It is important for producers to understand the legal considerations when working in the creative sectors so that their work is legally able to be broadcast.
Libel law
Libel law is a law against publishing in print something which is not true or may harm that persons reputation and may bring hate or scorn towards them.
It must be a statement which claims to be fact and is not clearly identified as an opinion.
An example of the libel law is a tweet by Sally Bercow, the wife of the UK parliaments speaker of the house of commons, which read "why is lord McAlpine trending? *innocent face*" The tweet occurred at the same time as a case assuming he had sexually abused children at a foster home, which made McAlpine able to sue Bercow for posting a libelous tweet saying that he wasn't innocent.
An example of the libel law is a tweet by Sally Bercow, the wife of the UK parliaments speaker of the house of commons, which read "why is lord McAlpine trending? *innocent face*" The tweet occurred at the same time as a case assuming he had sexually abused children at a foster home, which made McAlpine able to sue Bercow for posting a libelous tweet saying that he wasn't innocent.
Privacy law
The Privacy law (or Human rights law) is a regulation that protects a persons right to be left alone and says that people are allowed to be left alone and have 'the right to privacy' and 'the right to be left alone'- 'Harassment and data protection'.
An example of the Privacy Law being broken is the News of the World phone hacking scandal. This incident resulted in the hacking of the phones of the Royal Family, celebrities, and 13 year old Millie Dowler who had been murdered.
The result of the phone hacking was the News of the world being shut down and millions of pounds being paid to victims of the hacking.
An example of the Privacy Law being broken is the News of the World phone hacking scandal. This incident resulted in the hacking of the phones of the Royal Family, celebrities, and 13 year old Millie Dowler who had been murdered.
The result of the phone hacking was the News of the world being shut down and millions of pounds being paid to victims of the hacking.
Obscene Publications act 1959 (and later amendments)
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 in England and wales.
The act stops any content being published that may 'deprave and corrupt' anyone who may read/see it (torture, beastiality etc.) and was created to strengthen the law concerning pornography, as well as the law preventing the publication/ production of obscene matter.
An example of Obscene Publications being carried out in media is the Human Centipede sequel being banned in the UK as a DVD or a download and denied an 18 rating in the cinema due to thoughts that it contains a real risk to viewers.
The act stops any content being published that may 'deprave and corrupt' anyone who may read/see it (torture, beastiality etc.) and was created to strengthen the law concerning pornography, as well as the law preventing the publication/ production of obscene matter.
An example of Obscene Publications being carried out in media is the Human Centipede sequel being banned in the UK as a DVD or a download and denied an 18 rating in the cinema due to thoughts that it contains a real risk to viewers.
Copyright and intellectual property law
Intellectual property is something that is unique to you if physically created. I.e. an idea is not your intellectual property but the words you write are. Copyright is a type of intellectual law that protects your work.By knowing your rights and having the right type of protection you can stop people stealing or copying:
- The names of your products or brands
- Your inventions
- The design or look of your products
- Things you write, make, or produce
An example of the copyright law being somewhat broken is the court situation between the Avatar director James Cameron and artist Roger Dean, who said that Cameron had ripped off his artwork in the film.
This picture shows the scene from avatar on the left compared to the art work on the right by Roger Dean.
James Cameron won the case and did not have to pay $50 million in damages as the court declared him innocent.
Official Secrets Act 1989
The official secrets act of 1989 is a term used in Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Malaysia, and the United kingdom, and formerly in Canada and New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.
An example of a breach of the Official Secrets Act is the Royal Navy officer Edward Devenney being jailed for offering nuclear submarine secrets to MI5 agents posing as Russian spies.
An example of a breach of the Official Secrets Act is the Royal Navy officer Edward Devenney being jailed for offering nuclear submarine secrets to MI5 agents posing as Russian spies.
Health and safety act
The Health and safety act applies to all work activities in the UK, not excluding film, TV and broadcasting.
Employers are expected to have responsibilities and duties defined, have a system for managing health and safety, assess and manage risks, and regularly review the process and procedures for managing the risks.
It is important for producers to understand the ethical considerations when working in the creative sectors so that morally they aim to not cause harm or offence to the majority.
The Health and safety act applies to all work activities in the UK, not excluding film, TV and broadcasting.
Employers are expected to have responsibilities and duties defined, have a system for managing health and safety, assess and manage risks, and regularly review the process and procedures for managing the risks.
It is important for producers to understand the ethical considerations when working in the creative sectors so that morally they aim to not cause harm or offence to the majority.
Social issues and sensitivities/Not causing harm or offence
Social issues and sensitivities, can be hard to ignore when it comes to the media, however the way these are represented can be the difference between your media product being broadcast or not.
Social issues and sensitivities, can be hard to ignore when it comes to the media, however the way these are represented can be the difference between your media product being broadcast or not.
Not causing harm or offence
It is important for media producers to try to not cause harm or offence, especially when representing stereotypes, however since people can be offended by different things it is difficult to draw a fine line as to what is okay to show and what is not, hence why most broadcasters have a code of which their
Adhering to the professional body codes of practice (e.g. Broadcasters code, BBC producers' guidelines)
Ofcom set the standards for what a broadcasted program can or can't control in terms of certain criteria:
Ofcom set the standards for what a broadcasted program can or can't control in terms of certain criteria:
- Protecting the under 18's
- Harm and offence
- Crime
- Religion
- Due impartiality and due accuracy and undue prominance of views and opinions
- Elections and referendums
- Fairness
- Privacy
- Commercial references in television programming
- Commercial communications in radio programming
Sachsgate was a situation which involved the broadcasting of an inappropriate voicemail which Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross sent Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter Georgina Baillie. The voicemails breached these certain codes:
- 2.1- generally accepted standards must be applied to the contents of television and radio services so as to provide adequate protection for members of the public from the inclusion in such services of harmful and/or offensive material.
- 2.3- offensive material must be justified by the context
- 8.1 the standard requiring adequate protection for members of the public from unwarranted infringements of privacy.
The result of Sachsgate was that the Russell Brand show was discontinued.
