Regulatory and professional bodies

British Video Association

The British Video Association is a video home entertainment organisation. It was established in 1980 and it has suggested according to the figures that around six million people in the UK have missed out on the revolution of High Definition.

Film Distributors Association

Its the trade body for theatrical film distributors in the UK - the companies that release films for UK  cinema audiences. Originally established in London in 1915, FDA liaises and works with many individuals, companies and organisations. They consider only matters of generic interest to film distributors. They geared mainly towards the next generation of filmmakers and audiences.

Video Standards Council

Its to oversee and make sure the code of Practice promote has high standers in the video industry, however it was expanded to promote high standers within the video games society too. They put age certificates and symbols on games and films to make sure there appropriate.

Trading Standards Institute
Trading Standards Central has been created and is maintained by the Trading Standards Institute to provide consumer protection information for the UK. Its a professional membership association and it represents trading standards professionals in the UK. Its job is to promote and protect the success of modern economy and to make sure the health and safety and the well being of the citizens is looked after.

Press Complaints Commission

The PCC is increasingly carrying out a large amount of work which helps to protect people's privacy and minimise the risk of media harassment, particularly at times of grief or shock.

Advertising Standards Authority

Advertising plays an essential role in today’s world. It informs, entertains and promotes healthy competition. ASA are to make sure all advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful.

The Mobile Entertainment Forum

MEF is the global community for mobile content and commerce it provides competitive advantage to our members in order to build a robust, trusted and secure mobile content.

The Independent Games Developers Association

TIGA is the trade association representing the UK's games industry. TIGA's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business.

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

BAFTA is a charity with principal objects to promote and advance education through its events and to cultivate and improve public taste in the film, television and games industries.

Commercial Radio Companies Association

The Commercial Radio Companies Association is the trade body

for UK commercial radio.

The International Visual Communication Association

IVCA is the independent not for profit membership organisation representing the creators and commissioners of film, video, digital and live events for the corporate and public sectors.

Worldwide Web Consortium 

The World Wide Web Consortium is an international community where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. Led by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and CEO Jeffrey Jaffe, W3C's mission is to lead the Web to its full potential.

British Web Design and Marketing Association

The UK Web Design Association was established in 2001 to encourage and promote industry standards within the British web design and new media sector.

British Interactive Multimedia Association

BIMA exists to do three key things which is to ssupport and promote the British digital industry,

share knowledge and best practice and reward great work and encourage the next generation.

Regulatory Issues
Ownerships regulatory issues are they have to decide how much of the media one person can own, or the entire UK insdusty can own. For example Rupert Murdoch owning part of ITV and half of sky so should he be allowed anymore. Ownership laws often get put into place when people want to own too much. I think its wrong him wanting to own more because if one person made all TV programmes then all shows and opinions would be his and there would be no other views or types of programmes. He will form peoples opinions by putting across his own.

Monopoly regulatory issues when one person owns all of one company. The issues with this are that they will be over powerful and make everything there way. I think this isn't right and that there should be more than one person in charge of the media and what people are being told. When one person is incharge they make the rules and can chooose and stop what everyone sees or hears and knows about.


Issues of consumer choice as the UK has become more diverse. BBC which we all pay for caters our needs.  Why should we have to pay for shows that we don't want to see. If there's of the country that's not getting looked after or catered for why should we pay for them, that's why we have so many different channels so sports for sports fans, Asia radio for Asians, its to meet consumer needs so we want to pay. I think we should get a choice so its good that BBC are more diverse so we get more range of TV.

Access regulatory issues regulating bodies need to make a decision,if
Censorship issues it happens loads now, when you was little and you r mum and dad stopped you from watching something or playing something ,their censoring you from it. I think the media is very persuasive and lead allot of people to believe the same things.

Privacy Law - Example of Privacy Breach

Ashley Cole says kiss and tell stories violated privacy

Court told: 'Ashley Cole has no case for privacy invasion'

Footballer Ashley Cole filed for breach of privacy over stories which claimed he had, had affairs while married to wife Cheryl Cole. Cole said in the writ that some of the information in the stories was false and invented, but said that this legal action would not distinguish between true and false information. This is where he started to lie saying that the truth would come out that he hadn’t done anything and all the girls were lying. Whereas Cole was just getting himself into more lies.

He launched actions against Mirror, publisher, MGN and Sun publisher News Group Newspapers, seeking an estimated £200,000 from each of the stories published in January and February 2011. The claim was made in defense of two actions 27-year-old defender Cole has launched against the Daily Mirror and Sun for alleged invasion of privacy over stories about his sex life that he claimed to be lies.
Cole argued in the writ that he does not hold any public office or carry out any official duties, and information about his sex life "was not capable of contributing to a debate in a democratic society relating to matters of public interest".

