The document discusses public service broadcasting (PSB) in the UK. Key points:
- PSB refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than for profit or advertising. The BBC and other broadcasters have requirements to provide PSB content.
- Debate around the future of PSB in the digital age, as commercial broadcasters want to reduce obligations and funding pressures increase on organizations like Channel 4.
- Ofcom regulates PSB and is consulting on its future direction as consumption habits change with new technologies. Maintaining PSB programming remains an ongoing discussion.
P1 - Leaners explore UK TV broadcasting through a focused case study on a UK TV broadcasting including
A) - Operating Model
B) - Product Types
C) - Modes of Delivery
D) - Programme Content
E) - Production Process
F) - Audience Profile
G) - Distribution
H) - Regulating Bodies
P1 - Leaners explore UK TV broadcasting through a focused case study on a UK TV broadcasting including
A) - Operating Model
B) - Product Types
C) - Modes of Delivery
D) - Programme Content
E) - Production Process
F) - Audience Profile
G) - Distribution
H) - Regulating Bodies
2. Public Service Broadcasting
'PSB' refers to broadcasting intended for the
benefit of the public, as opposed to
Advertisement etc. e.g.: a new legislation.
Regulated by OFCOM and the requirement is:
certain broadcasters fulfil
Certain requirements as part of their license to
broadcast.
All of the BBCs TV and radio stations have a
Public Service Remit (Remit: they have to
Meet a certain criteria)
3. Public Service Broadcasting…
*Six Music (Radio 6) was being targeted to be
banned (Digital channel)*
- Recently introduced 'third tier' of approaching
200 community radio services are
Also specifically recognised by Ofcom as being
providers
Of public service broadcasting output, delivered
under the
Terms of Community Radio Order 2004.
4. Public Service Broadcasting…
- BBC is funded by a 'license fee' and does not
sell advertising time, is most
Notable for being the first public service
broadcaster in the UK.
- It's first Director General was Lord Reith, whom
introduced many of the
Concepts that would later define PSB in the UK
when he adopted the mission to
"Inform, educate and entertain".
5. Public Service Broadcasting…
The launch of the first commercial broadcaster
ITV (analogue channel), came in 1955. The
government required
That the local franchises fulfilled a similar
obligation
Mandating a certain level of local news coverage,
arts and religious programming in return
For the right to broadcast.
6. Public Service Broadcasting…
Channel 4 and S4C were set up by the
government in 1981 to provide different forms of
PSB. Channel 4 was required to be a public
service alternative to the BBC and to cater
For minorities and arts. S4C was to be a mainly
Welsh language programmer. Neither of them
Were to be successful commercially as Channel 4
was subsidised by the
ITV Network and S4C received a grant from the
central government
7. Public Service Broadcasting…
When the final terrestrial broadcaster, Five,
launched in 1997 it too was given
a number of public service requirements. These
included the obligation to provide
Minimum amounts of programming from the
various genres
8. Public Service Broadcasting…
The advent of the 'digital age' has brought about
many questions about the future of
Public service broadcasting in the UK. The BBC
has been criticised by some for being
Expansionist and exceeding its public service
remit by providing content that
Could be provided by commercial broadcasters.
9. Public Service Broadcasting…
ITV has been attempting to significantly reduce its
obligations
To produce and broadcast unprofitable PSB
programming, citing
The increased competition from digital and
multichannel television.
10. Public Service Broadcasting…
Channel 4 has projected a £100m funding gap if it
is to continue
With public service broadcasting after digital
switch-over. As a result, Ofcom has
Recently been consulting on what direction PSB
should take in the future.
11. OFCOM
* http://www.ofcom.org.uk/
- Ofcom launched on 29 December 2003, formally
inheriting the duties that had
Previously been the responsibility of five different
regulators.
- Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and
competition authority for the
Broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of
the United Kingdom.
Ofcom was initially established by the Office of
Communications Act 2002
And received its full authority from the Communications Act
2003.
12. Licensing
BBC is funded by a 'license fee' and does not sell
advertising time, is most
notable for being the first public service
broadcaster in the UK.
