedom of Information and citizens
from abuse of this freedom, and these two often come into conflict. A problem that arises in regards
to self regulated companies is that because they are regulated via an in-house representative they
can often be looked at as bias.
Control exerted by owners, revenue generators, political and any other influences, and the
effects this can have on the public services.
Independence of the BBC
The BBC is operationally independent of the government, who have no power to appoint or dismiss
its director-general, and required to report impartially. They are funded via licence fees which has
two primary advantages. It removes from the BBC the need to interrupt programming with adverts
and it allows the BBC to go where the commercial sector never would, either because the likely
audience is too low or because a production would cost too much to make.
Although a negative of this is that advertising has the advantage that popular
programming can pull in immense amounts of funding. Introducing adverts to BBC
channels would mean that the likes of Eastenders or major sporting events such as
the FA Cup Final could bring in millions of pounds in revenue. This lack of
advertising also means that the BBC must rely on their shows to be good enough to
pull the viewer base that they require. The principle of BBC independence has been
regarded, highly and widely throughout Britain, as a prized essential for maintenance
of a trustworthy broadcasting service in the public interest. It has consequently
served as an important shield against attempted political interference with BBC
decisions.
