REGULATORY BOARDS

OFCOM

• RECENTLY 90 COMPLAINTS WERE MADE TO THE TELEVISION REGULATORY BOARD OFCOM ABOUT AN EPISODE OF EASTENDERS BROADCASTED ON BBC AT THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER 2014. THE EPISODE DISPLAYED A RAPE SCENE AND THIS WAS DEEMED INAPPROPRIATE BY THE 90 PEOPLE WHO COMPLAINED DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE SCENE BEING SHOWN AT 8PM BEFORE THE WATERSHED.

• OFCOM HAVE SINCE RELEASED A STATEMENT SAYING THAT THEY ARE ‘INVESTIGATING WHETHER THE PROGRAMME WAS APPROPRIATELY SCHEDULED AND IF IT MET GENERALLY ACCEPTED STANDARDS.’

• THE BBC HAVE SINCE RESPONDED TO THE COMPLAINTS SAYING THAT EASTENDERS IS A SERIES THAT OFTEN INVOLVES ‘DIFFICULT STORYLINES.’ AND THEY REVEALED THAT THEY HAD WORKED CLOSELY WITH RAPE CRISIS AND OTHER RELEVANT ORGANISATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CONTENT WAS AUTHENTIC AND RAISED AWARENESS OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS. THE BBC ALSO SAID THAT THEY HAD BEEN MINDFUL OF THE NATURE OF THE NATURE OF THE STORYLINE AND THAT THEY’D MADE SURE THAT THE ATTACK WAS IMPLIED AND NOT EXPLICIT.

ASA AND THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT• THE ASA AND THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT COULD NOT

ALLOW A ROAD SAFETY ADVERT TO BE SHOWN BEFORE THE WATERSHED AT 9PM. THE CAMPAIGN IS FROM NORTHERN IRELAND AND IT SHOWS A GROUP OF 28 SCHOOLCHILDREN – THE AMOUNT OF CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN KILLED BY DANGEROUS DRIVERS SINCE 2000. THE CHILDREN ARE SITTING ON A PICNIC BLANKET AND THEN THEY ARE KILLED BY A DRIVER WHO WAS DRIVING DANGEROUSLY AND LOST CONTROL OF THEIR CAR.

• THE CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS ‘SHOCKING’, THE NARRATIVE IS SUPPOSED TO BE EMOTIVE AND STICK IN YOUR MEMORY SO THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN IS MET.

REGULATION FOR MY ONLINE SERIESI HAVE DECIDED THAT THE TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC FOR MY SHOW IS 15-35 YEAR OLD AND THEREFORE I HAVE TAKEN THE REGULATIONS FOR MAKING CONTENT APPROPRIATE FOR UNDER-18S INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN DISCUSSING THE CONTENT AND NARRATIVE OF MY DRAMA TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CONTENT WILL BE APPEALING TO AN ADULT AND APPROPRIATE FOR TEENAGERS AGED 15 TO 18. THE USUAL BROADCAST TIME FOR A PROGRAMME WHICH IS MEANT TO APPEAL TO MY DEMOGRAPHICS IS ANYWHERE BETWEEN 5PM AND 9PM, AS AFTER 9PM IS POST-WATERSHED.

AS THE NARRATIVE FOR THE TEEN DRAMA THAT I AM FILMING THE OPENING TWO MINUTES FOR IS ABOUT TWO YOUNG PEOPLE BEING KIDNAPPED, I NEED TO FOLLOW THE RULES AND REGULATIONS SET BY OFCOM IN REGARDS TO VIOLENCE SO THAT I CAN BE SURE THAT THE CONTENT OF MY PRODUCT IS NOT OFFENSIVE OR DISTRESSING TO MY YOUNGER TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC. ON THE OFCOM WEBSITE, THERE ARE MANY REGULATIONS REGARDING VIOLENCE IN A PRE-WATERSHED SHOW, SUCH AS: 'VIOLENCE, ITS AFTER-EFFECTS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE, WHETHER VERBAL OR PHYSICAL, MUST BE APPROPRIATELY LIMITED IN PROGRAMMES BROADCAST BEFORE THE WATERSHED OR WHEN CHILDREN ARE PARTICULARLY LIKELY TO BE LISTENING AND MUST ALSO BE JUSTIFIED BY THE CONTEXT.'

SOMETHING THAT I NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN CREATING MY ONLINE SERIES IS THAT A YOUNGER AUDIENCE WILL BE ABLE TO EASILY ACCESS AND VIEW THE CONTENT UNLESS I PUT AN AGE REGULATING SYSTEM INTO PLACE. OTHER WEBSITES, SUCH AS BBC IPLAYER AND ITV PLAYER, HAVE CHECK BOXES THAT WILL POP UP ON THE PAGE WHEN SOMEBODY IS ABOUT TO WATCH A SHOW THAT MAY BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT FOR UNDER-18S. THE ISSUES OF THIS METHOD OF REGULATION IS THAT SOMEBODY COULD SIMPLY SELECT AN OPTION SUCH AS ‘YES, I AM OVER 18’ SO THAT THEY CAN VIEW THE SHOW. PARENTS CAN ALSO SET UP A PASSWORD SYSTEM ON THESE WEBSITES SO THAT THE CONTENT IS ONLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE PASSWORD, THIS IS A MORE EFFECTIVE WAY OF MAKING SURE THAT CHILDREN ARE NOT EXPOSED TO HARMFUL CONTENT.

AFTER RESEARCHING THE PURPOSE OF OFCOM AND THE RULES AND REGULATIONS REGARDING PRE-WATERSHED TELEVISION SHOWS, I AM NOW AWARE OF WHAT TYPE OF CONTENT IS AND IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR MY TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS AND ALSO THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHY I SHOULD BE CAREFUL IN REGARDS TO CONTENT.