14. Ownership
Fiver major distributors dominate media these are United
International Pictures,Warner Bros,Buena Vista,20th Century Fox
and Sony
Massive multinational media conglomerates own
Film studios
TV stations
Record labels magazines
Newspapers
Books internet platform
However there are a small percentage of independents many of
which operate within the UK.
Independent filmmaker Orin Peli
made„ParanormalActivity‟forjust$15,000.But he needed
Paramount, a US major studio to distribute his film. In doing so
he made over$190milllion.This shows there are exceptions to the
rule that big budget films always do best..
20. BBC RE:THINK 2012: What Does
Britain Believe?
Over the past few years I have noticed how religion as a
subject has crept into more and more debates and
festivals with one exception, the media.
TV festivals in particular have a strange ostrich-like
relationship with the subject but the country as a whole
doesn't seem to agree. For them it's here in our lives and it
needs to be understood, debated and packaged in a way
best suited for their changing needs and tastes.
That's the genesis of BBC RE:THINK 2012. It's an attempt
to fuse the growing interest in the subject if not necessarily
the practise of religion with how it's reported on television,
radio and online. Not only is it clearly a space that the
BBC, as the largest provider of religion & ethics
programming, should occupy but also what better place to
hold it than in the heart of its religious production
community, BBC North in Salford.
21. BBC RE:THINK 2012: What Does
Britain Believe?
Taking part in and attending BBC RE: THINK
2012 will be other broadcasters, independent
producers, journalists, academics, clergy, opinion
formers and members of the public. It's a unique
opportunity to bring all of us together for the first
time.
Across the two days there should be something
for everyone. From a must-watch conversation
between the Chief Rabbi and Richard Dawkins,
festival specials of The Moral Maze and The Big
Questions to standing room-only master classes
from Bettany Hughes and Jeremy Bowen there
should be something for everyone.
22. BBC RE:THINK 2012: What Does
Britain Believe?
The diverse nature of the subjects covered will help us
explore the festivals strap line 'What does Britain believe?'
Academic and broadcaster Robert Beckford will chair a
panel that explores exactly this question in relation to the
views of young people. This debate will reveal the findings
of a startling survey commissioned for the festival. It
reveals that 59% of 16-24 year olds believe that looking
after family was the most important moral issue for them.
Only 4% said having religious faith or beliefs was the most
important moral issue.
The respondents were asked to rank eight issues in order
of importance, religious faith or belief was considered to be
least important by almost one third (32%) of the
respondents. This was followed by 22% who said buying
ethical products was the least important, and 15% who put
paying taxes at the bottom of their moral list.
23. BBC RE:THINK 2012: What Does
Britain Believe?
Radio, TV and online programming is also central to
the festival - from last weekends episodes of Sunday
on BBC Radio 4 and Sunday morning live on BBC
One (both still available on the BBC iPlayer) debating
the findings of the BBC RE:THINK 2012 survey to a
new three part series on BBC Two, Dead Good
Job, launching on the 12th of September at 9pm. This
series looks at the burial business in 21st century
Britain and explores how many of us now deal with
burying our loved ones in a changing diverse nation.
This series and others like it such as Strictly Kosher
on ITV, The Bishop and the Prisoner on BBC Radio 4
and Making Bradford British on Channel 4 get to heart
of what we want to explore during this the first of what
I hope will many more RE:THINK festivals.
24. BBC RE:THINK 2012: What Does
Britain Believe?
Religion and belief in the UK and how we portray it on
television and radio is evolving. Old fashioned
arguments about broadcast hours twenty years ago or
how many ex theology students worked on a show
are largely irrelevant to today's audience.
Our shows need to have impact and relevance and
from The Life of Muhammad to Thought for the Day
we have shown that it can still be the case.
It's your output, help all broadcasters, not just the
BBC, ensure we make it fit for purpose not just for
today but for the future.
25. BBC RE:THINK 2012: What Does
Britain Believe?
