Sectors of the media sectors

TASK 1: PRESENTING A DEBATE

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

Includes radio, television and electronic media.

Receives funding including license fees, individual contributions, commercial and

public financing.

May be nationally or locally operated

Commercial broadcasting now also exists in most countries

There is a maximum amount on items being repeating.

ITV are trying to get away from PSB.

Ofcom- office of communications

Wide range powers across the television, radio, telecom and postal sectors.

Lord Reith- First director.

‘ Inform, educate and entertain’

Against For

DEFINITIONS

Cross-media ownership:

Cross media ownership is where a person or a company have

ownership of more than one type of media (TV, Radio, Newspapers).

The federal communications commission does not generally allow

cross media ownership.

Diversification

Diversification is based on the disputes or the pluralism, diversity

and the variety in the media.

Digital broadcasting

Using digital data rather than waveforms to carry a

broadcasting over tvor radio bands.

Satellite broadcasting

Refers to satellite TV systems in which the subscribers receive

direct

broadcasting

REALITY TELEVISION DEFINITION

Multinationals

An enterprise that produces or delivers services in more

than one country

Conglomerates

A combination of two or more corporations engaged in

entirely different businesses

ACQUIRED FIRM

Year Acquired firm

Bought Price Motivation

1994 Viacom Paramount

$8 Billion Conglomerion across publishing film broadcasting cable and theme parks

1994 Viacom Blockbuster

$8.5 Billion

Distribution control

1995 Disney ABC $19 Billion Vertical integration and control of content creation

1995 Time warner

Turner broadcasting

$7.4 Billion

Vertical integration and synergy

1995 Seagram MCA $5.7 Billion

General conglomerate moves into diversified media

1995 Westinghouse

CBS $5.4 Billion

General conglomerate moves into broadcasting

1999 Carlton United $8.0 Billion

Merger of major eu media groups

1998 Seagram Polygram $10.6 Billion

Recording market share

1999 Viacom CBS $22 Billion Media conglomerate consolidates broadcasting power

ACQUIRED FIRM CONT.

Year Acquired firm

Bought Price Motivation

2000 Vivendi Seagram $35 billion

Very diversified leisure conglomerate diversifies further

1998 AT&T TCI $48 billion

Telecom and media convergence

2000 AOL Time warner

$128 billion

Internet service provider merges with media conglomerate

2002 Comcast AT&T $47.5 billion

Cable company expands via acquisition

2003 NBC Vivendi $5.5 billion

Merger between 2 media giants

2003 Sony BMG Music arms of two majors merge

2004-5 Sony MGM $4.9 billion

Massive acquisition of back catalogue

2006 Disney Pixar $7.4 billion

Studio buys production company with strong affliations

THE BIG SEVEN

COMPANY REVENUE

Time warner 43.7

Walt Disney 31.9

Viacom 27

News corporation 23.9

Bertelsmann 21.6

Sony 16.0

NBC 14.7

VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION

Horizontal integration is when a large company buy the rights

to another company, for example Cadburys bought up Green and

black chocolate.

They buy up other companies involved in different stages of the

process of production and circulation. A company might buy

‘downstream’, such as when a company involved in making films

buys a DVD distributor or ‘upstream’ , which is when a company

involved in distribution or transmission (such as a cable

television company) buys a programme maker.

PRODUCT DIVERSITY AND PROFITABILITY

Media industries are risky business. Garnham says “risk

derives from the fact that audiences use cultural commodities

in highly volatile and unpredictable ways, often in order to

express that they are different from each other”

My personal habits is to watch films that are not aimed at

my personal target audience, for example I prefer to watch

animated films aimed at family's such as Madagascar rather

than watch films aimed at my target audience such as Sky fall.

BROADCASTING ACT

This broadcasting act has to some extent been superseded by the Government's White Paper on Communications,

because anything taken from that paper will be turned into a new Act of Parliament. However, this Act began the first

steps to deregulation in British Broadcasting and reversed restrictions imposed on ownership of ITV franchises. The main

points of the 1990 Act were:

This act required all ITV franchises to be put up for sale and to be awarded partly on financial grounds.

New ITV regional franchises mandated to give 25% of their production to independent producers.

ITV network centre established to commission programmes from the franchise holders on to the national ITV network.

Independent Television Commission set up to regulate all TV services in the UK, with the exception of the BBC.

For first time Channel4 to sell own advertising and ITV monopoly on advertising sales was lost.

Channel 5 was last conventional terrestrial TV channel to set up in 1997 before digital explosion, to provide same strand

of programming at the same time every day, each week.

TV licence is a tax on all owners of a TV set. Fee set by government and to be renewed by an Act of Parliament.

Corporation's right to be funded by licence fee renewed, but situation insecure.

