The Creative Media Industries: Ethical and Legal Constraints within the Media Sector

Ethical:

Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.
The term refers to the processes involved as well as to its products. For instance, in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - representation involves not only how identities are represented (or rather constructed) within the text but also how they are constructed in the processes of production and reception by people whose identities are also differentially marked in relation to such demographic factors. Consider, for instance, the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?

A key in the study of representation concern is with the way in which representations are made to seem ‘natural’. Systems of representation are the means by which the concerns of ideologies are framed; such systems ‘position’ their subjects.
Semiotics and content analysis (quantitative) are the main methods of formal analysis of representation.

Semiotics foregrounds the process of representation.
Reality is always represented - what we treat as 'direct' experience is 'mediated' by perceptual codes. Representation always involves 'the construction of reality'.
All texts, however 'realistic' they may seem to be, are constructed representations rather than simply transparent 'reflections', recordings, transcriptions or reproductions of a pre-existing reality.
Representations which become familiar through constant re-use come to feel 'natural' and unmediated.
Representations require interpretation - we make modality judgements about them.
Representation is unavoidably selective, foregrounding some things and backgrounding others.
Realists focus on the 'correspondence' of representations to 'objective' reality (in terms of 'truth', 'accuracy' and 'distortion'), whereas constructivists focus on whose realities are being represented and whose are being denied.
Both structuralist and poststructuralist theories lead to 'reality' and 'truth' being regarded as the products of particular systems of representation - every representation is motivated and historically contingent.

Key Questions about Specific Representations

What is being represented?
How is it represented? Using what codes? Within what genre?
How is the representation made to seem 'true', 'commonsense' or 'natural'?
What is foregrounded and what is backgrounded? Are there any notable absences?
Whose representation is it? Whose interests does it reflect? How do you know?
At whom is this representation targeted? How do you know?
What does the representation mean to you? What does the representation mean to others? How do you account for the differences?
How do people make sense of it? According to what codes?
With what alternative representations could it be compared? How does it differ?
A reflexive consideration - Why is the concept of representation problematic?

Comparisons with related representations within or across genres or media can be very fruitful, as can comparisons with representations for other audiences, in other historical periods or in other cultural contexts.

Professionl bodies Codes of Practice

Written guidelines issued by an official body or a professional association to its members to help them comply with its ethical standards. An example of a code of practice in the media today is the BBC producer’s guidelines. The Editorial Guidelines are the BBC's values and standards. They apply to all our content, wherever and however it is received and contains guidance on how the BBC shows content relating to the following areas;

· Accuracy

· Impartiality

· Harm and Offence

· Fairness, contributors and consent

· Privacy

· Reporting crime and Anti Social Behaviour

· Children and young people as contributors

· Politics, public policy and polls

· War, terror and emergencies

· Religion

· Re-use and re-versioning

· Editorial integrity and independence from external interests

· Conflicts of interest

· External relationships and funding

· Interacting with their audiences

· The law

· Accountability

Legal Issues:

Broadcasting Act 1990

The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting; It led directly to the abolition of the Independent Broadcasting Authority and its replacement with the Independent Television Commission and Radio Authority (both themselves now replaced by Ofcom), which were given the remit of regulating with a "lighter touch" and did not have such strong powers as the IBA; some referred to this as "deregulation". The ITC also began regulating non-terrestrial channels, whereas the IBA had only regulated ITV, Channel 4 and the ill-fated British Satellite Broadcasting; the ITC thus took over the responsibilities of the Cable Authority which had regulated the early non-terrestrial channels, which were only available to a very small audience in the 1980s.

Official Secrets Act 1989

The Official Secrets Act 1989 came into force on 1 March 1990. The act states it is a criminal offence to disclose any official information without lawful authority. Under the 1989 Act it is an offence to disclose official information only in six specified categories and only if the disclosure is damaging to the national interest.

1. Who is affected by the Act?

The Act applies to

Crown servants, including

government ministers
civil servants, including members of the diplomatic service
members of the armed forces
the police

Government contractors, including anyone who is not a Crown servant but who provides or is employed in the provision of goods or services for the purposes of a Minister.
a small number of office holders and the members and staff of a small number of non-government organisation who are Crown servants for the purposes of the Act, including

the UK Atomic Energy Authority
British nuclear Fuels plc
Urenco Ltd
the National Audit Office and the Northern Ireland Audit Office
the Offices of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and the Northern Ireland Commissioner

Members of the public and others who are not Crown servants or government contractors but who have, or have had, official information in their possession.

2. What is "official information"?
This means any information, document or article which a Crown servant or a government contractor has or has had in his or her possession by virtue of his or her position as such.

3. Is it an offence to disclose means of access to protected information?

It is an offence for anyone to disclose official information which it would be reasonable to expect might be used to obtain access to information protected by the Act.

4. What about the security and intelligence services?

For

present and former members of the security and intelligence services and
people who have been notified in writing that they are subject to section 1(1) of the Act

it is an offence to disclose without lawful authority any official information about security or intelligence. There is no damage test.

