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Mass media: regulation and censorship
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Mass media: regulation and censorship
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To some extent this section is superseded by the White Paper on Communications, A New Future for Communications, and whatever turns out to be taken from that into a new Act of Parliament. The full text of the White paper can be found here and my comments so far are here.
The Broadcasting Act 1990 was the first step down the road of deregulation in British Broadcasting. It reversed previous restrictions on ownership of ITV franchises, whereby one company could hold only one franchise and overseas ownership was forbidden. What follows is a brief overview of developments up to now (1995).
Powerful new groupings have been created by take-overs (Meridian/Anglia, Carlton/Central, Granada/LWT). The biggest is Michael Green's Carlton Communications in terms of audience and advertising revenue. It also owns a significant share of ITN and ILR services. Granada and Carlton are in fact in breach of the Act, which limits to 20% the share that ITV companies can hold in ITN - they both hold 36% each.
ITN's advertising break brings in £90m per year, but ITV companies still tried to bring it forward to 6.30pm so that they could broadcast primetime movies without interruption. They were forced by public and political protest to retreat, but it is to be expected that they will try again. There are often complaints in the 'quality' press that the process of deregulation has damaged ITV. News at Ten is said to be becoming increasingly 'tabloid' in its selection and ordering of news items as well as in its presentation; children's programmes show an increasing number of cartoons, rather than informative programmes; informational programmes are said to have moved increasingly towards 'infotainment'. Those who take this view also fear that the developments they see in ITV programming may well set the trend for the BBC.
For further discussion of the effect of deregulation on BBC and ITV, see the section on Broadcasting in the UK
The ITC is set up to regulate all TV services in the UK, with the exception of the BBC
The ITC is required to
ensure the provision of such services which (taken as a whole) are of high quality and offer a wide range of programmes calculated to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and interests
The ITC is required to ensure that every licensed service complies with the following requirements:
that nothing is included in its programmes which offends against good taste or decency or is likely to encourage or incite to crime or to lead to disorder or to be offensive to public feeling;
- that any news given ... in its programmes is presented with due accuracy and impartiality;
- that due impartiality is preserved on the part of the person providing the service as respects matters of political or industrial controversy or relating to current public policy;
- that due responsibility is exercised with respect to the content of any of its programmes which are religious programmes, and that in particular any such programme does not involve
(i) any improper exploitation of any susceptibilities of those watching the programme, or(ii) any abusive treatment of the religious views and beliefs of those belonging to a particular religion or religious denomination; and
- that its programmes do not include any technical device which, by using images of very brief duration or by any other means, exploits the possibility of conveying a message to, or otherwise influencing the minds of, persons watching the programmes, without their being aware, or fully aware, of what has occurred.
The Commission are required to
do all that they can to secure that there are excluded from the programmes included in a licensed service all expressions of the views and opinions of the person providing the service on matters ... which are of political or industrial controversy or relate to current public policy.
The ITC is required to draw up and review a code giving guidance
(a) as to the rules to be observed with respect to the showing of violence, or the inclusion of sounds suggestive of violence, in programmes included in licensed services, particularly when large numbers of children and young persons may be expected to be watching the programmes;
(b) as to the rules to be observed with respect to the inclusion in such programmes of appeals for donations; and
(c) as to such other matters concerning standards and practice for such programmes as the Commission may consider suitable for inclusion in the code.
The Commission
shall have special regard to programmes included in licensed services in circumstances such that large numbers of children and young persons may be expected to be watching the programmes
A licensed service must not include
(i) any advertisement which is inserted by or on behalf of any body whose objects are wholly or mainly of a political nature(ii) any advertisement which is directed towards any political end, or
(iii) any advertisement which has any relation to any industrial dispute
The Commission is required to draw up and review a code
(i) governing standards and practice in advertising and in the sponsoring of programmes, and
(ii) prescribing the advertisements and methods of advertising or sponsorship to be prohibited, or to be prohibited in particular circumstances
The Secretary of State
may at any time by notice require the Commission to direct holders of any licences specified in the notice to refrain from including in the programmes included in their licensed services any matter or classes of matter specified in the notice; and it shall be the duty of the Commission to comply with the notice.
The ITC licences shall require a licence holder:
(a) to retain, for a period not exceeding 90 days, a recording of every programme included in the licensed service;
(b) at the request of the Commission, to produce to them any such recording for examination or reproduction;
(c) at the request of the Commission, to produce to them any script or transcript of a programme included in the licensed service which he is able to produce to them.
The ITC shall make arrangements
(a) for ascertaining -(b) ....... for ascertaining the types of programme that members of the public would like to be included in licensed services
- the state of public opinion concerning programmes included in licensed services, and
- any effects of such programmes on the attitudes or behaviour of any persons who watch them; and
The ITC is required to ensure that the licence for Channel 4 is such
(a) that C4 programmes contain a suitable proportion of matter calculated to appeal to tastes and interests not generally catered for by Channel 3, and
(b) that innovation and experiment in the form and content of those programmes are encouraged.
C4 is required to maintain
(a) a high general standard in all respects ....
(b) a wide range in their subject matter .....
C4 programming is required to include:
- a suitable proportion of .... programmes .... of an educational nature
- a sufficient amount of time ... given to news programmes and current affairs programmes which are of high quality
- a proper proportion of the matter [... of ....] programmes [which] is of European origin
- [a prescribed percentage of] independent productions
Channel 4 will be funded to the tune of at least 14% of all TV revenues, in other words its own revenue, plus a share from all holders of Channel 3 or 5 licenses and the Welsh Authority
Channel 3 or 5 licenses require the licence holder
to broadcast .... news programmes of high quality dealing with national and international matters
to broadcast such programmes in that service at intervals throughout the period for which the service is provided and in particular (except in the case of a national Channel 3 licence) at peak viewing times
Channel 3 licence holders are required to broadcast a live regional news service.
Channel 3, 4 or 5 licences may include conditions requiring the licence holder to produce or finance schools programmes or buy them in
Channel 3 or 5 licences shall include a requirement that a minimum number of hours provide subtitling for the deaf
'Censorship'
The Act requires the establishment of the BCC and the BSC.
It also extends the Obscene Publications Act 1959 to apply to broadcast services.
The Public Order Act 1986 (racial hatred) is modified somewhat to ensure that it applies to all programme services.
Similarly the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987
The Defamation Act 1952 and the Defamation Act (Northern Ireland) 1955 are clarified to apply to programme services.
The ITC or Radio Authority may apply to the Secretary of State for an order proscribing foreign satellite services which do not meet the ITC's requirements in terms of public decency etc. If such an order is granted by the Secretary of State then it becomes unlawful
Further comment on regulation of broadcasting in the digital age
Regulation and censorship contents list
Broadcasting Act 1996 (Her Majesty's Stationery Office)
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