Introduction
In this post i will be explaining all of the laws which need to be watched out for when creating a media product. I will also be discussing the purpose of them and why they are so important.
The broadcasting act
The broadcasting act was introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the year 1990. The purpose of it was to deregulate television and radio broadcasters. This is because most of the channels on television and radio were run by the BBC. This brought the new channel 'channel 5'. The motives of this act were to encourage more independent production company's rather than companies such as BBC and ITV dominating the t.v market. As a result of the BBC was forced to include at least 25 % of its broadcasts from independent production companies. Another impact was that three independent radio stations were allowed to be formed. The two companies which now regulate broadcasting are 'the independent television committee and 'Radio authority'. As a producer this means I would have the right to create an independent broadcaster in television or radio. However, I would also need to be aware of the two governing bodies and there regulations. This is because they regulate what is deem appropriate or inappropriate for broadcasting. An example of this law being breached would be an incident with 'XFM'. The radio authority placed a £50,000 fine on the radio station. This was because the show included offensive language and many obscene references. Another example would be a similar incident with 'Hallam FM'. They were also fined £50,000 for obscene broadcasting. This was due to the fact they included call-ins involving references to child abuse.
The broadcasting act
The broadcasting act was introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the year 1990. The purpose of it was to deregulate television and radio broadcasters. This is because most of the channels on television and radio were run by the BBC. This brought the new channel 'channel 5'. The motives of this act were to encourage more independent production company's rather than companies such as BBC and ITV dominating the t.v market. As a result of the BBC was forced to include at least 25 % of its broadcasts from independent production companies. Another impact was that three independent radio stations were allowed to be formed. The two companies which now regulate broadcasting are 'the independent television committee and 'Radio authority'. As a producer this means I would have the right to create an independent broadcaster in television or radio. However, I would also need to be aware of the two governing bodies and there regulations. This is because they regulate what is deem appropriate or inappropriate for broadcasting. An example of this law being breached would be an incident with 'XFM'. The radio authority placed a £50,000 fine on the radio station. This was because the show included offensive language and many obscene references. Another example would be a similar incident with 'Hallam FM'. They were also fined £50,000 for obscene broadcasting. This was due to the fact they included call-ins involving references to child abuse.
Copyright
The copyright, Designs and patents act 1988, is the current UK copyright law. It gives the creators of dramatic,musical and artistic works the rights to control the ways in which there material may be used. An example copyright laws in action would be SOPA (Stop Piracy Act). Sopa is a law that recently got passed against piracy on the internet. The file sharing website mega upload got shut down due to accusation's for breaching copyright. The owners of the site were charged $500 million. Another example would be the apple vs. Samsung lawsuit During this Apple took Samsung to court over allegation of stealing the idea of the 'Ipad'. However they lost the case as the judge stated that 'Very few people would confuse an ipad for a samsung tablet'. If I was working in the media industry I would have to be careful about breaching the copyright law. For instance if I was creating some sort of short film which needed a soundtrack I would need permission to use this. This is because the artists work would most probably be copyright meaning I would need to contact the record company. However, to save money it would be more cost effective to use royalty-free music.
Official Secrets Act
The official secrets act which was put into place in 1911 is to protect fragile government information. Its purpose is to protect the public as they feel that release of secret information could damage national security. An example of this law being breached would be the news of the world's phone hacking scandal. This was back in 2006 when the journalist's of the newspaper hacked over 4000 phones. This was breaching the official secrets act due to the fact that they hacked mp's phones. This sparked so much controversy that the news of the world was completely shut down. Another example would be the conviction of Sarah Tisdall. She was sentenced to six months in prison after leaking controversial information to the guardian newspaper. She gave details as to when an american missile would be arriving in Britain Due to this she was found guilty of breaking the law and convicted. If I was working within the media industry I would have to careful of this law. For example if for instance I was working for a newspaper and somebody disclosed some secret information. If this information was confidential I could not release it as it has the potential to damage the public.
Libel and slander
Libel is the defamation of ones character through written word. Not to be confused with slander which is the same principle however spoken rather than written. Many sectors of the media industry have to be cautious of this law especially publishing. For instance newspapers have to be careful when reporting an article about somebody. If they produce an inaccurate portrayal of the individuals character then they are breaking the libel law and can be prosecuted. This can also come into play when somebody negatively portrays a company or business. For example if somebody wrote something on a blog negatively about a company that technically isn't accurate they can be accused of breaching libel law. An example of libel or slander law being broken would be the incident between Jonathan Ross, Russell Howard and Andrew Sachs. The incident known as 'Sachs Gate' was a controversial BBC radio Broadcast. During their radio show Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross called beloved actor Andrew Sachs. Many abusive messages were left and this was aired. Not only was this saw as obscene but it was also slander. Due to the defamation of Andrew Sachs's character. As a result of this Russell Brand lost his job and Jonathan Ross was suspended without pay. This incident sparked much controversy due to the fact it was unnecessary and the BBC let them air it. Another example would be the Lord McAlpine scandal. This was were journalists from various newspapers accused him of paedophilia. These accusations were found to be untrue. Lord McAlpine was outraged by these claims by the media. He stated it was 'poor journalism' and sued BBC for breaching Libel law.