5. Who will be notified?

A person may be notified only if his or her work is or includes work connected with the security and intelligence services, and the nature of the work is such that the interest of national security require that the person should be subjects to section 1(1) of the Act.

6. What are the penalties for unauthorised disclosure?

Offences of unauthorised disclosure under the Act may be tried either on indictment, on High Court or Sheriff Court, or summarily, in a Sheriff Court by a magistrates' court. The maximum penalties are two years' imprisonment or an unlimited fine, or both, if the offence is tried on indictment, and six months' imprisonment or a £2000 fine, or both, if the offence is tried summarily.
7. What about safeguarding information?

It is also an offence under the Act

for a Crown servant, a government contractor or a notified person to fail to take reasonable care to prevent the unauthorised disclosure of a document or article which is protected by the Act.
for a Crown servant or a notified person to retain such a document or article contrary to official duty
for a government contractor or a member of the public to fail to comply with an official direction for the return or disposal of such a document or article

Obscene Publications Act 1959

The Obscene Publications Act 1959 (c. 66) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity.

The Act created a new offence for publishing obscene material, repealing the common law offence of obscene libel which was previously used, and also allows Justices of the Peace to issue warrants allowing the police to seize such materials. At the same time it creates two defences; firstly, the defence of innocent dissemination, and secondly the defence of public good. The Act has been used in several high-profile cases, such as the trials of Penguin Books for publishing Lady Chatterley's Lover and Oz for the Schoolkids OZ issue, but more recently has been rarely used despite the increasing amount of "obscene" material available to the general public.

Films Act 1985

Legislation concerning film finance and defining 'British films'

Video Recordings Act 1984

The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed in 1984. It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office. The British Board of Film Classification, was designated as the classifying authority in 1985. Works are classified by the BBFC under an age-rated system it is an offence under the Act to supply video works to individuals who are (or appear to be) under the age of the classification designated. Works that are refused classification cannot, under the Act, be legally sold or supplied to anyone of any age. The BBFC may also require cuts to be made, either to receive a certain age rating, or to be allowed a classification at all.

Race Relations Act 1976

The Race Relations Act 1976 was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race.

Items that are covered include discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin in the fields of employment, the provision of goods and services, education and public functions.

Human Rights Act 1998

Human rights in the United Kingdom are set out in common law, with its strongest roots being in the English Bill of Rights 1689, as well as the European legislation. In recent years, however, British human rights legislation has been criticised by conservatives for excessive attention to the human rights of offenders at the expense of those of victims; many high-profile cases, such as those of Learco Chindamo^[1] and the 2006 Afghan hijackers case, have attracted controversy, sparking rightwing calls for the review of the Human Rights Act 1998 and other legislation.

In general terms the basic human rights laws covers the following;

· Right to life

· Freedom of expression and conscience

· Right to free assembly

· Right to personal privacy

· No arbitrary searches or seizures

· Right to respect for private and family life

· Right to bodily integrity

· Right to personal liberty

· Freedom of association

· Right to participate in government

· Right to protection of the law

· Right to property

Licensing Act 2003

The Licensing Act of 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that applies only to England and Wales. The Act establishes a single integrated scheme for licensing premises which are used for the sale or supply of alcohol, to provide regulated entertainment, or to provide late night refreshment.

The Act defines "licensable activities" as:

· the retail sale of alcohol,

· the supply of alcohol in clubs,

· the provision of late night refreshment, and

· the provision of regulated entertainment

In turn, "regulated entertainment" is defined as:

· a performance of a play,

· an exhibition of a film,

· an indoor sporting event,

· a boxing or wrestling entertainment (both indoors and outdoors),

· a performance of live music,

· any playing of recorded music, or

· a performance of dance

Defamation

Is saying or writing something about someone that is not true and damages their reputation

Libel

Is writing or recording something false and damaging about someone and is a form of defamation

Slander

Is saying something false and damaging about someone and is a form of defamation

Discrimination legislation

Discrimination on the grounds of race, gender and age are illegal.

Data Protection

Storing certain information about people without their permission is illegal.

Privacy Laws

Prevent journalists from publicising private facts about individuals, unless it can be proved that knowing the fact is in the public interest

Intellectual property

IP refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. IP results from the expression of an idea. So IP might be a brand, an invention, a design, a song or another intellectual creation. IP can be owned, bought and sold.

Piracy

Piracy traditionally refers to acts intentionally committed for financial gain, though more recently, copyright holders have described online copyright infringement, particularly in relation to peer-to-peer file sharing networks, as "piracy”

Copyright protects written, theatrical, musical and artistic works as well as film, book layouts, sound recordings, and broadcasts. Copyright is an automatic right, which means you don't have to apply for it.

· literary works, including novels, instruction manuals, computer programs, song lyrics, newspaper articles and some types of database

dramatic works, including dance or mime
musical works
artistic works, including paintings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, collages, architecture, technical drawings, diagrams, maps and logos
layouts or typographical arrangements used to publish a work, for a book for instance
recordings of a work, including sound and film
broadcasts of a work