Ethical Constraints

Ethical Constraints

Ethics is doing something or saying something which would offend other people. In media Producers have to follow certain guidelines when it comes to ethics.

Privacy

The first constraint producers have to work to is privacy. Producers have to make sure that they balance the public's interest in freedom of expression with the expectation of privacy of individuals. They must also protect private information of the actors/actresses who work for them.

Taste and Decency ; offend or insult

Another costaint producers have to work is taste and decency; offend or insult. Producers have to make sure that any jokes are appropriate or do not offend anyone.

Ensure you're working within excepted norms

Producer must also make sure that they work with in the norm of society. Actions like racism or hitting woman isn't in the norm so producers should be careful of the content they put out.

Issues of fair representation

Producer must also make sure that they have fair representation of groups or people when talking about a certain topic as not to outbalance one side of the argument.

Protecting children or vulnerable people

When talking about a serious topic that involves children or vulnerable people producers must make sure that the identity is blurred so they would feel safe talking about what has happened to them.

Using off the record information

When it comes to using off the record information producers must be careful to protect people's identity so no harm will come to the person in question.

Media Guidlines

Regularity Body

A regularity body sets out rules for media producers to follow when they are making a media product. They also control the censorship that should be included in the media product.

Ofcom

1.
Ofcom looks after the TV and radio and mobile sectors the rules. They also decide the content that is broadcasted on television and radio. They also look at complaints by sent in by the public about the content that is been broadcasted on the TV or radio.

2.

Ofcom was announced in the Queen's speech of in June 2001 It was to replace several other bodies to look after the sectors:

• The Broadcasting Standards Commission
• The Independent Television Commission
• The Office Of Telecommunications
• The Radio Authority
• The Radio communications Agency

3.

To enforce its regularity powers Ofcom has a set of rules that companies must follow

Here are some rules that mobile companies have to follow.

4.

Ofcom has the power to fine companies if they break consumer rules. In 2011 TalkTalk and Tiscali UK were fined £3 million for breaking consumer rules.

ASA

1. ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) look after adverts across all media.

2. In 1955 advertisements were controlled by legislation then in 1961 the Advertising Association discussed with other associations that it was important the adverts were welcomed by media consumers in non-broadcast media too. In 1962, CAP (Comitee Of Advertising Practice) established the ASA as the independent adjudicator. It was set up to help and supervise the self-regulatory system in the public interest.

3. The ASA has rules and regulations that adverts must follow. The ASA regulate adverts to see if they break the rules and if they do they take appropriate action.

4. If a advert breaks the ASA's rules then the advert is pulled or it has to be altered.

An example of a banned advert was a red bull advert with the Titanic on it

This advert was banned because with the ship being the Titanic and the slogan " Red Bull gives you wings" It suggests they would have been ok.

 

PCC

1. The Press Complaints Commission looks after the publishing sector.

2. In 1953 the Press council was established with aim of maintaining high standards of ethics in journalism. In 1980 newspapers were breaking these standards. The Home Office set up another committee led by David Calcutt to investigate if a body with legal powers should be set up to regulate the industry. In June 1990 the report was published and concluded that a body with a published code of conduct should be given 18 months to prove the effectiveness of the body if it fails a legally empowered body would replace it. Other members of the press trying to avoid external regulation formed the PCC and it's code of practice.

3. The PCC has it's code of practice to for editors to follow when publishing a story the look at these aspects:

• Accuracy
• Opportunity to reply
• Privacy
• Harassment
• Intrusion into grief and shock
• Children
• Children in sex cases
• Hospitals
• Reporting Of Crime
• Clandestine devices and subterfuge
• Victims of sexual assault
• Discrimination
• Financial journalism
• Confidential sources
• Witness payments in criminal trials
• Payment to criminals

4. If someone breaks the code then an apology is given, a factual correction is made or even editors can lose their jobs.



BBFC

1. The BBFC looks after the film industry.

2. The BBFC was formed in 1912 as the British the British Board of Film Censors by the film industry. It began operating on 1 January 1913. Its legal basis was the Cinematograph Act 1909, which required that cinemas were to have licences from local authorities. The film industry therefore formed the BBFC in order to establish its own system of self-regulation. In 1984 the organisation changed its name. At that time it was given responsibility to classify videos to hire or purchase for view in the home as well as films shown in cinema.