BBC set up internal market as Producer Choice, where producers must also be managers and shop around for cheapest

facilities rather than accept those providing by corporation itself.

Discusses different ways of paying for TV viewing as things are changing, ie. pay per view and subscription.

HUMANS RIGHT ACT

Act of parliament• “give further effect”

It means you can defend your rights in the uk courts and you must

treat everyone equally with fairness, dignity and respect.

Anyone in England and wales can use the human rights act even if

they are a child, a prisoner and are not a British citizen.

Judges must read and give effect to legislation in a way which is

compatible rights

Unlawful for a public authority to act in a way that is incompatible

HUMANS RIGHT ACT

Human right acts protect• The right to life

• Investigates death

• No torture or inhuman treatment• Protection against slavery• Liberty and freedom• Right to fair trail and no punishment without law

• Innocent until proven guilty.

• Respects privacy, family lives and right to marry.• Freedom of thought, religion and belief.• Free speech and peaceful protest.• No discrimination; everyone is equal• Protection of property and a right to an education and election.

LIBEL LAW

There are two versions of defamation, libel and

slander. Libel is when the defamation is written

down (including email, bulletin boards and

websites), and slander is when the incident relates

to words spoken. In the UK, if someone thinks that

what you wrote about them is either defamatory or

damaging, the onus will be entirely on you to prove

that your comments are true in court.

LIBEL LAW

For example, if you said Peter Sutcliffe had never paid his TV licence in his life

that would not be defamatory - or it is very unlikely to be. However, if you said

the same about TV boss Greg Dyke that would be. Why? Because Peter Sutcliffe's

reputation will not be damaged by the TV licence revelation (he is after all a mass

murderer). Of course, his lawyers would still be free to bring the case to court,

but it is very unlikely they would succeed. Greg Dyke, on the other hand, runs the

BBC, so to say he wilfully doesn't pay his TV licence could have a seriously

detrimental effect on his career. He could be fired or his reputation damaged

(note: Dyke has now left the BBC). It is not for the judge or jury (at the outset) to

decide how damaged he is - they just have to confirm that such accusations are

false and damaging. Then the judge and/or jury decide on monetary damages.

OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 1989Secrets 1 – Security and Intelligence

An offence of disclosing information, documents or other articles relating to security or intelligence.

Secrets 2 – Defence

An offence of disclosing information, documents or other articles relating to defence. This section applies

only to crown servants and government contractors.

Secrets 3 – International relations

An offence of disclosing information, documents or other articles relating to international relations. This

section applies only to crown servants and government contractors.

Section 4 - Crime and special investigation powers

This section relates to disclosure of information which would assist a criminal or the commission of a

crime. This section applies only to crown servants and government contractors.

Section 5 - Information resulting from unauthorised disclosures or entrusted in confidence

This section relates to further disclosure of information, documents or other articles protected from

disclosure by the preceding sections of the Act. It allows, for example, the prosecution of newspapers or

journalists who publish secret information leaked to them by a crown servant in contravention of section 3.

This section applies to everyone.

PRIVACY LAW

Privacy in English law is a rapidly developing area of English law that

considers in what situations an individual has a legal right to informational

privacy, that is to say the protection of personal (or private) information from

misuse or unauthorized disclosure. Privacy law is distinct from those laws such

as trespass or assault that are designed to protect physical privacy. Such laws

are generally considered as part of criminal law or the law of tort. Historically,

English common law has recognized no general right or tort of privacy, and was

offered only limited protection through the doctrine of breach of confidence and

a "piecemeal" collection of related legislation on topics like harassment and

data protection. The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated

into English law the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 8.1 of the

ECHR provided an explicit right to respect for a private life for the first time

within English law. The Convention also requires the judiciary to "have regard"

to the Convention in developing the common law.

THE FILMS ACT 1985

The Act also abolished the Cinematograph Film Council and dissolved the National

Film Finance Corporation, transferring its assets to British Screen Finance Limited.

The Act repealed the Films Acts 1960-1980 and also repealed certain provisions of

the Finance Acts 1982 and 1984 and substituted new provisions for determining

whether or not a film was 'British' film eligible for capital allowances.

Under the Finance Acts 1997 (No 2), 1992 (No2) and 1990, these provisions have

been further amended to relax the prohibition on using a foreign studio.

Finding a distinct cultural product.

The Eady Levy was a tax on box office receipts, this pumped excess money back into

the United Kingdoms Film Industry which made it cheaper to produce films. The film

act abolished this

American company's were claiming there film was British and abused the tax,

brought in to protect the British industry

THE RACE RELATIONS ACT 1976

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.

The Act also established the Commission for Racial Equality with a view to review the

legislation, which was put in place to make sure the Act rules were followed.

