Regulation

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

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

Section 2: Harm and Offence

Section 3: Crime

I think that the first 3 are the most important as the first one protects under aged children and the rest are for awareness purposes. 

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

I agree that Channel 4 was wrong to broadcast Wolverine due to the fact that there are children watching TV at this time and to Wolverine won't be as suitable for them due to the amount of violence in the movie. 

 5) List five of the sections in the old Press Complaints Commission's 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. It’s critics claim that the lack of statutory powers means that when a newspaper has been found to breah 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. It’s defenders point out that a free press is a vital part of a functioning democracy. If statutory rules were imposed, newspapers ability to hold politicians and other people in power to account would be greatly diminished.

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. In January 2007, Clive Goodman (the royal reporter of the News of the World newspaer) and Glenn Mulcaire (a private investigator, employed by Goodman) were imprisoned for illegally intercepting phone calls connected to the royal family. At the time, the News of the World claimed 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. 

8) What was the PCC replaced with in 2014?

On 8th September 2014, the PCC was replaced by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

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 think that newspapers should also face statutory regulation. It should be the same for all media not just TV or radio but everything as it isn't fair to the public. 

10) Why is the internet so difficult to regulate?

Because there is no specific body that governs the regulation of the internet.