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.

Legal: 

Broadcasting Act 1990 (and later amendments),

It is a series of laws, that relate to what is legal and illegal to broadcast on TV and radio in the UK. For example, if a TV station decided to show of a pornographic nature, then this would be in breach of the broadcasting act.

Official Secrets Act 1989,

It is illegal to disclose information regarding national security.  If a newspaper published a story about the technical capabilities and shortcomings of Englands latest warships. This would then threaten the safety of the country and its people, and therefore endanger national security.

Obscene Publications Act 1959 (and later amendments),

Laws relating to obscene material being published. For example, if a magazine or newspaper published images that were in bad taste, then this would breach the obscene publicatons act.

Films Act 1985,

This is Laws concerning film finance and defining British films.

Video Recordings Act 1984,

Laws stating that all videos that are sold or available for rental must be classified by the BBFC. A breach of this act would be videos not being classified or released, and somebody purchasing this off for example, a market.

Race Relations Act 1976 (and later amendments),

The race relations act 1976  was established by the Parliament of the united kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds 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 services, education and public functions. An example of a breach of this law woukd be if the BBC were to advertse a job and only accept applications from ethnic ninority groups, this would discriminate against people not of an ethnic minority.

Human Rights Act 1998,

Rights that are believed to belong justifiably to every person.

Licensing Act 2003 (and later amendments);
This is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that applies only to England and Wales. The Act establishes a single integrated scheme for licensing premises which are used for the sale or supply of alcohol, to provide regulated entertainment, or to provide late night refreshment.

  

Privacy Law;

Is the right to be left alone. Privacy laws are concidered in the context of an individuals rights or expectation of privacy. Its to ensure broadcasters avoid any infringement of privacy in programmes and in connection with obtaining material included in programmes. Any infringement of privacy must be warrented.

Copyright and Intellectual Property Law;

protects written works including musical, theatrically and artistic. Also protects film, book layouts, sound recordings and broadcasts. Copyright is an automatic right that you don't have to apply for.

Libel Law

Laws stating that no slander or defamation shall be aimed at one particular individual or group etc.
A Famous Legal Case In The Media
A famous legal case was brought to the high court involving  Jamie Theakston v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd. Jamie Theakston attempted to injunct the Sunday People from publishing a story about how he visited a brothel in Mayfair, London. Theakston argued that the publication of the story breached his right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. He said that the activities had takern place privately and therefore it should be treated as confidential and that the publication had no public interest. The Sunday People then argued back that the publication of the story was in the public interest given the concern of the BBC, to ensure that presenters of programmes aimed at younger people conduct thenselves appropriately in public. The court were skeptical of Theakston's assertion that he only realised he was in a brothel when other prostitutes entered the room. Theakston failed at his attempt to injuct the Sunday People.

BBFC
The BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification. It is an independent body which classifies things in the media such as television programmes, films, advertisements and video games. They are responsible for the classification  of these things in the United Kingdom. The classification restricts the age in which the content can be viewed, as some things may not be suitable for people or children of a certain age. They all have to be classidied and certified, and if not they will be broadcasting them illegally, so it's very important.


OFCOM
OFCOM is the Office of Communications. It operates under the Communications Act 2003 to, and their main duties further the interests of citizens and of consumers. They check that prgrammes are suitable for viewing and if any complaints were to occur, then OFCOM are 'police' people that would investigate into the complaints.




Codes of Practice
A code of practice is a set of wriitten rules or guidelines which explains how people working in different industries and environment should behave. This means stuff like having to wear a uniform or have to act a certain way towards customers and colleagues. It is ussued by a professional body to it's members to help them comply with its ethical standards.

 Editors' Code of Practice
All members who work for the magazine and newspsper industry, have to mainitain high  standards at all times. They need to follow these guidelines of the Code of Practice to protect themselves from any legal issues that may occur. It covers issues such as accuracy, privacy, oppurtunity to reply and children.


Media Representation
Representation is where producers make ethical judgements on how aspects of the media are portrayed. For example, people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Things such as age  and gender affect these decisions. An example of a negative representation is a place such as Mossside near Manchester. We see Mossside as dangerous place, we associate it with the black community and also with guns, crime and violence. We have this negative perspective on such a place because of how it is exampled in the media. On the news, it's likely to see gun crime that has took place in this certain area, although some things may not be true this is how it is perceived by us therefore, makes a negative representation of the people who live there and the area.