The Act incorporates the earlier Race Relations Act 1965 and Race Relations Act 1968

and was later amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, notably including

a statutory duty on public bodies to promote race equality, and to demonstrate that

procedures to prevent race discrimination are effective.

The Act was repealed by the Equality Act 2010, which supersedes and consolidates

previous discrimination law in the UK.

THE RACE RELATIONS ACT 1976

In 1976, a far tougher Act was passed that made discrimination unlawful in

employment, training, education, and the provision of goods and services. It

extended discrimination to include victimisation, and replaced the R.R.B. and

the C.R.E. with the Commission for Racial Equality, a stronger body with more

powers to prosecute.

Since 1976, further amendments have been made the Act. The police were

specifically excluded from the provisions of the 1968 Act, on the grounds that

they had their own disciplinary codes. Racism within the police force was not

fully recognised until the 1990s after Black teenager Stephen Lawrence was

murdered. The subsequent enquiry into the police’s handling of the case found

there was ‘institutional racism’ within the Metropolitan Police.

THE TERM

The term ‘Pornography’ is not generally used in UK law. Therefore in

the UK this is called ‘The Obscene Publications Act 1959’ This

describes an obscene item as one ‘tending to deprave and corrupt

persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to

read, see or hear the material embodied in it’. This makes it an offence

to publish obscene material or to have such material in your possession

with the intention of publishing it. It is not an offence if it is for one’s

pleasure.

The Obscene Publications Act has many similarities to the Protection

of Children Act

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, which had been instrumental in the certification

of motion pictures since 1912, was designated as the classifying authority in 1985

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.

VIDEO RECORDINGS ACT 1984

Works that are refused classification cannot, under the Act, be legally sold or supplied to anyone

of any age unless it is educational, or to do with a sport, religion or music and does not depict

violence, sex or incite a criminal offence. The BBFC may also require cuts to be made, either to

receive a certain age rating, or to be allowed a classification at all.

In August 2009 it was discovered that the Act was unenforceable as the European Commission

was not notified about it. Until this situation was rectified, it was legal to sell and supply

unclassified videos and computer games, although many retailers had agreed to observe the

regulations voluntarily. Then pending prosecutions under the Act were abandoned, but the

government has claimed that past convictions cannot be challenged. In December 2009 the

government introduced new legislation, the Video Recordings Act 2010,[4] which repealed and

immediately revived the Video Recordings Act 1984, after the required notification was provided

to the European Commission in October 2009. This made the legislation enforceable once again,

as well as allowing it to be amended by the Digital Economy Act 2010. 

LICENSING ACT 2003 AND LA

They licensing act 2003 and LA have been prepared by the Department for

Culture, Media and Sport in order to assist the reader of the Act. In April 2000

the Government published an act on reforming alcohol and entertainment

licensing set out proposals for modernizing and integrating the alcohol, public

entertainment, theatre, cinema, night café and late night refreshment house

licensing schemes in both England and Wales. Used to reduce crime and

disorder, to encourage tourism, to reduce alcohol misuse; and to encourage

self-sufficient rural communities. Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

In turn, "regulated entertainment" is defined as: A performance of a play,

exhibition of a film, sporting event, live music event, playing of music or

performance of dance.

LICENSING ACT 2003 AND LA

The Act has four licensing outcomes which must be taken into account when a local

authority carries out functions. They are, preventing crime and disorder; public safety;

public nuisance; protection of children from harm; and in Scotland there is a fifth

licensing agree which is protecting and improvement of public health

The new licences don't have to be renewed regularly; it is important that in the Act, at

any time, they can be called in for a review if residents or a business nearby make a valid

request. If this happens the matter will go before a Licensing Sub-Committee which can

vary, suspend or revoke the licence. This is an important change to the old licensing law,

which made it much more difficult for residents to force a review of a licence.

Licensees must now understand that just because they have been given a licence under

the new Act, any permission can be removed or varied. As licensing authority, the

Council will be working closely with the police to ensure that the Act is enforced fairly

and firmly with everyone.

FILMS ACT 1985

The film act gives the owner of any form of film or video the opportunity to declare ownership over

their film, which they can they have copyrighted and protected via the legal system. Without being

able to declare ownership, people would not be able to protect their property.

“The Films Act (CAP. 107) governs the possession, importation, making, distribution and exhibition of films,

videos and video games.

The Films Act defines "film" as meaning:

· any cinematograph film

· any video recording, including a video recording that is designed for use wholly or principally as a game.

· any other material record or thing on which is recorded or stored for immediate or future retrieval any

information that, by the use of any computer or electronic device, is capable of being reproduced or

displayed as wholly or partly visual moving pictures, and includes any part of a film, and any copy or part of a

copy of the whole or any part of a film”

This law also protects video game creators and allows them to protect their product under the

same act; this is because it’s still a video based product to be distributed to the masses for a price.