2. Glossary
I. Accuracy – Free from error & defect; precision, exactness;
correctness
II. Balance- a state of equilibrium, equal distribution of weight &
amount
III. Impartial -Not partial or biased; fair, just; an impartial judge
IV. Objectivity- the state or quality of being objective: He tries to
maintain objectivity in his judgment.
V. Subjectivity- the state or quality of being subjective;
VI. Opinion- a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
VII.Bias- a particular tendency or inclination, especially one that
prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice
VIII.Representation- the state of being represented.
IX. Access- the ability, right, or permission to
approach, enter, speak with, or use; admittance: They have
access to the files.
X. Privacy- the state of being private; I need privacy
3. Protecting Under 18’s & Harm and Offence
The Code
The code places particular emphasis & importance on protecting all under 18’s. Here is a summary of
the code :
I. Broadcasters must take all reasonable precautions to protect all people under 18
II. Material that might seriously impair, the mental, physical or moral development of an U18 must
not be broadcast
III. Programmes should be scheduled appropriately
IV. Alcohol, smoking & drugs must be avoided. Any programme containing alcohol, smoking or
drugs must have editorial justification and may not be glamorised in any way.
V. Violence & dangerous behaviour is limited appropriately before the watershed. Same rules apply
as the above.
VI. Offensive language must never be shown before the watershed & offensive hand gestures must
have reasonable justification
VII. Unless having an educational purpose, sexual intercourse must not be shown before the
watershed. Nudity before the watershed must be justified appropriately by the context
VIII. Any paranormal , the occult or showings of the exorcist must be shown at a time when it is less
likely for children to be watching. However this does not apply to drama, film or comedy.
IX. Films which have been classified or unclassified by the British Board of Film Classification need
special scheduling
X. Under 18’s can choose to have their identity protected when in a situation with the law.
Therefore the broadcaster is not allowed to reveal the concealed identity and must pay special
attention to under18’s who may be vulnerable in the situation of their identity being released.
XI. When taking part in a programme, the broadcaster must make sure that there is no harm caused
to the under 18’s taking part. Prizes on children's competitions must be appropriate for their age
range
XII. Programmes must be true and accurate. It is the responsibility of programme-makers and
broadcasters to ensure that viewers are not misled.
4. Crime Religion
I. Programmes must not contain material I. The beliefs and practices of any religious groups featured in
which will condone crime programmes must not be misrepresented or abused.
II. Programmes must not include detailed II. ‘Special powers and abilities’. Claims that living individuals or
descriptions of criminal techniques groups have special powers or abilities should be considered
unless justified in the editorial context with due objectivity and avoided in programmes when
significant numbers of children are likely to be watching.
III. Convicted criminals must not benefit in
III. Religious programmes should not make direct appeals to
any way from being filmed
viewers to join a particular religion i.e. Directly seek recruits.
Fairness
I. Unfair treatment of organisations in programmes should Elections
be avoided I. The reporting of elections and
II. Interviews & contributions must be edited fairly referendums must be duly
III. Factual programmes should be fair and accurate and not impartial and facts must not be
cause unfairness to individuals or organisations. misrepresented.
IV. Where any deception is used in the making of factual II. On polling day, discussion and
programmes, such deception should be necessary and analysis of election issues must
be justified by and proportional to the public interest finish when polling stations open.
served.
Editorial independence & commercial references
Privacy
I. All secret filming and recording (except for within programmes
entertainment purposes) must be justifiable I. Programme content and advertising must be kept
by the public interest entirely separate.
II. Broadcasters must pay particular regard to II. The broadcaster must retain complete editorial control
the privacy of people under 16. Those under over programme content.
16 do not lose their right to privacy because III. Television broadcasters are never allowed to broadcast
of the fame or notoriety of their parents. appeals for donations to make programmes or fund
their service
6. News programmes
I. News, in whatever form, must be reported with due accuracy and
presented with due impartiality.
“ The Rehab singer, 27, was discovered at the property in north London by
emergency services at around 3.54pm on Saturday afternoon. She is
feared to have died from a binge on drugs. A Sunday tabloid reported that
she was seen buying substances, believed to be cocaine, heroin, ecstasy
and ketamine, from a dealer in Camden just after 10:30pm on Friday.” –
The SUN newspaper 23rd July
“TRAGIC Amy Winehouse had NO illegal drugs in her system when she
died, the official toxicology report has revealed.”- The SUN newspaper 24th
August
7. News programmes
I. Significant mistakes in news should normally be acknowledged and
corrected on air quickly. Corrections should be appropriately scheduled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvTJxMPzJlo
All broadcasters are to abide by the
Ofcom rules and regulation
8. Truth & Accuracy
I. Truth and accuracy must be applied to all programmes including entertainment programmes
which have factual elements. When the viewer is expecting to take face value like when
portraying live events, truth and accuracy must be respected. Programme's must always be
honest, fair & accurate as not to mislead viewer’s.
