Legal and ethical constraints in the media
what is a
constraint?
“A constraint is a limitation or a restriction on
something” This means that it stops something from happening in the
media industry. There are many limitations that you face in the media industry
these can be legal which means they are enforced by law or ethical which means
they are not enforced legally but are recommended to stick with.
“A constraint is a limitation or a restriction on
something” This means that it stops something from happening in the
media industry. There are many limitations that you face in the media industry
these can be legal which means they are enforced by law or ethical which means
they are not enforced legally but are recommended to stick with.
legal codes of practice
When employing someone in the media industry you must to ensure you do not leave yourself vulnerable to legal action if a member of your staff gets injured or develops health issues because of the work place environment. this means that all health and safety regulation are properly upheld and regularly assessed and you must consider that the each of you employees have rights and equal opportunities to progress in their field. Employers can also get liability insurance so that if an employee gets injured during working hours and they feel it was not there fault they can claim compensation against their employer. The 1969 liability act means that employers have the level of insurance that they would need to be able to pay the compensation to the employee. Copyright applies to work that is recorded in anyway be that filmed, drawn, typed etc. rights exist in every part of the media industry, they are especially important as the media industry is a very creative one where people will have ideas and make products which they deserve to be credited and paid for. They give to author specific rights to whatever is produced and makes unauthorized edits or re-releases illegal and gives the author ground to sue Registered trademarks may be identified by the abbreviation TM, or the ® symbol. Intellectual property is the ownership of ideas see> "inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce." Ip is divided into two categories industrial property, which includes invention and designs and indications of source of copyright. The IP laws are useful for people in the creative industry as it protects there ideas from being overheard seen or stolen before they get put into production. a non disclosure agreement is a legal contract between two or more parties that outlines any confidential material, knowledge or information, that the parties wish to restrict access to. an non- disclosure agreement creates confidentiality between all parties involved to protect any sensitive information. An example of an intellectual property dispute 'Amazon was granted a patent for 1-click technology on September 28, 1999. Also known as one-click buying, the technology allows customers to make an online purchase in a single click—without having to manually input billing and shipping information every time they purchase a product. Instead, 1-click uses a billing address and credit card or other payment info that is kept on file in the user's account. There have been several patent disputes surrounding 1-click technology, including a patent infringement lawsuit filed against Barnes & Noble in 1999—only a month after Amazon's patent was issued. Barnes & Noble offered a checkout option called "Express Lane," which also enabled shoppers to make a purchase with one click. The lawsuit was settled in 2002; however, the terms were not disclosed.'https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/top-5-intellectual-property-disputes
ethical and legal
These are moral principles of how a group or
person acts, these are the ethical issues, when TV producers are planning and
making a production they must be careful they must be careful of ethical issues
like Trust, privacy, Truth, Liability, Serving the Public's interest
along with many other problems. You must be very careful in the media industry
because it is viewed by such a large audience that anything you do could be
construed as being offensive to a culture, gender or anyone else.therefore
anything created in the media industry must be checked as to not cause offence.
there are some guides that should be taken more
seriously than others.
- Social Issues
- Religious beliefs
- Linguistic usages
- Representation of gender
- Accessibility
- Political issues
some of these issues are not legally enforced
and some are this means there is a lot of grey area in the industry which has
to be self governed to make sure offense is not caused. This means for the most
part TV shows will not shed favorable light on a certain political party so
people can make up there own minds and not be controlled by a certain viewpoint
because it appear on the television, the BBC is an organization that will
uphold this moral standpoint as it is funded by the people and must be impartial.
An example of an organization that does take a political standpoint is fox news
corp. this organization is run by Rupert Murdoch who is a billionaire and has
control over what the hosts say making them put out the view of a single man to
pervert the masses which is morally wrong. Drug use is also a part of society
that is not often mentioned in a sympathetic way that it is now viewed in
society they will often condemn users of the drug which creates a stigma around
talking about the problem which many think is not the write approach when
dealing with addiction.