BBC RE:THINK 2012 Festival runs from 12 to 13
September 2012. You can follow the events live online and
follow the discussion on Twitter with the hashtag
#bbcrethink
The festival forms part of BBC North‟s autumn season of
events and programming, which Director Peter Salmon
wrote about on this blog yesterday
Further detail about the results of the BBC RE:THINK 2012
poll can be found on the BBC Media Centre website
Follow @AbouttheBBC on Twitter for updates
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/posts/BBC-
RETHINK-2012-What-Does-Britain-Believe
26. Viacom Merger
In 1994, Paramount merged with Viacom Inc.
under the leadership of Sumner Redstone,
Executive Chairman of the Board and Founder. In
January 2006, Viacom split into two separate
publicly-traded companies: CBS Corporation and
Viacom. The Paramount Motion Picture Group is
part of Viacom which also includes MTV
Networks, BET Networks, and Famous Music.
27. THE MEDIA BUSINESS: THE MERGER; WALT
DISNEY TO ACQUIRE ABC IN $19 BILLION DEAL TO
BUILD A GIANT FOR ENTERTAINMENT
In the second-largest corporate takeover ever, the
Walt Disney Company moved yesterday to create
the world's most powerful media and
entertainment company, announcing that it would
acquire Capital Cities/ ABC Inc. for $19 billion.
28. THE MCA SALE: THE DEAL; Seagram Puts the
Finishing Touches on Its $5.7 Billion Acquisition
of MCA
The Seagram Company and the Matsushita
Electric Industrial Company said last night that
they had agreed that Seagram would buy 80
percent of the entertainment giant MCA Inc. for
$5.7 billion in cash.
Matsushita, which paid $6.6 billion for MCA in
1990, will retain a 20 percent interest
29. In Buying CBS Westinghouse Takes
On A Fixer-Upper
The Westinghouse Electric Corporation is
expected to complete its $5.4 billion deal to
acquire CBS when the network's shareholders
meet in New York on Nov. 16.
30. Seagram Release: Seagram Accepts Shares
Tendered Pursuant to Offer for PolyGram
SEAGRAM ACCEPTS SHARES TENDERED
PURSUANT TO OFFER FOR POLYGRAM
MONTREAL, December 6, 1998 - The Seagram
Company Ltd. (NYSE:VO) announced today that
its offer for all issued shares of PolyGram N.V.
expired, as scheduled, at 3:00 p.m., Amsterdam
time (9:00 a.m., New York City time), on
Friday, December 4, 1998. Seagram has
accepted all shares validly tendered and not
withdrawn pursuant to the offer.
31. Vivendi buys Seagram
The French media and utilities company Vivendi
has completed its deal to buy Seagram, the
owner of Universal Studios and Polygram
Records, for $34bn (£22bn).
The move marks the transformation of Vivendi
into a global new media player to rival America
Online, which is merging with Time Warner.
32. AT&T to Buy T-Mobile, Becomes No.
1 U.S. Wireless Company
AT&T said on Sunday it would buy T-Mobile USA
from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion, creating
the largest wireless company in the United States
from what were the nation‟s second and fourth
providers.
33. AOL to buy Time Warner in historic
merger
The new company will be called AOL Time
Warner and will combine AOL's online services
with Time Warner's vast media and cable assets.
In a world where online services, media and
entertainment are rapidly converging, the new
company could have almost unparalleled
resources.
34. In Deal of the Year, Comcast buys
AT&T Broadband
When Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp.
successfully purchased Englewood-based AT&T
Broadband for $29.2 billion in the biggest deal of
2002, it permanently changed the landscape of
Denver cable.
35. General Electric set to buy Vivendi's
NBC Universal stake
The French conglomerate Vivendi has reportedly
agreed to sell its 20% stake in the US media
company NBC Universal to NBC's majority
shareholder, General Electric, for $5.8bn
(£3.5bn).
The deal paves the way for GE, which owns the
other 80% of NBC Universal, and the US cable
giant Comcast to push ahead with a proposed
$30bn joint venture that would create one of the
world's largest media and entertainment
companies.
36. The Big seven cultural industry
corporations
This list ranks the biggest companies by revenue gained from cultural-
industry activities. Revenue is in US$ billions for fiscal years ending in
2005. The figure for Sony is for its games, music films divisions.
Company Revenue
Time Warner 43.7
Walt Disney 31.9
Viacom 27.0
New Corporation 23.9
Bertelsmann 21.6
Sony 16.0
NBC Universal 14.7
37. Franchising – What is it?
Franchising – What is it?
