Everyone needs to be treated as one and no one can be picked out from the crowd just because of thier represntation of gender or their religious beliefs. Also, the use of language they use, that of which is not English which we are used to, should not define who they are in our eyes and we should get to know them before we begin to judge them just because of thier race. Within the work company there has to be a varied amount of people, all of whom are from different backgrounds and races, so that it does not seem that a company is being biased towards the sort of people that they hire. For example, if there was a radio station which only hired white people, then this would be seen as ethically wrong because it is singleling out a certain race of people, which is also seen as ethically wrong.
If a person has a different religious belief then this is what they are entitled to they have a right to believe in whatever they want to believe in and cannot be judged on this belief. If, for example, someone wears a turban as it is part of the religion that they are following, then they cannot be judged, when applying for a job, on the fact that this is how they dress. They should only be judged on whether they can give what the company is looking for and this should be commitment and hard work.
To show that the BBC have nothing against people's race or religion, they have a radio station dedicated to people who do not originate from England. This is called BBC Asian Network. It is aimed at those people who originate from and around the Indian subcontinent. The music and news which is broadcast comes from the main urban areas where there are siginificant communities with these backgrounds. It is mainly broadcast in English but they do also have programmes which are presented in five south Asian languages. These are Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati and Potwari. It consists largely of music and talk programmes based on what is happening and the music that is traditional.
"Audiences rightly expect the highest editorial and ethical standards from the BBC. The BBC's Producers' Guidelines are a public statement of those values and standards and how we expect our programme-makers to achieve them.
They detail the BBC's approach to the most difficult editorial issues and provide guidance which programme makers at all levels need to be aware of and follow."
Greg Dyke, Director General of the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1715_reporters/page2.shtml
IMPARTIALITY AND ACCURACY
- The BBC has to show diversity and many options in the footage and programs that they show which will appeal to a wide range of people. This includes things to do with religion and belief and many other things which will appeal to both young and old audiences.
- The BBC can produce a report based on one side of an argument which has been brought up in the media or a program, but they must report this argument fairly and it must be done with integrity and should make sure that opposing views are not misrepresented.
- News: News programmes should offer viewers and listeners an intelligent and informed account of issues that enables them to form their own views.
- Personal View Programmes: The BBC sees it as very important that a "wide range of individuals or groups offer a personal view or advance a contentious argument." This of course should include Christians. The BBC believes that this is very important as it can "add significantly to public understanding especially when they bring forward unusual and rarely heard perspectives on topics that are well-known from Orthodox points of view." (Evangelical Christianity: Rarely heard and Orthodox Point of view?)
- Right of Reply: When a programme reveals evidence of iniquity or incompetence, or where a strong, damaging critique of an individual or institution is laid out, there is a presumption that those criticised be given a fair opportunity to respond.
http://www.gweini.org.uk/en/policies/bbc-producers-guidelines - This is the website which I found all the BBC guidelines which are shown above and will be shown further on in this blog post. They are all the different sections of the BBC guidelines that need to be followed when creating any type of media, whether it be television or radio.
FAIRNESS AND STRAIGHT DEALING
- Dealing with Contributors: "Contributors should be treated honestly and with Respect."
- A contributor should know in advance if asked to debate on a certain issue the range of views being represented and wherever possible who the other participants will be. They should also be told why they were contacted to be a contributor and what the programme is about.
- The BBC do not normally allow contributors to see the finished work before it is aired, but if they do wish to do so they can contact the BBC in writing, The Editorial Policy will then advise on each separate case.
- Research: Research Agencies will sometimes advertise in order to get contributors, but this is often a last resort. People who become contributors through adverts will then be checked extremely thoroughly.
TASTE AND DECENCY
- Radio: On the radio - Djs share with parents a special responsibility when live broadcasting is listened to by audience with a high proportion of young people or children
- If music is a "genuine expression of popular culture" then it can be played on the radio after the watershed whatever its contents.
- The BBC in Television, Radio and the Internet services must comply with "The European Council Television without Frontiers Directive 1997 article 22.1" This directive demands that the BBC does not include any programmes that would "impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors..." It also demands that the BBC uses "acoustic"or "visual" warnings to alert viewers to any programmes which have the above in it. This is the absolute minimum that the BBC has to do.
LEGAL
The legal issues that need to be stuck to during radio broadcasting are the same that are stuck to through the watershed contract. There is firstly the Broadcasting Act. The aim of this act was to reform the entire structure of broadcasting. It allowed the launch of 3 independent national radio stations. Two of these were used on medium wave frequencies which were formerly used by the BBC and the other used on FM frequency which was used by the emergency services. More plans were then made to make many more local and regional commercial radio stations which used the FM band. These plans to expand however were only set up in 2000. This allowed more information to be spoken about in the content of radio shows than were originally allowed.