Another issue is religion and how it should be
represented in the media in the modern age religion is not taken as seriously
as it would have been 50 years ago this gives the media more free reign on how
they choose to convey views on religion. The BBC will neither condemn
or promote a certain religion or belief this is because if
you criticise religion openly it will insult a portion of your
audience this is the same if you promote one over others and as in this case
the BBC is run on money from the public so they should be operating
in the interest of the license fee payer. An example of freedom of speech
and freedom of press causing great offence to a culture is the french magazine
charlie hebdo which printed cartoons condemning the muslim faith,
which extremists responded to by shooting twelve of there staff
in a terrorist.
There must be fair
representation of all gender and races, this means if you were to set a film in
modern London ad only showed white male men you would not be complying to the
editorial guidelines on fair representation.
The race relations act 1976 meant that
people of all different background and genders got an equal footing in life and
could go on to the same opportunities in life this means in the media industry
if you are producing a television programme you cannot hire a white male
director because they are male and "stronger" instead of for example
a female of darker skin. It also means that if you produced a show about people
living in London one of the most multicultural city on the planet and showed no
one of any racial diversity and showed a certain gender as weaker they would
receive complaints and the show would be taken off the air thanks to the race
relations act. An example of
a massively commercially and critically succesfull TV
show that came under fire for sexism is game of thrones and in response has
become more tame as the seasons go on. It gains both condemnation and
praise from different sects of the media for its attitudes on gender and race.
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/apr/29/game-of-thrones-racism-sexism-rape
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/game-of-thrones/10735304/Game-of-Thrones-nowhere-else-on-TV-do-you-get-women-this-good.html
http://www.channel4.com/producers-handbook/media-law/other-laws-affecting-broadcasting/obscene-publications-act-1959https://www.iwf.org.uk/hotline/the-laws/criminally-obscene-adult-content/obscene-publications-act-1959-and-1964http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscene_Publications_Act_1959
linguistic issues - Another issue the media face when reporting and entertaining is how much they
must cater to those who cannot speak english in an increasingly multicultural britain,
there is a large portion of more right wing people (ukip,tory) who think that
the BBC should only broadcast in british language, but there is an increasingly
large crowd that thinks there should be means for immigrants to be able to
watch british entertainment in there language. There is also the argument that
submerging people in a culture and language will help them pick up the language
quicker and television is part of the culture.
When employing someone in the media industry you must to ensure you do not leave yourself vulnerable to legal action if a member of your staff gets injured or develops health issues because of the work place environment. this means that all health and safety regulation are properly upheld and regularly assessed and you must consider that the each of you employees have rights and equal opportunities to progress in their field. Employers can also get liability insurance so that if an employee gets injured during working hours and they feel it was not there fault they can claim compensation against their employer. The 1969 liability act means that employers have the level of insurance that they would need to be able to pay the compensation to the employee. Copyright applies to work that is recorded in anyway be that filmed, drawn, typed etc. rights exist in every part of the media industry, they are especially important as the media industry is a very creative one where people will have ideas and make products which they deserve to be credited and paid for. They give to author specific rights to whatever is produced and makes unauthorized edits or re-releases illegal and gives the author ground to sue Registered trademarks may be identified by the abbreviation TM, or the ® symbol. Intellectual property is the ownership of ideas see> "inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce." Ip is divided into two categories industrial property, which includes invention and designs and indications of source of copyright. The IP laws are useful for people in the creative industry as it protects there ideas from being overheard seen or stolen before they get put into production. a non disclosure agreement is a legal contract between two or more parties that outlines any confidential material, knowledge or information, that the parties wish to restrict access to. an non- disclosure agreement creates confidentiality between all parties involved to protect any sensitive information. An example of an intellectual property dispute 'Amazon was granted a patent for 1-click technology on September 28, 1999. Also known as one-click buying, the technology allows customers to make an online purchase in a single click—without having to manually input billing and shipping information every time they purchase a product. Instead, 1-click uses a billing address and credit card or other payment info that is kept on file in the user's account. There have been several patent disputes surrounding 1-click technology, including a patent infringement lawsuit filed against Barnes & Noble in 1999—only a month after Amazon's patent was issued. Barnes & Noble offered a checkout option called "Express Lane," which also enabled shoppers to make a purchase with one click. The lawsuit was settled in 2002; however, the terms were not disclosed.'https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/top-5-intellectual-property-disputes
ethical and legal
These are moral principles of how a group or
person acts, these are the ethical issues, when TV producers are planning and
making a production they must be careful they must be careful of ethical issues
like Trust, privacy, Truth, Liability, Serving the Public's interest
along with many other problems. You must be very careful in the media industry
because it is viewed by such a large audience that anything you do could be
construed as being offensive to a culture, gender or anyone else.therefore
anything created in the media industry must be checked as to not cause offence.
