MIGRAIN: Industries - Regulation

 1) What is regulation and why do media industries need to be regulated?

Very few industries leave the organisations or companies who operate in that sector to their own devices. Systems of regulation are required to provide rules and regulations to ensure that organisations operate fairly. In the media industry there are several regulatory bodies that exist to monitor the way that their industries work.

2) What is OFCOM responsible for?

Broadcast media (TV and Radio) are regulated by OFCOM – the Office of Communication and the advertising industry is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority.

3) Look at the section on the OFCOM broadcasting code. Which do you think are the three most important sections of the broadcasting code and why?

Section 1: Protecting the Under-Eighteens

I believe this is very important because they are still young adults or children which need to be looked after and maybe are too young to be seen some of the programs being shown which could influence the actions, or or it could traumatise them, depending on how young they are and what they are watching. Especially for younger children if there’s a gruesome show broadcasting in the middle of the day, a child could easily flick onto that channel when the parent is not in the room and be left traumatised. However, if the show is being broadcasted at a later time where the child would be asleep, then it would avoid the situation.

Section 8: Privacy

Privacy is quite important as viewers would watch the channel and pay for license if they know that they can trust the broadcasters with their details however, if this trust is broken and the leak private information they could be reported and the company could be at risk.

Section 7: Fairness

If people do not believe that the broadcasters are being fair then they will not subscribe to this channel or pay for anything which means that the company will be an loss.

4) Do you agree with OFCOM that Channel 4 was wrong to broadcast 'Wolverine' at 6.55pm on a Sunday evening? Why?

I do believe that Channel 4 should have delay the time of wolverine as Sundays are known to be a family day. Where are family I do believe that Channel 4 should have delay the time of wolverine as Sundays are known to be a family day. Where are family might wanna watch a movie together with their children and they would want it to be a child friendly films instead of violent scenes being shown, which could disturb the children. However, the movie  is 12 rated which means it isn’t as bad as other films that could be shown and if the show was watch with a parent, it may be okay as in 12 rated films if there’s a parent present, the child is allowed to go. I do think they could’ve put it at eight or 9 o’clock.

5) List five of the sections in the old Press Complaints Commission's Code of Practice. 

The PCC Code of Practice

Section 1: Accuracy

Section 2: Opportunity to Reply

Section 3: Privacy*

Section 4: Harassment*

Section 5: Intrusion Into Grief and Shock

6) Why was the Press Complaints Commission criticised?

In recent years, the PCC became the focus of a great deal of controversy. Its critics claim that the lack of statutory powers means that when a newspaper has been found to breach the rules, the best a victim can hope for is an apology, which often does not get sufficient prominence in the paper. Critics also argue that many newspapers seem to fly in the face of the rules on a pretty regular basis and that very little is done to stop them.

7) What was the Leveson enquiry and why was it set up?

Throughout 2011 and 2012, an inquiry into the “culture, practice and ethics of the press” was held, mainly as a result of the so-called phone hacking scandal. Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire were imprisoned for illegally intercepting phone calls connected to the royal family. That Goodman was a rogue reporter, working alone but it emerged during the Leveson Enquiry that phone hacking was much more widespread throughout the industry. The enquiry also looked at other areas of press behaviour that were considered questionable. Victims of press intrusion also gave evidence, including Hugh Grant and Charlotte Church who gave details about how they felt the press had been able to intrude on their personal lives to an unacceptable extent. At the end of the enquiry, it was recommended that the PCC be replaced with a new body with more power to bring the press into line.

8) What was the PCC replaced with in 2014?

On 8th September 2014, the PCC was replaced by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). This new body (like the PCC) has been set up by the newspaper industry itself and it’s code of practice is essentially the same as the code administered by the PCC. This has led to criticism that the new body is effectively the PCC under a different name.

9) What is your opinion on press regulation? Is a free press an important part of living in a democracy or should newspapers face statutory regulation like TV and radio?
I believe that free press is important as I believe that it reflects what the audience think about the regulation however, I do believe that the press do you put out more bad news then good as viewers are more likely to read and react on the bad news then the good news is reading a good article on a channel may be a bit boring, however, reading about the scandal with intrigue the audience and make them want to react and give their opinions. On one side, it benefits, the audience as they are being heard and the news are benefiting as they are getting more attraction. However, the criticism and the scandals would make it harder for TV and radio stations to operate.

10) Why is the internet so difficult to regulate?

I believe the Internet is hard to regulate as people feel free to say what they want, and I believe that everybody has different opinions and views on certain things, so it clashes with another person. So when it comes to the press, they could be a lot of good things about a certain TV show. However, they will take one criticism and make it into a big thing which backlashes on the company. This happens to broadcasters TV channels and radio stations. Everyone has different views on what they think is appropriate and what isn’t appropriate . So it would be quite hard for broadcasters to control this.