Regulatory Bodies - Understanding Media

The creative media sector is huge and encompasses may different areas. With the media delivering content directly to the public (of all ages, nationalities, sexual orientation etc), it is essential that this content is somehow regulated. This means that the risk of causing harm and offence to the public is greatly diminished. Minors (under 18's) must be protected at all costs from content which contains things such as bad language, sexual content or violence.

While keeping the best interests of the public in mind, it is important for regulatory bodies to ensure deliverance of high quality and consistent media, according to locally decided standards and values. This means paying particular attention to information, education, advertising, culture, taste and decency.

   BBFC

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) was set up in 1912 as in independent, non-government organisation. The purpose of the BBFC is to be responsible for the classification and censorship of films in the UK. The BBFC are also responsible for regulating video games.
The BBFC is funded entirely by the film industry and has the power to cut work, or in some cases, simply reject it altogether.

The main role of the BBFC is to review material before its release and consider whether or not it has broken the law or has the potential to harm either the viewer or others through the viewers behaviour.
Many considerations have to be made in regards to legality. Such considerations include indecent images of children, animal cruelty, obscenity, racial hatred and human rights. The BBFC use a "harm test" to decide whether or not a film is in breach of their standards/UK law. If so, they will ask for the offensive material to be cut, otherwise they will not classify the film. If the whole film is in breach then the work will not be passed at all.

Age ratings given by the BBFC range from U (universal), PG (parental guidance), 12A, 12, 15, and 18. The purpose of these ratings is to protect children from potentially harmful and damaging material, as well as to advise viewers what to expect from a film.

OFCOM

Ofcom (or Office of Communications) is a government approved regulatory body, set up with the purpose of providing and enforcing a rigid set of guidelines broadcasters and media providers must adhere to. Ofcom regulates a number of sectors, including television, radio, fixed line telecommunications, mobiles, postal services and airwaves (WiFi). 

It is not Ofcom policy to watch or listen to content before it is aired, rather to be there to receive and ultimately deal with complaints where necessary. If a person wishes to complain about a programme not yet aired, they would have to contact the individual producer directly, as this does not come under Ofcom's jurisdiction. Complaints to Ofcom can be made in writing or online, with each individual complaint being considered and assessed to see which, if any, portions of the broadcasting code were breached.

 The broadcasting code is a set of guidelines which applies to TV and radio. It was drawn up following research into what viewers, listeners and broadcasters wanted. The public consultation received over 900 responses. The broadcasting code is broken up into the following ten sections. 

1  Protecting under 18’s

2  Harm and Offence

3  Crime

4  Religion

5  Due impartiality and due accuracy 

     and undue prominence of views and

     opinions

6  Elections and Referendums

7  Fairness

8  Privacy

9  Commercial References in TV

     programming

10 Commercial Communications in Radio

      programming 

Of course, there are consequences for breaking the broadcasting code. If a broadcaster seriously or repeatedly breaks the rules, Ofcom have legal powers to impose necessary sanctions, despite them being independent from the police. These punishments range from a substantial fine to having their licence revoked.


IPSO

The Independent Press Standards Organisation was created from the ashes of the PCC in 2014 following a ruling that the PCC was not fulfilling its role and therefore obsolete. This was decided after the Leveson inquiry exposed numerous failures within the PCC.

IPSO is responsible for the regulation of the press in the UK and has been since its inception in 2014. Some newspapers can opt out of this regulatory body however, as it is not compulsory. The guardian, for example, has chosen to regulate themselves by setting up their own complaints system.


ASA

The ASA, or advertising standards authority, is a body responsible for the regulation of UK advertising across all media. Formed as an independent organisation in 1962, the ASA checks that advertisements do not lie or make claims which cannot be supported by evidence.

 If an advertisement is found to be in breech of UK advertising codes, said advertisement must be either amended or withdrawn altogether. In 2012, the ASA considered 31,289 complaints about 18,990 cases which led to 3,700 being amended or withdrawn.

A big bonus of having the ASA in charge of advertising regulations is that it tends to be far cheaper than paying high legal costs via a court case.

With non broadcast advertisements, there is a set of regulations known as the CAP code. The most serious consequence of an advert not adhering to the CAP code is that all off air advertising from that company must be pre checked by the ASA for up to two years. All broadcast adverts must adhere to the Ofcom broadcasting code, as above. If a company consistently fails to comply, Ofcom sanctions will be called into place.