there are some guides that should be taken more
seriously than others.
some of these issues are not legally enforced
and some are this means there is a lot of grey area in the industry which has
to be self governed to make sure offense is not caused. This means for the most
part TV shows will not shed favorable light on a certain political party so
people can make up there own minds and not be controlled by a certain viewpoint
because it appear on the television, the BBC is an organization that will
uphold this moral standpoint as it is funded by the people and must be impartial.
An example of an organization that does take a political standpoint is fox news
corp. this organization is run by Rupert Murdoch who is a billionaire and has
control over what the hosts say making them put out the view of a single man to
pervert the masses which is morally wrong. Drug use is also a part of society
that is not often mentioned in a sympathetic way that it is now viewed in
society they will often condemn users of the drug which creates a stigma around
talking about the problem which many think is not the write approach when
dealing with addiction.
Another issue is religion and how it should be
represented in the media in the modern age religion is not taken as seriously
as it would have been 50 years ago this gives the media more free reign on how
they choose to convey views on religion. The BBC will neither condemn
or promote a certain religion or belief this is because if
you criticise religion openly it will insult a portion of your
audience this is the same if you promote one over others and as in this case
the BBC is run on money from the public so they should be operating
in the interest of the license fee payer. An example of freedom of speech
and freedom of press causing great offence to a culture is the french magazine
charlie hebdo which printed cartoons condemning the muslim faith,
which extremists responded to by shooting twelve of there staff
in a terrorist.
There must be fair
representation of all gender and races, this means if you were to set a film in
modern London ad only showed white male men you would not be complying to the
editorial guidelines on fair representation.
The race relations act 1976 meant that
people of all different background and genders got an equal footing in life and
could go on to the same opportunities in life this means in the media industry
if you are producing a television programme you cannot hire a white male
director because they are male and "stronger" instead of for example
a female of darker skin. It also means that if you produced a show about people
living in London one of the most multicultural city on the planet and showed no
one of any racial diversity and showed a certain gender as weaker they would
receive complaints and the show would be taken off the air thanks to the race
relations act. An example of
a massively commercially and critically succesfull TV
show that came under fire for sexism is game of thrones and in response has
become more tame as the seasons go on. It gains both condemnation and
praise from different sects of the media for its attitudes on gender and race.
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/apr/29/game-of-thrones-racism-sexism-rape
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/game-of-thrones/10735304/Game-of-Thrones-nowhere-else-on-TV-do-you-get-women-this-good.html
http://www.channel4.com/producers-handbook/media-law/other-laws-affecting-broadcasting/obscene-publications-act-1959https://www.iwf.org.uk/hotline/the-laws/criminally-obscene-adult-content/obscene-publications-act-1959-and-1964http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscene_Publications_Act_1959
linguistic issues - Another issue the media face when reporting and entertaining is how much they
must cater to those who cannot speak english in an increasingly multicultural britain,
there is a large portion of more right wing people (ukip,tory) who think that
the BBC should only broadcast in british language, but there is an increasingly
large crowd that thinks there should be means for immigrants to be able to
watch british entertainment in there language. There is also the argument that
submerging people in a culture and language will help them pick up the language
quicker and television is part of the culture.
Professional body codes of practice
The Editorial Guidelines are
the BBC's values and standards. They apply to all our content, wherever and
however it is received.The editorial standards committee is a committee that will
acknowledge appeals regarding complaints that complain that, the victim has
experienced unfair treatment in broadcast program or while the show was being
made. This could mean that the victims privacy has been immorally infringed or
the producers have failed to live up to the BBC editorial guidelines.
