Regulation of the Media Sector - Rebecca

What are regulatory bodies?

A regulatory body within the media sector is an organisation that regulates content of numerous media sectors - such as making sure that television advertising is appropriate to viewers. The five regulatory bodies that I will be researching are the following: ASA, BBFC, Ofcom, PEGI, IPSO.

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)

This regulatory body is a UK Independent regulator of advertising. They review all forms of advertising including (found from www.asa.org.uk): 

• Magazine and newspaper advertisements
• Radio and television commercials
• Television shopping channels
• Adverts on the internet 
• Commercial e-mail and SMS text message adverts
• Posters and legitimate poster sites
• Leaflets and brochures
• Cinema commercials
• Advertising within smartphone and tablet apps
• Direct mail
• Door drops and circulars
• Ads on CD ROMs, DVD and video, and faxes
• Sale promotions

The ASA can enforce their regulatory power by a process called 'Independent review process'. What this entails is during certain situations complainants (or advertisers themselves) can request a review from the ASA Council's ruling. From here if the reviewer accepts the request then they will conduct an investigation, and from there will make a recommendation to the ASA Council to reconsider its ruling.

If an advertising company do not adhere to the ASA's rules and codes of practice, this can actually lead to getting the advertisement that’s not following the rules to be removed completely. Furthermore, if said company continuously breaks the rules then the ASA will refer them Ofcom (another regulatory body).

An example where ASA have had to take action on a form of advertising was when the company Walkers Crisps, promoted a new product through a television advert. During this advert, it showed a double decker bus' roof being ripped off after going under a low bridge. This advert received 130 complaints in 2008, due to viewers saying that it could offend and/or upset those who had possibly experienced a similar accident. From here, the ASA investigated the television advert, but Walkers decided to remove the scene from the advert due to the complaints.

Another situation where a form of advertising was considered to break the ASA's rules, was when a national press ad offered incentives to the public to bet on the outcome of Oscar Pistorius's murder trial. There were over 5,525 complaints on the Paddy Power plc. advert in 2014, resulting in the ASA removing the use of the advert, because it caused serious offence by trivialising serious issues.

The majority (70%) of what ASA do is to make sure that all advertisements are honest and accurate. This is an important thing to do as otherwise companies can easily manipulate their consumers by giving them false information through their advertisements. Additionally, 30% of what ASA do is dealing with offence/harm and protecting children from unsuitable content. This is equally important to do as in this generation media is being used everywhere constantly, and therefore it shouldn't be regarded as unsafe due to things such as advertising, therefore the ASA are important as they prevent this happening.

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)

This regulatory body regulates the film industry in order to bring uniformity to the classification of a film. This means that they review films and based on numerous facets, they give the film an age rating to protect children (and other members of the public) from unsuitable and even harmful content in films and videos. Along with this it gives the consumers information on the film on whether they can/want to view the film or video, (this is all done before the film is released). This is done by (usually) two examiners watch the film/video all the way through and give it a suitable age rating that they believe to be correct when taking in consideration the classification guidelines. From here a senior examiner will confirm whether they agree with the already stated age rating, but if anyone is in doubt during the process the film will be taken to higher authority. The same process is done for DVDs and Blu-rays.

The classification guidelines require the examiners to consider issues such as (found from www.bbfc.co.uk):

• Discrimination 
• Drugs
• Horror
• Dangerous and easily imitable behaviour
• Language
• Nudity
• Sex
• Violence

Upon not following these guidelines, the BBFC can remove/ban a film, however the film company can also (in certain circumstances) remove scenes from their films to prevent this and/or receive a lower age rating (which allows a broader demographic). An example of a film that was banned in the UK by the BBFC is a Japanese film called 'Grotesque'. This film was removed as it presented extreme violence, sadism (including sexual sadism) - it presented a young couple getting kidnapped and tortured with no main narrative. This obviously resulted in the film not being able to be released (although was released for a limited amount of time in Japan, and a few festivals).

Another film that could not be released after the BBFC reviewed it was a film called 'The Bunny Game'. This film was rejected due to "the emphasis on the woman's nudity tends to eroticise what is shown, while aspects of the work such as the lack of explanation of the events depicted and the stylistic treatment, may encourage some viewers to enjoy and share in the man's callousness and the pleasure he takes in the woman's pain and humiliation". Despite this statement, the BBFC told the film company they could resubmit the film with suitable cuts, however the company did not do this, so it still remains illegal to supply it in the UK. 

The BBFC are an important regulatory body, as without them films would not be reviewed and regulated. This would mean that anything (any amount of violence, horror, discrimination) would be released into cinema or DVD and Blu-ray, resulting in viewers engaging in shocking imagery. This could result in multiple issues, for example, if a film with high amounts of violence was released, then some viewers may imitate this and cause crime and danger in the UK. Additionally, if a film that had extreme racism, it would cause major offence to the oppressed race in the film, which would be a form of discrimination. Therefore the BBFC are a vital organisation in the UK in order to keep cinema, DVD and Blu-ray essentially safe for viewers.

