Assignment 3c
The law and
regulator
Race
Relations Act 1976 was founded by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to stop
discrimination on people’s race; this covers colour, nationality, ethnic and
national origin in all types of employment, when people buy goods, and do
services for example for the community. This relates to the film and TV
industry because it is such a big industry that there is always jobs vaccines
and this law with stop people getting discriminated when applying. The amendment (changes) of this law first come
in to place in 2000 this act now applies to education including universities
and colleges. Therefore, the education
system has to need to do the following:
- “eliminate unlawful
racial discrimination
- promote equality of opportunity
- Promote good
relations between people of different racial groups”.
These rules
are have are compulsory throughout all stages of education and employment. These
laws are important because everyone has the same opportunities, are treated
equally and have the right to do what they want in life when it comes to
education and employment without being discriminated.
The
broadcasting act 1990 is a law that was placed by the UK Parliament; it is a
legal structure on electronic communication though radio and television. This
law provides rules and regulations that broadcasters should do when working on television
and radio. This act relates to the TV industry because the rules applied to all
television channels and radio stations airing at the time. This law later
changed in 1996, which ensured that people that pay TV licence have the right
to see popular listed (pay pre view) sporting events without any extra cost. This
law also covers three main rules that applies to the BBC networks because the
BBC do not make their money from advertising but from people paying TV licence.
The three main tasks are the following:
·
“To produce codes of
practice relating to standards and fairness
·
Consider and adjudicate on
complaints
· Monitor, research and report on standards and fairness
in broadcasting”
The
broadcasting act 1990 is important because it sets out rules for broadcasters
that are legal and illegal so by following these structures it ensures that
they do not break any of these rules and get themselves in to trouble. Also as
the law changed in 1996 it also became important because people are allowed to
see certain events that they would maybe not be able to afford and it sets out
promises from the BBC that will make there audience happy to watch their
channel.
Obscene Publications
Act 1959
This
is a law that says that TV programmes are not allowed to show any material that
relates to sex, violence and drug taking because it is likely to corrupt and
ruin the programme for certain audiences. This law also relates to the film
industry because some audiences would not like to see these scenes in a film if
it does not have an age’s rate. This law
later changed in 1964 to strengthen the act around offensiveness to audiences
when viewing things on telly and films, this made people more known of the act
and the law later applied to more areas of the media such as magazines and
newspapers. This law is important because it keeps producers aware of what they
should be showing and if they are allowed to show certain scenes in the
production they are making encase they offend anyone and get complaints.
British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)
The BBFC is
an independent, Non-government Company, which as classified cinema films since
it was set up in 1912. They also worked on DVDs and videos since the Video
Recording Act was passed in 1984. The
BBFC have aims and missions they have set out for themselves, for example, to
protect the public from any harm and offence risks that may occur, they
especially focus on children for this rule. Also to empower the public,
especially parents so they can inform them on the right viewing choices they
have for their children and recognize and respect adult freedom of choice
within the law. I think these missions are relevant to the film industry in
Britain because they make good promised to the public that they would approve
of and agree with and people would want to know the classifications about the
film they want to see before viewing it.
Ofcom
Ofcom
control the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecom, mobiles, postal services
and airwaves over which wireless devices operate. Their aims are to ensure that
people in the UK get the best from their commutations services and are
completely protected from scams and sharp practices. Some of their main duties
are to make sure people are protected from harmful or offensive material when
watching TV or listening to the radio and that they have a range of high
quality television and radio programmes that appeals to peoples tastes and
interests. People also complain to Ofcom about certain issues they have, for
example with a advert or television programme. On the Ofcom website it says
they consider all complaints they receive and will assess any against the
Broadcasting Code. Complaints might be made because of swearing or nudity
before a certain time, or if a person believes that they are offended or
discriminated by a particular production.
Ofcom
affect what we see on TV because if someone is offended or upset about
something they saw on telly they would have that opportunity to complain and
maybe get it taken of telly or changed to prevent anyone else feeling offended.
They also have an effect on peoples viewing because they have the aim to
provide the best commutation services and this would have a positive impact on
people’s lifes.
Looking
back at 3A, 3B and 3C the most interesting things I have learnt about are the
in-sight into how the laws have changed thought-out many years in the media
industry and how it has become tougher for broadcasters and producers to make a
project without forgetting to obey all these detailed laws. I also liked
finding out about what employees have to be aware of when working in the media
industry, for example the health and safety policy because if could help me for
future references.
Sources