Franchising is a term which can be applied to just about any area of
economic endeavour. Franchising encompasses products and services
from the manufacture, supply for manufacture, processing, distribution
and sale of goods, to the rendering of services, the marketing of those
services, their distribution and sale.
Definition of Franchising:
Franchising may be defined as a business arrangement which allows
for the reputation, (goodwill) innovation, technical know-how and
expertise of the innovator (franchisor) to be combined with the
energy, industry and investment of another party (franchisee) to conduct
the business of providing and selling of goods and services.
The fact that, as a method of doing business, franchise arrangements
have grown so rapidly in the last 10 or 20 years (world wide) is due
simply to the fact that franchises are an effective way of combining the
strengths, skills and needs of both the franchisor and the franchisee. To
be truly successful, the one is reliant on the other.
In most instances, franchising combines the know-how of the franchisor
with the where-with all of the franchisee and, in the more successful
franchising systems, the energy of both.
http://www.startups.co.uk/starbucks-subway-and-pizzahut-
franchises.html
38. Licensing
Licensing
There is no such thing as a standard license. Every arrangement is
unique and has its own special requirements, aims and objectives.
All licenses should be read and re-read and should be placed before a
licensing professional or IP professional before being signed.
Needless to say, every license should be clear to all parties concerned.
The individual parties should be aware of the obligations that the
contract places on them, the conditions that have to be met and the time
lines by which specific functions are to be performed. All of these
features should be transparent and measurable. Each party should also
be acutely aware of the other parties‟ responsibilities.
Territorial or geographical boundaries should be made clear, as should
all payment obligations and the amounts that are to be paid (and how
they are calculated). All payment, dates should be clearly laid out,
preferably in a schedule.
Penalties, such as default payments, breach of contract conditions,
rights to assign, the term of the contract, and the right to renew are also
important considerations that are often overlooked or not fully
understood.
Bonus conditions might also be negotiated and should not be dismissed
in a licensing agreement
39. Vertical integration
Vertical integration is a difficult strategy for companies
to implement successfully. It is often expensive and
hard to reverse. Upstream producers frequently
integrate with downstream distributors to secure a
market for their output. This is fine when times are
good. But many firms have found themselves cutting
prices sharply to their downstream distributors when
demand has fallen just so they can maintain targeted
levels of plant utilisation.
The vertically integrated giants of the computer
industry, firms such as IBM, Digital and Burroughs,
were felled like young saplings when at the end of the
1970s Apple formed a network of independent
specialists that produced machines far more
efficiently than the do-it-all giants.
40. Horizontal integration
Examples of Horizontal Integration are many and
available in plenty. Especially in case of the
technology industry, where mergers and
acquisitions happen in order to increase the
reach of an entity.
As per me an apt example of Horizontal
Integration will be YouTube, which was taken over
by Google primarily because it had a strong and
loyal user base. (There was no rocket science in
technology used at Youtube which Google
couldn‟t have done without taking over, but yes to
increase the viewers was definitely as complex
without the takeover.)
41. Product Diversity and Profitability
Media industries are risky business. Garnham
says “risk derives from the fact that audiences
use cultural commodities in highly volatile and
unpredictable ways, often in order to express that
they are different from each other”
42. Product Diversity and Profitability
Some Stats:
Nearly 30,000 albums were released in the USA in 1998, of
which fewer than 2 per cent sold more than 50,000 copies
88 hits in 1999 -0, 03 per cent of releases accounted for a
quarter of US record sales.
In publishing it has been said that 80% of the income derives
from 20% of published product.
Of the 350 or so films released each year in the USA in 1996,
only 10 will be box office hits.
In 1993 Driver and Gillespie reported that one third to one half of
UK magazines break even and only 25%
Make a profit.
According to figures cited by Moran about 80% of the 50,000
book titles published in the USA each year in the mid-1980s
were financial failures.
43. Product Diversity and Profitability
Some things to consider:
Horizontal integration buys up competition.
Vertical Integration lowers production costs
Internationalisation allows companies a larger market
to off load their products onto. Marketing costs are
however new.
Multisector and multimedia integration allows for
cross-promotion.
Co-opting critics, DJs and various other people
responsible for publicising texts, by socialising with
them, sending them gifts and press releases etc.