I think that it was right to put the stories in the press because there in the spotlight so anything that happens is going to be found out. He paid some of the girls to keep his secret but because the papers offered them more money back anyway so it all came out. He shouldn’t have done it and should have known everyone was going to find out.

If a non famous person had an affair it wouldn’t be published because no one wants to read about it because no one knows them whereas any chance to earn some money with breaching privacy the press will publish a story.

Cole’s counsel, David Sherborne tried to appeal and fight back for him by telling senior High Court official Deputy Master Bard the articles contained, “private information which represents an unjustified intrusion into his private life concerning alleged sexual relationships he had with three women”.
The outcome of the case was that it wasn’t a breach of privacy because his life is all over everywhere and he’s famous.

Ethical and Legal Constraints within the Media Sector

Ethical:

social issues and sensitivities, eg representation of gender, representation of religious beliefs, linguistic usages, accessibility; professional body codes of practice, eg BBC producers’ guidelines, Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) accessibility standards

Broadcasting act 1990

The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting British television.

Official secrets aid 1989

The Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.

Obscene Publications act 1959

The Obscene Publications Act 1959 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity.

Films act 1985

Laws concerning film finance and defining British films.

Video Recording act

Laws stating that all videos which are sold or available for rental must be classified by the BBFC.

Race Relations Act

The race relations act 1976 was established by the parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the groups of race. Items that are covered include discrimination on the grounds of race colour, nationality, ethnic and national origins in the fields of employment, the provision of good and education.

Human Rights act

Rights that are believed to belong justifiably to every person

Licensing Act

It’s what companies are allowed to show on TV, it’s what media content can be shown on their premises. Media contents included music performances and TV broadcasts and filming.

Privacy Law

Privacy is the right to be left alone, Privacy laws are considered in the context of an individual’s rights or reasonable expectation of privacy. To ensure that broadcasters avoid any unwarranted infringement of privacy in programmes and in connection with obtaining material included in programmes. Any infringement of privacy in programmes, or in connection with obtaining material included in programmes, must be warranted.

Copyright
Copyright protects written theatrical, musical and artistic works, as well as film, books, sounds, recordings and broadcasts. Copyright is an automatic right that you don’t have to apply for.

Intellectual Property
IP refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literally and artistic works, and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. IP results from the expression of an idea. So IP might be a brand, an invention, a design, a song or another intellectual creation. IP can be owned, bought and sold.

Libel Laws
All a form of defamation you can’t say things about people to slag them off something false which is written down or published. Libel is when it’s written down and published by someone like in a newspaper or magazine.

  Codes Of Practice
A code of practice is made up by the editors who work in the industry.
Its a set of written rules which explains how people working in a particular professon should behave.  This means  you have to be polite and not rude to the custmors ,wear the correct dress code and do your job right when working with newspaper and magazines which are published in the U.K. editor's code of practice:

This is the newspaper and periodical industry’s Code of Practice. It is framed and revised by the Editors’ Code Committee made up of independent editors of national,

All members of the press have a duty to maintain the highest professional standards.

The Code, which includes this preamble and the public interest exceptions below,

sets the benchmark for those ethical standards, protecting both the rights of the

individual and the public's right to know. It is the cornerstone of the system of selfregulation

to which the industry has made a binding commitment.

The BBFC is the British Board Film Classification. They’re in charge of the certificate that’s put on a film or the time a programme comes on TV. They do this so that no unsuitable content is shown to people not of the right age or shown before the watershed on TV. They also have to check adverts before there put on TV and games before there released.  

When they say things should be cut or removed out of films then the producers have to do it otherwise the film won’t be shown.  Just like games they have to be played and watched before they can be sold. Everything has to go past them and be checked.

OFCOM is the Official Office of Communications. If you want to make a complaint about any programme or anything that’s where they should be made to.  Ofcom police the rights codes, anything that been reported on the TV or radio then they have to investigate it. They also proved guidelines to producers on how to cover situation of a sensitive nature.

It is essential that an agreed code be honoured not only to the letter but in the full spirit. It should not be interpreted so narrowly as to compromise its commitment to respect the rights of the individual regional and local newspapers and magazines. The Press Complaints Commission, which hasa majority of lay members, is charged with enforcing the Code, using it to adjudicate complaints. It was ratified by the PCC in September 2009. Clauses marked* are covered by exceptions relating to the public interest.

Media representation
People in the media on TV programmes aand cartoons are very stereotyped. For exapmle gays in certain programmes are very feminine, giddy and all have boyfriends. Also it cartoons like americans one aalways have the typical family like 'Family Guy' with the sterotypical lazy fat dad with the pretty, thin mum and a few kids. Popular films ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to children's cartoons which are "crude and exaggerated" people say show lots of stereotypes of Muslims.