Office of Communications (Ofcom)

This regulatory body is a company that regulates the content of all the UK's communication industries. For example, they regulate television, radio, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, and airwaves on which wireless devices operate on. What they regulate within these media sectors is that they ensure that (found from www.ofcom.org.uk):

• The UK has various electronic communications services (including high-speed information services).
• The range of television is high-quality and radio programmes are also required (must appeal to a wide demographic).
• All television and radio services are provided by multiple different organisations.
• The consumers of television and radio are protected from any harmful/offensive material.
• No one is treated unfairly in television and radio.
• The radio spectrum is used in the most effective manner.

Ofcom ensures that all communication is regulated by conducting investigations and reviews of communication, making sure that it follows the rules and regulations (also known as 'Ofcom Broadcasting Code, when it comes to television). All communicative media - for example television programmes - have to make sure that they are following this code, as if it breaks any of these rules then Ofcom have the ability to remove said communicative media. They do this for many reasons (as stated above) but primarily a piece of communicative media will be removed (or altered) as it is having a negative effect on the public. This means that Ofcom is an important regulatory body as communicative media is one of the biggest forms of media to date, therefore if it's content was not regulated, then many things could be broadcasted that were inappropriate for viewers.

An example when Ofcom have had to take action on something, was when TV personality Shaun Ryder repeatedly used 'bad' language during a live show of TFI Fridays. As this was live, it meant that the language used could not have been edited out, thereby it could have caused offence to viewers. After receiving complaints about the event, Ofcom took action by banning Shaun Ryder from appearing on any live shows presented on Channel 4.

Pan European Game Information (PEGI)

This regulatory body is a company that works to regulate entertainment content, by ensuring that the correct age rating is given. They regulate entrainment content which includes (found from http://www.pegi.info/):

• Films
• Videos
• DVDs
• Computer games
• Video games

This form of media is regulated by ensuring that age ratings are given appropriately to products, by considering PEGI's rules and regulations. They do this as age ratings provide guidance to consumers to help them know whether to buy a product or not. For example, PEGI is particularly important for parents, as it can help them determine whether they would feel comfortable letting their children play certain video games given the age rating - ie, if their child is 15 and wants to play a 18 rated game, then the parent might not let them as the content may be inappropriate. 

Along with giving age ratings, PEGI also gives other descriptors (to explain the age rating) such as:

• Bad Language
• Discrimination
• Drugs
• Fear
• Gambling
• Sex
• Violence
• Online gameplay

Entertainment content that have high amounts of these descriptors will most likely have a much higher age rating, however if the content contains way too much of any of the descriptors then PEGI may ban the content from being released. The only other condition is that the company who made the entertainment content may have to remove certain scenes/aspects of their product, and then resubmit it for another review by PEGI. Likewise, if a company/consumer believe that a product was incorrectly rated, then they can make a complaint to PEGI, which in turn makes PEGI reconsider their rating.

Like mentioned previously, the age ratings that entertainment product receives helps the consumer have a better understanding of the content of the product, and whether they want to buy the product or not. Therefore, PEGI's work is important as without it consumers would buy entertainment content such as video games blindly, therefore not necessarily knowing what to expect when viewing it. This can lead to all kinds of problems, but overall it can cause offence to some viewers who didn't expect to see something when buying a product. This means that it's important to give entertainment content age ratings to prevent offence to it's viewers.

Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)

Replacing the PCC, this regulatory body is a company that regulates the newspaper and magazine industry. This means that they monitor the content within newspapers and magazines, making sure they follow a code called 'The Editor's Code of Practice'. Some of the things that this code ensures with magazines and newspapers are:

• Accurate with what they post.
• Individuals posted about are entitled to privacy, therefore this is not disrupted without consent.
• No harassment is used when posting about someone/something.
• Intrusion into grief or shock.
• When reporting suicide, excessive detail must be avoided.

IPSO conduct investigations into complaints made when a member of the public think that a newspaper of magazine are not following the code. This means that they review said content ensuring that no aspect of the code has been broken; if in a circumstance where the complaint was correct, and the code is broken (depending on how many) then IPSO can fine the company who produced the newspaper or magazine up to £1m.

As newspapers and magazines are very public facets of media, this means that it is very important that they are regulated. This is because otherwise, the public may be exposed to inappropriate and offence material that could lead to all kinds of controversy and problems. Therefore, by doing regulatory checks, this avoids any big dramas happening when consumers read newspapers and magazines - and if they are offended then they can make a formal complaint otherwise.