II. Truth and Accuracy is portrayed in the documentary Eileen through, interviews,
photograph's, witnesses, unbiased opinions, and many more techniques to show the viewers
that his documentary is consistently true & accurate.
9. Reconstructions
I. If accurate reconstructions are being shown, the producers must be sure not to mislead the
viewer. If the reconstruction is not accurate, producers must forewarn viewers to avoid
confusion. Distributors must also warn viewer's when reconstructing actual events so as
not to cause distress.
II. In the documentary Eileen, Nick Bloomfield doesn’t include any reconstructions in his
documentary.
10. Secret Filming
I. Secret filming is not permitted for inclusion in a programme unless approved by the
broadcaster in advance. In order to conduct secret filming, producers must write a
justification which must satisfy section 8.13 of the code. There are also many detailed
guidelines which the programme-makers must follow in order to secret film.
II. In the documentary Aileen, Bloomfield does a very vital part of secret filming. Toward the
end of the documentary when Aileen refuses to talk to the camera about the “corrupted
cops” Nick captures Aileen talking about how the cops have corrupted her and made her go
insane. At this point in the documentary you can either believe she is insane or just warning
people about government corruption… without secret filming, Bloomfield wouldn’t have
been able to get this last bit of information which can easily sway his viewer's decision on
Aileen being guilty or not guilty.
11. Payments
I. Before making any payments to a confessed criminal, producers must seek advice from
your programme lawyer. Broadcasters have to approve the payments or sources before
they are given to the contributor. Payment is not allowed to be promised to someone
because of their mental health.
II. In the Aileen documentary, Broomfield was unable to make any sort of payments to Aileen
as she was executed. However, any payments which were made for his documentary
(Aileen's family, witnesses, police etc) were approved by a programme lawyer.
12. Dealing with Contributors
• Producers should get consent in the form of a signed release form but consent on a camera is
still satisfactory. Use of deception must be justified but the public interest and always be
agreed in advance by the broadcaster. Interviews must be fairly edited, when filming with the
authorities, producers must seek a programme lawyer. When being interviewed, if an
individual is in distress, pressure must not be put on them by the producer.
• Broomfield has to interview many people about Aileen in his documentary and some of them
do appear to be distressed when interviewed. However we are shown that when Nick is asked
to stop filming he does so.
13. People Under 18
I. When Under 18’s are involved in a programme, producers must ensure that distress is always
avoided. They must also be aware of the physical and emotional welfare of the persons
under 18. To allow an under 16 to have their contribution to their programme, parental
consent must be given . Without it, the under 16 will not be able to partake in contributing.
“vulnerable adults” have similar considerations.
II. Aileen is shown to be a “vulnerable adult” herself but Broomfield sought consent from
Aileen’s carers at the prison. Nick also ensured that Aileen was always happy to film and
when she asked for him to keep the camera off her- he did. By doing this, he was able to
build up a relationship with Aileen thus making her open up more in the interviews and gain
trust in Nick.
14. How will the above impact my work ?
The group topic Graffiti we have chosen is quite a difficult one. Seeing as Graffiti is illegal to
carry out, filming it and showing it we will have to make sure we abide by the Ofcom codes &
conventions. Anything which we may have issues with, will need to be justified in a letter and
sent to the broadcaster.
To portray truth and accuracy through our documentary, we will have to make sure that all
the footage has been edited fairly as not to mislead viewers and ensure that truth and
accuracy within our factual programme is consistent.
If we were to film any type of reconstruction, again we have to make sure not to mislead the
viewer. Therefore, either we must make the reconstruction as accurate as possible or
forewarn the viewers about the reconstruction not being completely accurate.
Secret filming is taken very seriously by Ofcom, if we wanted to include any, I believe we
should write a letter of justification satisfying section 8.13 of the code.
If we wanted to make any payments, we must be positive that we aren’t paying any
convicted criminals. However if we do need to make a payment to criminal, again we will
need to write a letter if justification to the broadcasters.
When dealing with contributors, in things like interviews we have to make sure that they are
edited fairly as not to create a biased opinion. Also if we see someone getting distressed over
our interviewing, we must not put pressure on them to continue.
If anyone under 16 needs to participate in out factual programme, to avoid being in trouble
with parents, we need to get a signed consent form from them allowing their child to
participate.
