Unit 1-
Legal Issues
Legal Issues
are issues which are related to the media and involve checking for false
statements before the copy goes to print, its an important step to ensure that
publishers or directors don’t commit libel by printing inaccurate or falsified
facts or statements about people or events and checking films or media
platforms things which may cause harm to the audience.
Identify
key media institutions, responsible for regulating (controlling) the industry
(ASA/BBFC). Find one example for each, of where texts have been banned or
classification has changed to suit audiences.
One key
media institution which is responsible for regulating the industry is the BBFC
which is the British Board of Film Classification which is an non-governmental,
independent body whom classifies or gives the go ahead in some aspects to
movies, videos games and computer games. They tend to gather feedback or
information from the General/Wider public from which they gain feedback from
which therefore has an influence on their decisions. The BBFC consists of 30
examiners who often have to have expert film knowledge and quite a qualified
level of social awareness in order to be able to understand reasons for things
and weigh out arguments. They classify these three types of media formats based
upon 5 main categories which consists of Sex & Nudity, Taste & Decency,
Bad Language and Violence which enable them to the following ranges which as
‘U’ which stands for Universal, 12A which applies to anyone over the age of 12,
15 which is suitable for those over the age of 15 and 18 which is for those
over 18 and most recently R18 which therefore means it contains adult sex
scenes.
The BBFC do
have quite strict guidelines so therefore due to this there have been many
cases where by texts have been banned or the classification has changed in
order to suit the given audience which it is more suitable for. An example of
this is ‘The Exorcist’ which was a film analysed by the BBFC however was banned
for 11 years and then the classification was changed for it. The film was
already deemed to have caused controversy in the US where it had been reported
to have caused panicking, vomiting and heart attacks whilst being watch in the
cinema, due to the this the BBFC asked to analyse and look over some scenes
again which were through to go again the Protection of Children Act as a should
a young actress who was in a vulnerable position and contained quite indecent
images which may have lacked decency. After constant discussion, the BBFC
decided to remove the video from the shelves for 11 years due to the fact that
the protagonist was 12 years of age therefore meaning that the target audience
may well have been underage which was seen to be quite inappropriate and in
addition to this, its classification changed from a ‘X’ certificate to an ‘18’
uncut for video/DVD release which therefore decrease the number of young people
who were prone to such material.
ASA which is
the Advertising Standards Authority which is another UK independent body
regulatory system which regulates or controls advertising across all forms of
media so therefore essential applying their rules and guidelines in order to
protect the public by ensuring that complains are dealt with and also checking
the media to ensure that there is no harmful, misleading or offensive content
in adverts. A good point to also add on here would be that as noticed, most
companies which deal with legal issues are usually independent or
non-governmental bodies which therefore means that they have no sort of
influence or connection with powerful and influential bodies such as the
Government which means that they are not Bias and most decisions made by them
are influenced by either themselves or the public.
One example
of the work of ASA and how they have dealt with an Adventism which they have
perceived to be misleading, harmful or offensive is the ‘Prada/Miu Miu’
clothing advert which consisted of a very young model, wearing Miu Miu
products, laying or reclining on a bed while looking straight at the camera in
a way which may be deemed as quite sexual and inappropriate. The ASA on this
occasion acted on complaints from the public and took further action by saying
that the child or young girl was dressed and posed in a way which showed her to
be a sexual object and in a sense quite vulnerable which therefore led to the
advert being banned due to the fact that it was said to cause serious offences
i.e. children being viewed as sexual objects.
OFCOM is a
further media institution which is responsible for regulating the industry
which is government approved, its main focus is to regulate the TV and radio
sectors, fixed line telecoms and mobiles and postal services.
An example
of OFCOM in action in this industry is a case where OFCOM took action and
banned a Radio advert which was seen as using ‘Derogatory’ and potentially
offensive language. The Radio advert from a supermarket called Somerfield was
banned due to its use of the word ‘faggot’ which have been deemed to be
potentially offensive. The advert consisted of a Husband complaining to his
wife about how they eat the same meals every day and when she goes on to tell
him that he’s getting his usual faggots and then he goes on to reply ‘I’ve got
nothing against faggots, I just don’t fancy them’. This came to the attention
of OFCOM when three listeners complained about the use of faggots and its
reference to homosexuality which therefore led OFCOM to ban the advert again in
any form as it was deemed to have potentially cause serious offence and also be
connected with homosexuality which is highly inappropriate and offensive.
Explain
what the BECTU trade union does and why it is important.
The BECTU,
Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communication, Theatre Union is a trade union in
the UK which is focused around the media, broadcasting, film, independent
production, digital media, arts and etc.
It aims to
ensure and enforce fairness within and throughout this industry and protect
workers and their rights so for instance, this institution works and provides
services such as making negotiations between employers concerning pay,
contracts and the workers, giving personal advice and representing individuals
who may require it as they may be seen as weak or sometimes victims by larger
companies, protecting jobs and working to improve pay and conditions for
workers.
BECTU as a
trade union is important because they are quite helpful and reliable in
everything that they do. The fact that trade unions as such especially in big
industries where by people are able to work ‘freelance’ and roles are often
downgraded, there needs to be some sort of discipline and clear communication
so therefore through having the BECTU, It decreases the chance of workers being
exploited and misunderstood but instead more respected and more able to speak
out. The BECTU is also important because it aids effective communication
between the workers and employers. They provide the advice and support to
ensure that the differences of opinion do not turn into major conflicts and
that workers have that level of comfortability
to be able to speak out and love what they do.
Define
specific legal issues that may arise in any TV or film production and find
examples of where professional productions have been jeopardized by these
issues (Clearance and copyright)
There are
many legal issues that arise in the media industry, especially when it comes to
TV or film production and below I will outline some of the many and also some
examples of where these professional productions have been jeopardized by these
issues.
One specific
legal issues which may arise is Copyright. Copyright is a form of protection
given to the authors or creators of “original works of authors,” including
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and other intellectual works this is an
issue because it only protects the application of the idea and not the idea
itself for instance, a case of music when the song ‘Blurred Lines’ was sued
under copyright laws as the family of Marvin Gayle claimed that Robin Thicke
stole from Gaye's "Got to Give It Up".
A further
legal issue which may arise is Confidentiality, in film and TV production,
there are always certain things which needed to be kept secret so that other
complains can’t copy their idea and so it doesn’t ruin the plot of the story to
the audience. Employers will often need to sign a confidentiality agreement
form when working on a project therefore it is essential that this issue is kept under control.
Clearance is also a legal issue which may arise in any TV or Film production. Clearance involves you only being able to show something in this instance a Film or TV show in public if it is cleared which essentially means that that you have written permission to use everything which appears in your film or show however isn't yours so for instance, if you wanted to use some footage of someone in your video which does not belong to you, you must insure that you have clearance/written permission to use this. An example of where a professional production was jeopardized due to clearance is when Eminem was sued over by one of the rappers in 'Hotstylz' for $8 millions due to a claim that their track 'Lookin' Boy' was sampled for 25 seconds without permission.