Understanding the regulation of the creative media sector

Understanding The Regulation Of The 

Creative Media Sector

For this assignment we will be understanding the regulations of the media sector and finding out what company regulates a type of media like for example; The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) regulates all of the advertisements in the UK and it checks that Advertisements do not lie or make false claims about the product.

Why the creative media sector needs to be

regulated

The Creative Media Sector needs to be regulated because they will be no rules or guidelines for the media companies to follow and abide by.

OFCOM 

If there was no OFCOM then the following Sectors wouldn't be regulated 

• TV
• Radio
• Fixed Line Tele Communications 
• Mobiles
• Postal Services
• Airwaves - WIFI

If OFCOM didn't regulate all of the sectors they need to regulate things could be messy because it would allow companies to do what they like to an extent to sell their product without following rules to generate revenue.

OFCOM makes sure that doesn't happen so they make sure they regulate all their sectors thoroughly to make sure that everything is in order and that all companies are following their guidelines. Companies that do not follow the OFCOM Guidelines will either get fined or get their show banned of air.

Example of OFCOM 

Frankie Boyle and Katie Price 

On Frankie Boyle's live comedy show Frankie done a offensive joke that was aimed towards Katie prices son Harvey therefore Katie Price reported him to OFCOM and OFCOM said "It appeared to "target and mock the mental and physical disabilities of the eight year-old" so ofcom decided to take the show down and he got fined.

Advertising Standards Authority 

If the ASA didn't regulate Advertisements then advertising companies would be allowed to advertise anything and the companies would make up facts to make sure their product sells to the public, which isn't fair because us the public would be getting lied to by advertisements and it would persuade us to buy their false product. The ASA keeps everything in order and makes sure that doesn't happen so they keep regulating advertisements and if they regulate an advert and it is not suitable to publish on TV then ASA will ask you to change it otherwise they could get fined or even get the companies advert banned of air like The Wrigleys advert which got banned because parents of children complained to the ASA because the advert made their children physically sick and it also frightened their children to.

BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) 

The BBFC regulates Films in Britain and they job is to go through the films and see if the film is suitable to be published into cinemas and TV, the way their do that is putting them into suitable age groups which stops younger children watching Horror films and over ages films like Paranormal Activity at the Cinemas. The age ratings are:

Universal (U) 

"U" stand for Universal and that means anyone can watch the film at least they are about 4 years old but some films are suitable for children that are younger than 4 which means children younger than 4 can watch it.


Parental Guidance (PG)

"PG" Stands for Parental Guidance which means children under the age of everyone but some scenes maybe unsuitable for younger viewers watching the film, Parents should be sure that the film is suitable for their children. PG films are not made for children and now PG films are mostly watched by adults instead of children.

12 & 12A

Age rating 12 means that nobody under the age of 12 can see this film even if they are accompanied by an adult over the age but 12A film means that people under the age of 12 can watch the 12A movie but they have to be accompanied by an adult. This is enforced by Cinema Staffs and if they do not abide by this then the Cinemas may lose its license.


15

Age rating 15 means that nobody under the age of 15 can not see the film in cinemas because the film is not suitable for the ages under than 15. What you might expect when watching a 15 rating film:

• Strong Language 
• portrayals of sexual activity

18 
When the film is rated 18 it means that nobody under 18 can watch this film at the Cinemas or buy it or rent it from shops. 18 films are made for people that are 18 or over and it is not suitable for children under the age of 18. These of the list of things can be found in a 18 film which tells you why 18 year old films are not suitable for people underage.

• frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and (e.g. ‘c***’)
• strong blood and gore
• strong portrayals of sexual activity
• scenes of sexual violence
• strong blood and gore
• real sex (in some circumstances)
• discriminatory language and behavior
• very strong violence

Freedom of Information


The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides public access to information held by public authorities.


list of examples of Public authorities

• Government Departments
• National Health Service (NHS)
• Local Authorities
• Police
• Schools

The Freedom of Information Act does not give the right for people to access their own personal details and information for example "Health Records" and "Credit Reference File" If a person wants to have access to their personal details then they have to make a request under the Data Protection Act