The BBC editorial guidelines
The main headings of the
editorial guidelines are:
-accuracy
This is guidance on the validity and usefulness
of a report to the viewer. It describes how information must be sourced and
where it should be used and how. In regards to known sources it says that it
will identify the source and the sources credentials so the viewer can make
there own mind up on its validity. It also says in regards to anonymous
sources: see>"When
quoting an anonymous source, especially a source making serious allegations, we
must take all appropriate steps to protect their identity. However, we
should give the audience what information we can about them and in a way that
does not materially mislead about the source's status." The
section on anonymity is especially important because revealing the
name of a source which revealed sensitive information could endanger the
credibility and safety.
-impartiality
“impartial - treating all
rivals or disputants equally”
When programming the BBC
because it is license fee funded must be completely impartial, this
means it cannot condemn or support any actions or brands. An example of the BBC
having to be impartial is during elections when they are covering candidates,
as the BBC news is a trusted and reliable source when reporting on candidates
they cannot condone a single party or say one is better than the
other they must stay completely neutral and let the license fee payer
make up there own minds on who they want to vote for.
-harm and offence
the harm and offence section
is the largest because it contents holds the most importance in broadcasting as
in the BBCs eyes it is of upmost importance that they do not harm or offend
there audience. An example of a law on broadcasting being made as to not offend
anyone is the watershed which states that programs should not have expletives
or obscene remarks broadcast before 9pm when it is expected that
those who would be offended by such remarks would no longer be watching
television.
The main subsections
outline how to make sure you don't offend harm or mislead during/using-
- Live output
- Language
- Violence
- Intimidation and humiliation
- Nudity
- Sex
- Alcohol, smoking, solvent abuse
and illegal drugs
- Suicide, attempted suicide,
self-harm and eating disorders
- Flashing images, strobing and
images of a very brief duration
Those are not all the mentioned heading but they
are the ones that carry most weight.
-privacy
the guidelines state than the BBC must balance the public
interest in freedom of speech and expression with the respect of the privacy
that individuals must be granted, and any infringement must be justifiable.
They must try to respect the publics interest in accurate reporting and respect
of privacy for individuals. They must fully justify any intrusion into an
individuals personal life without consent by demonstrating the intrusion is
fully in the publics interest. They "normally
only report the private legal behaviour of public figures where broader public
issues are raised either by the behaviour itself or by the consequences of its
becoming widely known. The fact of publication by other media may not
justify the BBC reporting it." and when gathering personal
information from contributors they must clearly state how they intend
to use it. An example of the BBC not respecting privacy and getting in
legal trouble is when they accused a senior MP of peadophilia which later
turned out to be false and they had to pay out hundreds of thousands of
pounds in compensation.
- War terror and
emergencies
this
is is an area of the
bbc that the government and policing bodys have some control over. This
section
legislates for what happens when hijacking, kidnapping, hostage taking,
sieges, bombings as well as other similar events take place. The
broadcasting
of these events is controlled by government because the content of what
is
being shown effects the lives of many people directly so must be handled
in a
very diplomatic way as to not cause any upset, and if the situation is
not
broadcast right then it could cause the situation to get worse. An
example of
when the police took control of the BBC is during the events of the 9/11
terrorist attacks happened the police told the BBC not to include the
names of
any of the victims in there reports until they had gained control of the
situation. This is because if the relatives of the victims found out
about the
loss of there loved ones on the TV it would cause more drama and upset
which would cause problems for the police trying the make sense and find
justice in the event.
- Politics, public policy
This section is similar to that of the impartiality in that the BBC must condemn one party or say another party isbetter than the other and that they must show each party fairly with no bias. This is because if they say one party is better than the other then that party has a much better chance of winning the election because they have gained the public support of one of the most important organisations in the UK. To avoid any trouble the BBC stay completely impartial during election season. Under Section 10, 10.1.3 it states “We must also avoid commissioning any of our own research that could suggest a BBC position on a particular policy or issue.” This means that they cannot conduct any forms of research that might suggest the position the BBC has on an issue/political party. An example would be if the BBC conducted research that said “the two main parties” this would suggest to the viewer that these parties are the best. Source(s): http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-politics-introduction/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-politics-practices-reporting/
content
the
broadcasting act 1990 was
made to allow a larger variety of content to be broadcast therefore it
allowed
hundreds of new tv and radio to start up and start broadcasting there
own
different content it also meant that radio was broadcast over FM and AM.
