2. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Understand the regulation of the media sector
Use this workbook to help you with this learning outcome. There is some guidance
and further notes which you should read and then remove, replacing it with your own
answers.
Which regulatory body did you research?
I have researched in to the Press complaints commission (PCC)
What are they in charge of regulating?
The press complaints commission closed on the 8th September 2014 due to the
phone hacking scandal and has being replaced by the independent press
standards organisation (IPSO). The PCC were a company who dealt with
complaints the public would give due to seeing something unnecessary or
incorrect in newspapers or magazines, online content also applied.
The purpose of the PCC is to serve the public by holding editors to account and
protect the rights of individuals.
When was the body set up? Why was it set up?
The PCC was set up at the beginning of 1991 due to journalists and
publications lacking to observe and in take the basic ethics of journalism in the
1980’s therefore leading to lack of trust and confidence in the press council.
Many members of parliament didn’t feel the self-regulation act that lasted for
over 60 years was effective anymore and needed a genuine privacy law put in
to place. The self-regulatory era began with the creation of a voluntary Press
Council in 1953, which aimed to maintain high ethical standards of journalism
and to promote press freedom this failed to take place any longer and the PCC
was to take action in 1991.
How is this organisation funded? Why is it funded that way? Are there any
benefits or drawbacks to being funded this way?
The PCC is an independent self-regulating body. This means the government
does not run it. It is funded by the newspaper and magazine industry but
operates independently. A business that is independent like the PCC makes its
funding by having a share or a percentage of a certain aspect within the
business making a certain amount of money. The PCC have an annual levy
which is paid by the newspapers and magazine companies.
This is really good that the government have nothing to do with the newspapers
and magazines as that means free speech of the public. There are no
restrictions on what is being said, nothing is been hidden from us and we can go
to the press or magazines and ask to have an article published without the
thought that it might not be due to the government taking charge.
3. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
What powers does the regulatory body have? What can they do if
someone breaks their rules? Who gives these powers to the body?
(making references to specific cases could help you create a more detailed
answer. Finding specific information on when the body was set up and who
helped create it will allow you to find out who gives the body any powers.)
How does the industry use it?
(different bodies will require the industry to work with it in different ways. Some
require you to submit your work before publication whilst others work
retrospectively, only reviewing your work if there is a complaint made. Some
simply provide guidelines whilst other work to create laws, monitor companies
and issue fines where required.)
How can the public use it?
(regulatory bodies often have customer or public facing arm which allows the
public to interact with it. This might be in the form of providing advice and
guidance or it could involve being able to make complaints directly to the body.
Sometimes they might intervene in a dispute between a member of the public
and the industry. Find some specific details about how the public can use this
body.)
What kinds of regulatory issues does your body deal with the most?
(some bodies are set up to look at competition, consumer choice and services
standards. Others are specifically about censorship whilst others try to balance
privacy and the freedom of information. Use examples to help you explain the
kinds of areas your regulators are most concerned with.)
Case Studies:
Find a case study which demonstrates the regulatory body working in practice.
(you should explain the issue they were working on and how it was drawn to
their attention. You should explain the outcome and how that decision was
reached. Regulatory bodies often need to be publically accountable and as such
they usually have a good and often very up to date list of the cases they have
worked on.)
4. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Find a second case study which demonstrates the regulatory body working in
practice.
(you should explain the issue they were working on and how it was drawn to
their attention. You should explain the outcome and how that decision was
reached. Regulatory bodies often need to be publically accountable and as such
they usualyl have a good and often very up to date list of the cases they have
worked on.)
Regulation:
You should answer the following questions using the information you have
gained so far in the unit to help you provide examples to support your opinions.
You may also wish to undertake further research to help you produce detailed
answers.
Should there be regulation of the media?
Yes there should be regulation of the media as this is the control and guidance
of the mass media by governments and other bodies thus without this we will
have no control over what can be shown.
Should regulators be independent?
No, I think it is a lot better to have the government in control of the media as we
have national television but at the same time we can be restricted to what we
watch when the government takes charge as they let us see what they want us
to see. A lot of things are hidden from us e.g. news wise.
Extension tasks
Answer just one of the following questions with a long form answer using
specific examples to help support your opinions.
Why do we allow regulatory bodies to censor media products like films
and video games?
5. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
A film or video game is examined before it is released to see what age the
certain film or video game should be to keep youngsters safe from unsuitable,
harmful scenes and whatever else is within them. They do this to make sure the
scenes within these video games and films are to the correct age limit as
sometimes things can be graphic or disturbing to a certain audience. Regulatory
bodies watch films and videos all the way through and award an age rating and
insight to each one. A bad example of this would be if a 12 year old has a game
which hasn’t been looked at by a regulatory body and this game could include
gun fire and murder e.g. a war video game. If this video game was to be looked
at then it would be the age of an 18 due the disturbing content and sometimes
parents of these children can be disgusted by the age limit e.g. it being too low.
This applies to films also as they can be graphic, contain sexual scenes and a
lot more. I have a reference here from a website i looked on to find the content
that can be in films and there is a lot more than can be expected and this is why
there is such a thing as regulatory bodies.
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/18
Films can contain:
Bad language, sexual behaviour, violence or threats, behaviour children might
copy, reference to drugs, sexual scenes, discrimination, dangerous/imitable
behaviour, nudity, horror, blood and gore.
There is a lot here and this is what regulatory bodies have to look for within
them.
A lot of films can be judged on how much of something is in a film as an
example if there was a little bit of swearing that isn’t so bad such as ‘sh**’ and
this was used maybe twice or three times throughout the film, the film could be
of aged 12 but if stronger and more frequent language was used e.g. ‘fu**’ and
this was used frequently the film could be of aged 15.
There are seven different age limits to films and these are:
U – which means ‘universal so anyone can watch this from a very young age to
OAP’s
PG – which means a child needs Parental Guidance
12A – The 12A requires an adult to accompany any child under 12
12 – Have to be over the aged of 12 to watch this
15 – Have to be over the aged of 15 to watch this
18 – Have to be over the aged of 18 to watch this
R18 – this stands for restricted. This means films may only be shown to adults
in specially licensed cinemas and sometimes may not be supplied by mail order,
these are always, almost very graphic and are not very popular.
or
Is it important to regulate adverts?
