Media regulation: blog tasks

 Media regulation: blog tasks

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 128: Contemporary Media Regulation. Our Media Factsheet archive can be found at M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. You can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. 

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

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

Regulation is when you set certain rules and guidelines for certain content to make sure it is safe for users to consume. Media industries need to be regulated in order to provide rules and regulations to ensure that organisations operate fairly.

2) What is OFCOM responsible for?

The Office of Communication (OFCOM) is responsible for regulating television, radio, telephone services and some aspects of the internet, although the areas most relevant to media students are TV and radio.

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 8: Privacy

Because they are placed to make sure children and teenagers stay safe and also protect human rights and make sure there is o violation of people's personal and general rights and wants and needs.

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

I do agree with Ofcom because Channel 4 were denying the first section of the broadcasting code and these violations are not suitable for children as the violent film could be harmful for them to consume. Alternatively, they could have just decided to play the film at a later time such as past 9pm in order to make sure that children are less likely to watch it and also as a simple warning to adults and parents to make sure they know to make sure their kids don't watch it.

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 breach 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.

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?

The PPC 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 press regulation is important in order to balance the freedom of the press with public protection against unethical practices like privacy invasion or falsehoods. I believe that free press is important to an extent because sometimes the newspapers and all sorts of media, they try to kind of manipulate audiences into believing their opinions about a certain situation and they can seem to provide false information at times. Also, I think newspapers should face statutory regulation like TV and radio because they should not like go against public protective codes and they should follow the laws set by the government in order to stay ethical towards the people and consumers of their products.

10) Why is the internet so difficult to regulate?

The internet is difficult to regulate due to its global, decentralised, and constantly evolving nature, which challenges national laws and traditional regulatory models. Key barriers include issues of jurisdiction, the sheer volume of content, technological complexity, and balancing competing interests like free speech and safety. There are constantly dynamic features of technology that cause innovation within the internet, and this makes it difficult to regulate.