Official secrets Act - This is a short term name used when speaking about secrets of the government, state secrets and official information. Therefore, in radio, when the presenters are speaking about things to maybe do with national security, then nothing of vital information can be given away as it can set our country and those around us in danger. Radio presenters should stick to a set schedule which is made for them by the producers of the show and this information needs to be relevant to music and anything else which is going on in the world at that present time. News radio stations especially need to be careful about what news they allow the listener to gain as it could affect the way that a certain case is seen or handled.
Human Rights Act - This is an act which was put in place in 1998 and allowed everyone the same rights as each other and is an act of parliament. It means that anyone who acts against the human right act is unlawful and can be punished. However, it allows people to stand up for themselves if needs be and to act in a form of self defence. The human rights act can be linked to radio because it is a set of guidelines and rules which must be followed by all who work within the radio company. From everything to the employers of the company, so they cannot base their reasons for hiring someone on that persons religion, faith or nationality. They must be fair as everyone has the right to work and gain their own money, to the presenters, who cannot say anything which may be seen as offensive to people of certain races or religion as this is against the law and no one has the right to single someone out just because of the colour of thier skin or where they come from.
Race Relations Act - Formed in 1976, this act is 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. So no one can not be hired due to the fact that they may have different religious beliefs to the person who is interviewing them. They must be paid the same as all those they work with and cannot be given a greater or smaller rate than others due to the fact that they are of a certain race. They have the right to be able to gain all the credit that other people do in fairness.
Obscene Publications Act - This is the act which has been put into place in both England and Wales. It decides what can be published in these places and restricts information which may tend to corrupt people and the way that they act. In radio, you cannot see any footage and so the obscene publications act will apply to the radio content that is broadcast to the listeners. This may apply to the news when there is a particulary nasty story about something. Details cannot be shared during the day time and may only be shared after 9pm or not spoken about at all. This is because it may encourage people to carry out these acts on other people, as some stories in the past have covered.
Licensing Act - This is when a radio station must detail all regulated recorded or live music that is in thier building. By not doing this, it is a breach of the license and can be considered to be against the law.
In order
for the provision of entertainment or entertainment facilities to be regulated,
the entertainment or entertainment facilities must be provided:
·
For
members of the public or a section of the public; or
·
For
members of a regulated club or their guests; or
·
At
a charge with the intention of making a profit.
In order to apply for a premises licence, or club premises certificate, an application must be completed and be accompanied by an operating schedule and a plan of the premises. All radio stations will need to be equipped with this licensing certificate. Those without it are known as pirate radio stations and a good example of one of these was Radio Caroline. It was a radio station which was broadcast off land so that they could not be found with a signal and were able to broadcast to people without having to pay for a license to play or record music.
Privacy Law - These are the laws which make sure that everyone has thier own right to privacy and that no one jeopardizes this. This means that no numbers, addresses or personal information of anyone can be broadcast on the radio. It is easy for people to play back anything that was broadcast on air and this information can be collected and used against people to hurt them or others around them and it is putting their life and reputation in danger. This is why there was such a big hype about the phone hacking that went on last year, because it was a breach of peoples privacy and no one had the right to do this.
Copyright & Intellectual property law - This is when owners of companies are given exclusive rights to a variety of assets which will determine who they are and make them rememberable to the public. These assets are musical, literary, artistic works, words, phrases, symbols and designs. Intellectual property rights include copyrights and trademarks. Examples of this may be the logo that is linked to a radio station and makes it visible and recognisable to the public.
This is the logo that is linked to the radio station Radio 1. It has been linked with this radio station for many years and when people see it then this is what they relate it with. They also have the name of their company on the logo so that people are made aware of who they are.
This is the logo for the Heart FM radio station. Compared to the Radio 1 logo, it has more colour which could suggest that it is more fun and bubbly than Radio 1, whose logo is just black and white and so could be seen as more formal or modern. Colour in the Heart logo suggests that maybe the music that they play is more upbeat and people will appreciate this station more if they were born in the 80's or 90's as this is the old genre music that they tend to play. They have also played with the name of their radio station by adding a heart to replace the A in their name. This shape links to the name and is what makes the logo so recognisable.
These logos are what distinguishes a radio station from the others out there. This is where the copyright and intellectual law comes in. It would be classed as copyright if another company were to make a logo based on a logo that has already been created. The reason that people may do this is because a certain station may be really popular at the moment and be bringing in lots of listeners and advertising income and so, by basing their logo on them, they can draw in people of the public who may think they are linked in some way and so, pleased with the original stations work, will begin to listen or buy things from that company thinking that they will be just as good.
Libel law - This is when a statement is made about a certain company or product which is made to be seen as fact, then gives this company a negative image. Examples of this could be if a certain presenter were to be spoken about in a newspaper article or in a statement, then this could be what puts people off listening to their show at that certain time slot. Libel is only viable if this statement is not true yet is believed to be true by the public and so gives this person or company a bad name. So, if a statement has been made about a certain presenter at Radio 1, then this could also reflect badly on the whole station because people will start to wonder why this person is still employed with them and they will always be known as 'the presenter from Radio 1'.
Task 2 - Merit.
ReplyDelete