Privacy Law
The privacy law gives people the right to not have information on there personal lives publish. This could include pieces of information such as there name, address or family life. Many sectors in the media industry have to be careful of this law during production. For instance any media production which include administration such as call sheets need to be especially. This is because call sheets usually contain peoples personal details. They would normally include the name of each crew member and there contact details. If this information wasn't to remain confidential and got out the production company would be breaching privacy law. This is due to the fact that if this information got out it could be potentially harmful to them. Another sector which has to be aware of this law is publishing. If a newspaper releases any personal information about someone such as contact details this would also be breaching the law.
The press have been under a lot of controversy lately due to many phone hacking scandals which has brought about the leveson enquiry. This is an attempt to regulate the press and strengthen privacy laws. This phone hacking scandal would be a perfect example of were privacy laws have been breached. It was were journalists from 'News of the world' were hacking peoples phones for stories. This was breaching privacy laws due to the fact the newspaper was hacking into peole mobile phones without permission This also raised ethical concerns due to the people they were doing it to such as 'Milly Dowler'. Another example of this law being breached would be an extreme case involving X Factor judge Simon Cowell. This incident also involved the newspapers in which a tracking device was allegedly found on his Rolls Royce. Simon Cowell threatened to prosecute the press due to the fact that tracking devices are illegal. This is because it breaks privacy law's. The journalist also intended on publishing an article about his article which would also be breaching the law.
Official Secrets Act
Libel and slander
Libel is the defamation of ones character through written word. Not to be confused with slander which is the same principle however spoken rather than written. Many sectors of the media industry have to be cautious of this law especially publishing. For instance newspapers have to be careful when reporting an article about somebody. If they produce an inaccurate portrayal of the individuals character then they are breaking the libel law and can be prosecuted. This can also come into play when somebody negatively portrays a company or business. For example if somebody wrote something on a blog negatively about a company that technically isn't accurate they can be accused of breaching libel law. An example of libel or slander law being broken would be the incident between Jonathan Ross, Russell Howard and Andrew Sachs. The incident known as 'Sachs Gate' was a controversial BBC radio Broadcast. During their radio show Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross called beloved actor Andrew Sachs. Many abusive messages were left and this was aired. Not only was this saw as obscene but it was also slander. Due to the defamation of Andrew Sachs's character. As a result of this Russell Brand lost his job and Jonathan Ross was suspended without pay. This incident sparked much controversy due to the fact it was unnecessary and the BBC let them air it. Another example would be the Lord McAlpine scandal. This was were journalists from various newspapers accused him of paedophilia. These accusations were found to be untrue. Lord McAlpine was outraged by these claims by the media. He stated it was 'poor journalism' and sued BBC for breaching Libel law.
Privacy Law
The privacy law gives people the right to not have information on there personal lives publish. This could include pieces of information such as there name, address or family life. Many sectors in the media industry have to be careful of this law during production. For instance any media production which include administration such as call sheets need to be especially. This is because call sheets usually contain peoples personal details. They would normally include the name of each crew member and there contact details. If this information wasn't to remain confidential and got out the production company would be breaching privacy law. This is due to the fact that if this information got out it could be potentially harmful to them. Another sector which has to be aware of this law is publishing. If a newspaper releases any personal information about someone such as contact details this would also be breaching the law.
The press have been under a lot of controversy lately due to many phone hacking scandals which has brought about the leveson enquiry. This is an attempt to regulate the press and strengthen privacy laws. This phone hacking scandal would be a perfect example of were privacy laws have been breached. It was were journalists from 'News of the world' were hacking peoples phones for stories. This was breaching privacy laws due to the fact the newspaper was hacking into peole mobile phones without permission This also raised ethical concerns due to the people they were doing it to such as 'Milly Dowler'. Another example of this law being breached would be an extreme case involving X Factor judge Simon Cowell. This incident also involved the newspapers in which a tracking device was allegedly found on his Rolls Royce. Simon Cowell threatened to prosecute the press due to the fact that tracking devices are illegal. This is because it breaks privacy law's. The journalist also intended on publishing an article about his article which would also be breaching the law.