Therefore, larger companies are able to spread risks
in a way that smaller companies are not.
44. Product Diversity and Profitability
Rowling completed Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone in 1995 and the manuscript
was sent off to several prospective agents.[45]
The second agent she tried, Christopher
Little, offered to represent her and sent the
manuscript to Bloomsbury. After eight other
publishers had rejected Philosopher's
Stone, Bloomsbury offered Rowling a £2,500
advance for its publication.[46][47] Despite
Rowling's statement that she did not have any
particular age group in mind when beginning to
write the Harry Potter books, the publishers
initially targeted children aged nine to eleven.[
45. Libel Law
There are two versions of defamation, libel and
slander. Libel is when the defamation is written
down (including email, bulletin boards and
websites), and slander is when the incident
relates to words spoken. In the UK, if someone
thinks that what you wrote about them is either
defamatory or damaging, the onus will be entirely
on you to prove that your comments are true in
court.
46. Libel Law
For example, if you said Peter Sutcliffe had never
paid his TV licence in his life that would not be
defamatory - or it is very unlikely to be. However, if
you said the same about TV boss Greg Dyke that
would be. Why? Because Peter Sutcliffe's reputation
will not be damaged by the TV licence revelation (he
is after all a mass murderer). Of course, his lawyers
would still be free to bring the case to court, but it is
very unlikely they would succeed. Greg Dyke, on the
other hand, runs the BBC, so to say he wilfully doesn't
pay his TV licence could have a seriously detrimental
effect on his career. He could be fired or his
reputation damaged (note: Dyke has now left the
BBC). It is not for the judge or jury (at the outset) to
decide how damaged he is - they just have to confirm
that such accusations are false and damaging. Then
the judge and/or jury decide on monetary damages.
http://www.urban75.org/info/libel.html
47. Libel Law
McLibel case
A long-running legal case in Britain is an example of
the application of food libel principles to existing law.
McDonald's Restaurants versus Morris & Steel (also
known as the "McLibel case") was an English lawsuit
filed by McDonald's Corporation against
environmental activists Helen Steel and David Morris
(often referred to as "The McLibel Two") over a
pamphlet critical of the company. The original case
lasted ten years, making it the longest-running court
action in English history.[9] A feature-length
documentary film, McLibel, was created about the
case by filmmaker Franny Armstrong.
48. McLibel Case
A long-running legal case in Britain is an example
of the application of food libel principles to
existing law. McDonald's Restaurants versus
Morris & Steel (also known as the "McLibel case")
was an English lawsuit filed by McDonald's
Corporation against environmental activists Helen
Steel and David Morris (often referred to as "The
McLibel Two") over a pamphlet critical of the
company. The original case lasted ten years,
making it the longest-running court action in
English history.[9] A feature-length documentary
film, McLibel, was created about the case by
filmmaker Franny Armstrong.
49. McLibel Case
Although McDonald's won two hearings of the case in
English court, the partial nature of the victory, the
David-vs-Goliath nature of the case, and the drawn-
out litigation embarrassed the company. McDonald's
announced that it did not plan to collect the
£40,000[10] that it was awarded by the courts. Since
then, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
has ruled that the trial violated Articles 6 (right to a fair
trial) because the defendants had been refused legal
aid and had only been represented by volunteer
lawyers, and Article 10 (right to freedom of
expression) of the Convention on Human Rights,
again because the defendants had been refused legal
aid, and awarded a judgment of £57,000 against the
UK government.[11] (McDonald's itself was not a
defendant in this appeal.) On February 15, 2005, the
pair's 20-year battle with McDonald's came to an end
with this judgment.
50. McLibel Case
The McLibel Trial is the infamous British court case between
McDonald's and a former postman & a gardener from London
(Helen Steel and Dave Morris). It ran for two and a half years
and became the longest ever English trial. The defendants were
denied legal aid and their right to a jury, so the whole trial was
heard by a single Judge, Mr Justice Bell. He delivered his verdict
in June 1997.
The verdict was devastating for McDonald's. The judge ruled that
they 'exploit children' with their advertising, produce 'misleading'
advertising, are 'culpably responsible' for cruelty to animals, are
'antipathetic' to unionisation and pay their workers low wages.