3. Film and DVD age rating decisions are reached by the Director, the President and the two Vice-Presidents taking responsibility. Examiners watch films for cinema release in special BBFC's cinemas. With each work the examiners look at specific details including:

• general context - plot, characters, outline of individual scenes
• timings of key moments, including camera angles, type of shots, on- and off-screen moments
• bad language, sex and drug references and so on

The reports include a brief synopsis of the work, details of the issues and an argument in support of the recommended age rating most decisions that are made are straightforward



BBC


The BBC has it's own editorial guidlines setup. Here are what they focus on:

• Accuracy
• Impartiality
• Harm and Offence
• Fairness, Contributers, Consent
• Privacy
• Reporting Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
• Children and young people as contributers
• Politics, Public, policcy and polls
• War, Terror and Emergancy
• Religion
• Re-Use and Reversioning
• Editorial Integrityand Independance fromExternal Interests
• Conflicts of interests
• External Relationships and funding
• Interacting with audience
• The Law
• Accountability

 

 ITV

 

 

ITV has it's own producer guidlines setup. Some of the things they focus on having the right equipment, where does the equipment nee to go, delivery of programe material.

Channel 4

Channel 4 has it's own editorial guidlines setup. Here are what they focus on:

• The Law
• Regulation
• Online Editorial Procedures
• Editorial Responsibility
• Editorial Referral - Up Process
• Online Consumer Protection
• Guidlines for content types
• Training

 

 

Legal Constraints In The Creative Media Sector

Libal Law

If you post something about someone that is not true you could be sued for damages for damaging their reputation. An example of somone getting sued for damages was Alan Davis because he gave false alegations that Lord McAlpine was involved in sex allegations. He had to pay £15,000 in damages.

Obscene Publications Act 1959

If a TV show or movie has explicit content that is "likely to deprave or corrupt" the intended audience. In 2007 the film The Da Vinci Code was investagated for breaking the Italian Obscenity Law for suggesting Jesus and Mary Magdaline were married with children

Official Secrets Act 1989

The official secrets act 1989 is an act where it is a criminal offense to gain or publish any infomation about a serving or former member of the secruity and intellagence services or from civil services or public contracters where if it was disclosed it would be damaging to that person. Edward Snowden disclosed classified details about top secret survalance systems for the US, Israil and British governments to the press

Copyright and Interlectual Propety Law

This law prevents people's work from being stolen and used by someone else. Apple and Samsung had a court case suggesting Samsung stole phone designs from Apple.

Privacy Law/Human Rights Act 1998

This law is to make sure if someone posts infomation on someone that is private. One example was the News Of The World Scandel where they hacked someones voicemail and made their parents belive they were alive.

Media Sectors

TV

There are nine terrestrial broadcasters. They include BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, S4C, SMG and UTV.

                                      

There 300 cable and satellite broadcasters. They are dominated by BSKYB, Virgin Media, Discovery, Disney and Viacom

There are around 850 independent production companies which make the best known programs.

Just under two thirds of the TV industry is based in London. The second largest centre of activity is the North West. There are also broadcasting and production companies in Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool.

Radio

Radio operators fall into three categories:

•          Public Radio
• 
  
•         Commercial Radio
• 
  
•          Community Radio
• 
  
•         Voluntary Radio

The sector employs 22,000 in a wide range of jobs.

Radio has a highly skilled and well qualified workforce which two thirds of them are graduates and quarters of them are freelance or employed on contracts of less than a year. Most of the workforce is based in London. The nature of local and community radio services are more dispersed throughout the UK with other major sectors in Scotland, South East and the North West of England. About half of the workforce is female while they employ a low ratio of ethnic groups  

Publishing
 

Publishing is made up of different  group of industries which include:

• Books
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Information Services
• Directories
• Mailing Lists
• Journals
• News Agencies
• Business Media

The industry is made up of small companies with 88% of them having less than 10 employees but the 3% that has 200 or more employees have over half of the workforce on their payroll.

The main geographical area for publishing employment can be found London and the South East. Other parts of the country that has employment are the South West, Scotland and the North West with Wales and Northern Island the sector is made up of small publishers.