the
range of new content is good because it means viewers have acsess to a
range of
reliable and different content. Unfortunatley this act made it possible
for
media moguls to by up channels in vast swathes which means that people
like rupert murdoch who has strong views and interests in political and
social problems could by a majority of the media outlets and try and
corrupt what they report and produce. One of the most flagrant examples
of rupert murdochs influence on the way the news is reported is FOX News
Corps reporting which has a strong republican and sometimes bigoted
stance on matters which many think is wrong and can pervert the minds of
thousands into thinking what murdoch wants them to.
however
in the uk there is a limit of how much power someone can have over the
media so a complete monopoly cannot be gained. Also companys like the
BBC which have to stay impartial because of the way they are funded by
the license fee mean that there is always a way to gain reliable
information.
Obscene Publications Act 1959 and 1964
The obscene public act states “The
law makes it an offence to publish, whetherfor gain or not, any content
whose effect will tend to "deprave andcorrupt" those likely to read,
see or hear the matter contained orembodied in it. This could include
images of extreme sexual activity such asbestiality, necrophilia, rape
or torture.” the act outline the rules and laws that have to be
followed when a production company is producing obscene content. it
covers the use and distribution of pornography, violence, drug taking
and other acts thought of to be obscene this act does not only effect
broadcasting but anything produced for publishing or just for personal
use. An example of broadcasters not breaking the act is when they blur
out nudity in pre watershed shows so no offence is caused.
http://www.channel4.com/producers-handbook/media-law/other-laws-affecting-broadcasting/obscene-publications-act-1959https://www.iwf.org.uk/hotline/the-laws/criminally-obscene-adult-content/obscene-publications-act-1959-and-1964http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscene_Publications_Act_1959
The Editorial Guidelines are
the BBC's values and standards. They apply to all our content, wherever and
however it is received.The editorial standards committee is a committee that will
acknowledge appeals regarding complaints that complain that, the victim has
experienced unfair treatment in broadcast program or while the show was being
made. This could mean that the victims privacy has been immorally infringed or
the producers have failed to live up to the BBC editorial guidelines.
The BBC editorial guidelines
The main headings of the
editorial guidelines are:
-accuracy
This is guidance on the validity and usefulness
of a report to the viewer. It describes how information must be sourced and
where it should be used and how. In regards to known sources it says that it
will identify the source and the sources credentials so the viewer can make
there own mind up on its validity. It also says in regards to anonymous
sources: see>"When
quoting an anonymous source, especially a source making serious allegations, we
must take all appropriate steps to protect their identity. However, we
should give the audience what information we can about them and in a way that
does not materially mislead about the source's status." The
section on anonymity is especially important because revealing the
name of a source which revealed sensitive information could endanger the
credibility and safety.
-impartiality
“impartial - treating all
rivals or disputants equally”
When programming the BBC
because it is license fee funded must be completely impartial, this
means it cannot condemn or support any actions or brands. An example of the BBC
having to be impartial is during elections when they are covering candidates,
as the BBC news is a trusted and reliable source when reporting on candidates
they cannot condone a single party or say one is better than the
other they must stay completely neutral and let the license fee payer
make up there own minds on who they want to vote for.
-harm and offence
the harm and offence section
is the largest because it contents holds the most importance in broadcasting as
in the BBCs eyes it is of upmost importance that they do not harm or offend
there audience. An example of a law on broadcasting being made as to not offend
anyone is the watershed which states that programs should not have expletives
or obscene remarks broadcast before 9pm when it is expected that
those who would be offended by such remarks would no longer be watching
television.
The main subsections
outline how to make sure you don't offend harm or mislead during/using-
Those are not all the mentioned heading but they
are the ones that carry most weight.
-privacy
the guidelines state than the BBC must balance the public
interest in freedom of speech and expression with the respect of the privacy
that individuals must be granted, and any infringement must be justifiable.