But Helen and Dave failed to prove all the points and so the
Judge ruled that they HAD libelled McDonald's and should pay
60,000 pounds damages. They refused and McDonald's knew
better than to pursue it. In March 1999 the Court of Appeal made
further rulings that it was fair comment to say that McDonald's
employees worldwide "do badly in terms of pay and conditions",
and true that "if one eats enough McDonald's food, one's diet
may well become high in fat etc., with the very real risk of heart
51. McLibel Case
As a result of the court case, the Anti-McDonald's
campaign mushroomed, the press coverage
increased exponentially, this website was born and a
feature length documentary was broadcast round the
world.
The legal controversy continued. The McLibel 2 took
the British Government to the European Court of
Human Rights to defend the public's right to criticise
multinationals, claiming UK libel laws are oppressive
and unfair that they were denied a fair trial. The court
ruled in favour of Helen and Dave: the case had
breached their their rights to freedom of expression
and a fair trial.
http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/
52. Copyright and Intellectual Property
Law
Intellectual property (or IP) refers to creative work
which can be treated as an asset or physical
property. Intellectual property rights fall principally
into four main areas; copyright, trademarks,
design rights and patents.
53. Copyright and Intellectual Property
Law
Copyright applies to work that is recorded in
some way; rights exist in items such as literary,
artistic, musical and dramatic work as well as
films, sound recordings and typographical
arrangements. It gives the author specific rights in
relation to the work, prohibits unauthorised
actions, and allows the author to take legal action
against instances of infringement or plagiarism.
54. Copyright and Intellectual Property
Law
A trademark can be a name, word, slogan,
design, symbol or other unique device that
identifies a product or organisation.
Trademarks are registered at a national or
territory level with an appointed government body
and may take anywhere between 6 and 18
months to be processed.
55. Copyright and Intellectual Property
Law
Patents apply to industrial processes and inventions,
and protect against the unauthorised implementation
of the invention.
Patents are grants made by national governments
that give the creator of an invention an exclusive right
to use, sell or manufacture the invention. Like
trademarks, patents are registered at a national or
territory level with an appointed government body.
Patents typically take 2 to 3 years to be granted.
Designs may be subject to both copyright and design
rights. They may also be registered in a similar way to
patents.
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/intellectua
l_property
56. Copyright and Intellectual Property
Law
A copyright protected work can have more than
one copyright, or another intellectual property (IP)
right, connected to it. For example, an album of
music can have separate copyrights for individual
songs, sound recordings, artwork, and so on.
Whilst copyright can protect the artwork of your
logo, you could also register the logo as a trade
mark.
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/c-about.htm
57. Security and Intelligence
Secrets 1 – Security and Intelligence
An offence of disclosing information, documents or other articles relating to
security or intelligence.
Secrets 2 – Defence
An offence of disclosing information, documents or other articles relating to
defence. This section applies only to crown servants and government
contractors.
Secrets 3 – International relations
An offence of disclosing information, documents or other articles relating to
international relations. This section applies only to crown servants and
government contractors.
Section 4 - Crime and special investigation powers
This section relates to disclosure of information which would assist a criminal or
the commission of a crime. This section applies only to crown servants and
government contractors.
Section 5 - Information resulting from unauthorised disclosures or entrusted in
confidence
This section relates to further disclosure of information, documents or other
articles protected from disclosure by the preceding sections of the Act. It allows,
for example, the prosecution of newspapers or journalists who publish secret
information leaked to them by a crown servant in contravention of section 3. This
section applies to everyone.
58. PRIVACY LAW
Privacy in English law is a rapidly developing area of English law that considers
in what situations an individual has a legal right to informational privacy, that is to
say the protection of personal (or private) information from misuse or
unauthorized disclosure. Privacy law is distinct from those laws such as trespass
or assault that are designed to protect physical privacy. Such laws are generally
considered as part of criminal law or the law of tort. Historically, English common
law has recognized no general right or tort of privacy, and was offered only
limited protection through the doctrine of breach of confidence and a "piecemeal"
collection of related legislation on topics like harassment and data protection. The
introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated into English law the
European Convention on Human Rights. Article 8.1 of the ECHR provided an
explicit right to respect for a private life for the first time within English law. The
Convention also requires the judiciary to "have regard" to the Convention in
developing the common law.