Human Rights Act
The basis of the human rights act is to strengthen the already in place conventions of basic human rights. This means that people can be prosecuted to more of an extent for breaching any of these human rights. There is a vast array of human rights. These are based on ethics such as quality of life and equality. Due to the sheer size of this spectrum which the human rights come into producers must be aware of the ins and outs of it. This is because if you
break someone's humans rights, you risk getting prosecuted under the human rights act. For instance if you were auditioning actors for a short film you would have to abide it. This is because if you don't hire someone solely because of their sex,race,colour,religion etc. Then you are breaching article 14. Article 14 is a part of the human rights convention which goes against discrimination. Due to this if you don't abide by the convention you risk being prosecuted under the 'Human Rights act'. Discrimination is only a small part of the convention therefore as a producer you must be aware of all of the rules (There is a lot). An example of this law being broken in media would be the 'Mosley vs. News Group newspapers' case. This was were Max Mosley had an article posted about him in 'News Of The World'. This article revealed an incident in his personal life involving five prostitutes. An article was published about this as well as a video of the incident. Mosley challenged 'News Of The World' under article 8 of the human rights convention. This ensure that people can keep there private life confidential if the wish to. Unlike the 'privacy law' this covers such as family life and peoples sex life. Due to this he won the case and was given £60,000 in damages. He also asked for the video to be removed from the internet and banned however this was not possible due to how wide spread it had became.
Another example of this law being broken would be the case surrounding the murder of James Bulger. Upon his murderers being released they were given new homes and new identities. Many newspapers within the media published these details. 'This could also come under 'the privacy act' however like the Max Molsey case it cam under 'Article 8' of the human rights convention. This meant that under the 'Human rights act' an injunction. This meant that they had to remove all information about the killers and refrain from realising any more in later publications. This is because this information could have been potentially harmful to them. This is due to the fact that they are murderers and people may have tried to find them due to the severity of the case.
Another example of this law being broken would be the case surrounding the murder of James Bulger. Upon his murderers being released they were given new homes and new identities. Many newspapers within the media published these details. 'This could also come under 'the privacy act' however like the Max Molsey case it cam under 'Article 8' of the human rights convention. This meant that under the 'Human rights act' an injunction. This meant that they had to remove all information about the killers and refrain from realising any more in later publications. This is because this information could have been potentially harmful to them. This is due to the fact that they are murderers and people may have tried to find them due to the severity of the case.
Race relations act
Race relations is a simple law based around ethnic equality. This act makes it illegal to refuse someone from there rights based on race,colour or ethnic origin It is in place to make sure that everyone is treated equally regardless of there race. As a producer you would need to be aware of this as you would most probably be working with a range of people from different races. For instance of you were working on a television show and you treat someone differently due to there colour you could risk breaching this law. This is because if you are treating them differently to the rest of the crew then this could be conceived that it is because of there race. You could also be prosecuted if you racially abused this person. Another example would be if you were creating a radio show. Say for example you were interviewing somebody who was of a certain ethnic background. If you verbally attack this person based on this ethnic background you will again be breaking this law. Therefore you would need to be aware of this act so that you know to treat everybody equally.
Obscene publications act
The obscene publications act is a law brought in to refrain the publishing of obscene material to the public. For something to be classed as obscene it needs to be taken to court and evaluated based on the severity. These could be aspects such as extreme violence, pornography, controversy, etc. The first ever incident of this was the writer William Dugdale. His books were saw as pornographic and as a result he was prosecuted. A producer would need to be aware of this act in order not to offend the public. This is because what some may see as obscene others may not. This is why there is now strict guidelines as to what is classed as obscene. As a producer you would need to know these guidelines to refrain from making anything to obscene. The purpose of this act is to protect the general public from potentially 'harmful' publications. An example of an incident involving this law being broken would be the film 'Crash'. After being published many critics argued it was obscene and potentially harmful. This was because they felt it 'incited' car crashes and was offensive to people with disability's. This was investigated and the producers were not prosecuted. This meant that the film didn't get banned and was allowed to continue to be published. Another example in the media would be another film called the 'Human centipede 2'. This was a sequel to the first human centipede which stirred an awful lot of controversy. The sequel was seen as even more gruesome and 'revolting' due to this the film was banned in the UK and Australia This was because some scenes were so obscene and violent that it was not seen fit for the public to watch. However, after making 32 compulsory cuts the film was allowed to be published in the UK. Although, it still had to be given an 18 year old age rating.
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