Photo Imaging

Photo Imaging's total workforce has 43,100 of which 51% of the workforce based in the south of England and 38% based in London and the South East. The rest of the workforce is spread throughout Scotland, Wales and Northern Island. The most concentration in England are the South West 13% and the East of England 12%.

The industry is made up of 8,700 companies with two thirds being sole trading or freelance. The other companies can be divided into:

• Image Producers
• Photo Retail
• Picture Libraries and Agencies
• Manufacturers
• Support Services

Throughout the industry 91% of companies employ five people or fewer.

Interactive Media

43,000 people are employed into the interactive media sector which makes up 22% of the total Creative Media industry.

People can work in different sectors such as:

• Business
• Content
• Design
• Technology
• Sustainability   

Companies employ interactive professionals such as:

• Marketing and Advertising Agencies
• Broadcasters
• Charities

Government information providers

Educational institutions

Games publishers

Film

In the film industry there are six component parts which are:

• Development

• Production

• Facilities

• Distribution

• Exhibition

• Export
 

There are around 400 permanent companies in the film industry 43% of those are Production, 13% are Distribution and 44% are Exhibition companies.

27,800 people are employed into the film industry

Games

The computer games industry has around 458 businesses the majority being classed as game developers.35 companies are classed as game support.

In the UK businesses employ a total of 7,000. The most common occupations in the industry are Art & Design counting for 1,700 (24%), Business Management counting for 1,500 (22%) and Production Accounting counting for 1,350 (19%). Another job people work in are Technical Development 950 people (13%). People can also work in smaller jobs such as Strategic Management (6%), Animators (6%), Content Development (3%) and Audio/Sound/Music (2%). Other occupations take up (4%) of the total workforce.

Animation 

 

Companies currently have employment for 4,700 people with nearly two fifths working freelance or on short term contracts with nearly 20% sole traders or self employed.

The largest occupational groups are draw/stop frame animation employing around 1,000 people, producing employing 910, computer generated animation employing 900 and production employing 430. Also a further 1,100 people are employed to key animation roles in other auto visual sectors. 

Advertising

Advertising has 13,000 companies with 250,000 people working in the UK advertising industry. 70% of the advertising industry is in London. The north west has the second largest concentration with 6%. Advertising funds 75% of television, 95% of national press, 80% of magazines and 95% of commercial radio.

Advertising falls into five departments:

• Account Services

• Creative

• Production

Media

• Other Services

Funding

Public Funding is when the public puts money in to fund the service e.g. the public pay the TV licence for the BBC. Private funding is when other companies put money into the service.

TV

 In TV shows they use product placement to get the viewers to buy the products in the show and to watch the particular show to gain money. Rentals and DVD sales also gain money for TV. Additionally they advertising is used to promote TV show to get people to watch them. They can also use merchandise to make money along with sponsorships. Finally people pay the TV license to watch live TV. It costs £145.00 for a colour license and £49.00 for a black and white TV license. People who are untitled to a reduced fee for their license are people who are blind, people who are 74+ and care home residents. You don't need a TV license for watching catch-up but if you don't have a TV license you could get prosecuted, a court appearance and a £1,000 fine.

Through out the BBC the fee is shared between all the BBC services:

66% - All TV 

17% - National/Local Radio 

11% - Other licenses

 6% - On-line

This is a breakdown of where the TV license goes.

Radio

In radio they put adverts in to get people to buy the products that are advertised on the show.

Games

In the game industry the gain money from console and game sales along with the game adverts on TV and pre-orders for games.

Film

In the film industry it gains money from DVD and rental sales along with sales of movie tickets. Movie series can also make merchandise for people to buy. Also movies have product placement in to get people to buy the products.

Media Conglomerate

A media conglomerate owns a number of companies in the media sector. Some examples of media conglomerates are Viacom and CBS. 

Globalisation

A globalisation is when a company expands their business into different areas that are at different points of the same production path. An example of globalisation is Rupert Murdoch who owns News Corporation.

 Merger

A merger is when two companies combine into a single company.

Takeover

A takeover is when one company gains control of another company. In 2006 Google acquired the takeover of YouTube for $1.65bn (£880 million).

Vertical Integration

A vertical integration is when a company expands their business into areas that are at different points of the same production path.

Horizontal Integration

A horizontal integration is when a company expands their business into areas that are similar to current lines.