The earliest definition of privacy in English law was given by Judge Cooley who
defined privacy as "the right to be left alone". In 1972 the Younger Committee, an
inquiry into privacy stated that the term could not be defined satisfactorily. Again
in 1990 the Calcutt Committee concluded that: "nowhere have we found a wholly
satisfactory statutory definition of privacy".
Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd [2004] UKHL 22 was a House of Lords
decision regarding human rights and privacy in English law.
59. PRIVACY LAW
Well-known model Naomi Campbell was photographed leaving a
rehabilitation clinic, following public denials that she was a
recovering drug addict. The photographs were published in a
publication run by MGN.
Campbell sought damages under the English law through her
lawyers Schillings who engaged Richard Spearman QC to bring
a claim for breach of confidence engaging s. 8 of the Human
Rights Act, which required the court to operate compatibly with
the European Convention on Human Rights. The desired result
was a ruling that the English tort action for breach of confidence,
subject to the ECHR provisions upholding the right to private and
family life, would require the court to recognize the private nature
of the information, and hold that there was a breach of her
privacy.
Rather than challenge the disclosure of the fact she was a drug
addict - which, given her previous denials, may be considered
merely a rectification of a lie, she challenged the disclosure of
information about the location of her Narcotics Meetings. The
photographs, she argued, formed part of this information.
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/2004/22.html
60. PRIVACY LAW
Wainwright and another (Appellants) v Home Office (Respondents)
[2003] UKHL 53; [2003] 3 WLR 1137 is an English tort law case
concerning the arguments for a tort of privacy, and the action for battery.
Alan Wainwright, with his mother, went to visit his stepbrother who was
detained in Leeds prison awaiting trial. Because the stepbrother had
been suspected of taking drugs in jail, the two visitors were asked to
consent to a strip search, under Rule 86(1) of the Prison Rules 1964
(consolidated 1998), which confers a power in general terms to search
any person entering a prison. They reluctantly consented and were
searched by prison officers, which they found upsetting. In particular,
Alan Wainwright was intimately handled, in a way that the Home Office
counsel conceded was battery.
The Wainwrights subsequently went to a solicitor, who had them
examined by a psychiatrist. He concluded that Alan (who had physical
and learning difficulties) had been so severely affected by his
experience as to suffer post-traumatic stress syndrome. Mrs Wainwright
had suffered emotional distress but no recognized psychiatric illness.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200203/ldjudgmt/jd031016/w
ain-1.htm
61. ECHR
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (formally the Convention
for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an
international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe.
Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention
entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states
are party to the Convention and new members are expected to ratify the
convention at the earliest opportunity.
The Convention established the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Any
person who feels his or her rights have been violated under the Convention by a
state party can take a case to the Court.
Article 8 provides a right to respect for one's "private and family life, his home
and his correspondence", subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance
with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This article clearly provides a
right to be free of unlawful searches, but the Court has given the protection for
"private and family life" that this article provides a broad interpretation, taking for
instance that prohibition of private consensual homosexual acts violates this
article. This may be compared to the jurisprudence of the United States Supreme
Court, which has also adopted a somewhat broad interpretation of the right to
privacy. Furthermore, Article 8 sometimes comprises positive obligations:
whereas classical human rights are formulated as prohibiting a State from
interfering with rights, and thus not to do something (e.g. not to separate a family
under family life protection), the effective enjoyment of such rights may also
include an obligation for the State to become active, and to do something (e.g. to
enforce access for a divorced parent to his/her child).
62. Licensing act 2003 and LA
They licensing act 2003 and LA have been prepared by the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport in order to assist the
reader of the Act. In April 2000 the Government published an act
on reforming alcohol and entertainment licensing set out
proposals for modernizing and integrating the alcohol, public
entertainment, theatre, cinema, night café and late night
refreshment house licensing schemes in both England and
Wales. Used to reduce crime and disorder, to encourage tourism,
to reduce alcohol misuse; and to encourage self-sufficient rural
communities. Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In
turn, "regulated entertainment" is defined as: A performance of a
play, exhibition of a film, sporting event, live music event, playing
of music or performance of dance.