They must try to respect the publics interest in accurate reporting and respect
of privacy for individuals. They must fully justify any intrusion into an
individuals personal life without consent by demonstrating the intrusion is
fully in the publics interest. They "normally
only report the private legal behaviour of public figures where broader public
issues are raised either by the behaviour itself or by the consequences of its
becoming widely known. The fact of publication by other media may not
justify the BBC reporting it." and when gathering personal
information from contributors they must clearly state how they intend
to use it. An example of the BBC not respecting privacy and getting in
legal trouble is when they accused a senior MP of peadophilia which later
turned out to be false and they had to pay out hundreds of thousands of
pounds in compensation.
- War terror and
emergencies
this
is is an area of the
bbc that the government and policing bodys have some control over. This
section
legislates for what happens when hijacking, kidnapping, hostage taking,
sieges, bombings as well as other similar events take place. The
broadcasting
of these events is controlled by government because the content of what
is
being shown effects the lives of many people directly so must be handled
in a
very diplomatic way as to not cause any upset, and if the situation is
not
broadcast right then it could cause the situation to get worse. An
example of
when the police took control of the BBC is during the events of the 9/11
terrorist attacks happened the police told the BBC not to include the
names of
any of the victims in there reports until they had gained control of the
situation. This is because if the relatives of the victims found out
about the
loss of there loved ones on the TV it would cause more drama and upset
which would cause problems for the police trying the make sense and find
justice in the event.
- Politics, public policy
This section is similar to that of the impartiality in that the BBC must condemn one party or say another party isbetter than the other and that they must show each party fairly with no bias. This is because if they say one party is better than the other then that party has a much better chance of winning the election because they have gained the public support of one of the most important organisations in the UK. To avoid any trouble the BBC stay completely impartial during election season. Under Section 10, 10.1.3 it states “We must also avoid commissioning any of our own research that could suggest a BBC position on a particular policy or issue.” This means that they cannot conduct any forms of research that might suggest the position the BBC has on an issue/political party. An example would be if the BBC conducted research that said “the two main parties” this would suggest to the viewer that these parties are the best. Source(s): http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-politics-introduction/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-politics-practices-reporting/
content
the
broadcasting act 1990 was
made to allow a larger variety of content to be broadcast therefore it
allowed
hundreds of new tv and radio to start up and start broadcasting there
own
different content it also meant that radio was broadcast over FM and AM.
the
range of new content is good because it means viewers have acsess to a
range of
reliable and different content. Unfortunatley this act made it possible
for
media moguls to by up channels in vast swathes which means that people
like rupert murdoch who has strong views and interests in political and
social problems could by a majority of the media outlets and try and
corrupt what they report and produce. One of the most flagrant examples
of rupert murdochs influence on the way the news is reported is FOX News
Corps reporting which has a strong republican and sometimes bigoted
stance on matters which many think is wrong and can pervert the minds of
thousands into thinking what murdoch wants them to.
however
in the uk there is a limit of how much power someone can have over the
media so a complete monopoly cannot be gained. Also companys like the
BBC which have to stay impartial because of the way they are funded by
the license fee mean that there is always a way to gain reliable
information.
Obscene Publications Act 1959 and 1964
The obscene public act states “The
law makes it an offence to publish, whetherfor gain or not, any content
whose effect will tend to "deprave andcorrupt" those likely to read,
see or hear the matter contained orembodied in it. This could include
images of extreme sexual activity such asbestiality, necrophilia, rape
or torture.” the act outline the rules and laws that have to be
followed when a production company is producing obscene content. it
covers the use and distribution of pornography, violence, drug taking
and other acts thought of to be obscene this act does not only effect
broadcasting but anything produced for publishing or just for personal
use. An example of broadcasters not breaking the act is when they blur
out nudity in pre watershed shows so no offence is caused.
http://www.channel4.com/producers-handbook/media-law/other-laws-affecting-broadcasting/obscene-publications-act-1959https://www.iwf.org.uk/hotline/the-laws/criminally-obscene-adult-content/obscene-publications-act-1959-and-1964http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscene_Publications_Act_1959
No comments:
Post a Comment