The Act has four licensing outcomes which must be taken into
account when a local authority carries out functions. They are,
preventing crime and disorder; public safety; public nuisance;
protection of children from harm; and in Scotland there is a fifth
licensing agree which is protecting and improvement of public
health
63. Licensing act 2003 and LA
The new licences don't have to be renewed regularly; it is important that
in the Act, at any time, they can be called in for a review if residents or a
business nearby make a valid request. If this happens the matter will go
before a Licensing Sub-Committee which can vary, suspend or revoke
the licence. This is an important change to the old licensing law, which
made it much more difficult for residents to force a review of a licence.
Licensees must now understand that just because they have been given
a licence under the new Act, any permission can be removed or varied.
As licensing authority, the Council will be working closely with the police
to ensure that the Act is enforced fairly and firmly with everyone.
Under the Act, all local councils must draft, consult on and publish a
„Statement of Licensing Policy‟. It also explains how we plan to deal with
applications made under the Act. Most importantly it explains how we
aim to balance people's desire for entertainment with residents' right to
peace.
The Council's Licensing Policy is reviewed every three years and will
continue to monitor the licensing situation. We believe that the Licensing
Act 2003 can benefit residents, businesses and visitors and our
Statement of Licensing Policy provides the basis for us all.
64. Obscene Publications Act
The term „Pornography‟ is not generally used in
UK law. Therefore in the UK this is called „The
Obscene Publications Act 1959‟ This describes
an obscene item as one „tending to deprave and
corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to
all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear
the material embodied in it‟. This makes it an
offence to publish obscene material or to have
such material in your possession with the
intention of publishing it. It is not an offence if it is
for one‟s pleasure.
The Obscene Publications Act has many
similarities to the Protection of Children Act
66. The Films Act 1985
The Films Act 1985 dissolved the British Film Fund Agency, ending the
Eady levy system established in 1951.
The Act also abolished the Cinematograph Film Council and dissolved
the National Film Finance Corporation, transferring its assets to British
Screen Finance Limited.
The Act repealed the Films Acts 1960-1980 and also repealed certain
provisions of the Finance Acts 1982 and 1984 and substituted new
provisions for determining whether or not a film was 'British' film eligible
for capital allowances.
Under the Finance Acts 1997 (No 2), 1992 (No2) and 1990, these
provisions have been further amended to relax the prohibition on using
a foreign studio.
Finding a distinct cultural product.
The Eady Levy was a tax on box office receipts, this pumped excess
money back into the United Kingdoms Film Industry which made it
cheaper to produce films. The film act abolished this
American company's were claiming there film was British and abused
the tax, brought in to protect the British industry
67. The Video Recordings Act 1984
The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United
Kingdom that was passed in 1984
It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire
within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by
an authority designated by the Home Office
The British Board of Film Classification, which had been instrumental in
the certification of motion pictures since 1912, was designated as the
classifying authority in 1985
The British Board of Film Classification was designated as the
classifying authority in 1985
Works are classified by the BBFC under an age-rated system, it is an
offence under the Act to supply video works to individuals who are (or
appear to be) under the age of the classification designated.
Works that are refused classification cannot, under the Act, be legally
sold or supplied to anyone of any age unless it is educational, or to do
with a sport, religion or music and does not depict violence, sex or incite
a criminal offence. The BBFC may also require cuts to be made, either
to receive a certain age rating, or to be allowed a classification at all.
68. The Video Recordings Act 1984
In August 2009 it was discovered that the Act was
unenforceable as the European Commission was not
notified about it. Until this situation was rectified, it
was legal to sell and supply unclassified videos and
computer games, although many retailers had agreed
to observe the regulations voluntarily. Then pending
prosecutions under the Act were abandoned, but the
government has claimed that past convictions cannot
be challenged. In December 2009 the government
introduced new legislation, the Video Recordings Act
2010,[4] which repealed and immediately revived the
Video Recordings Act 1984, after the required
notification was provided to the European
Commission in October 2009. This made the
legislation enforceable once again, as well as allowing
it to be amended by the Digital Economy Act 2010.